Who we are

Since founding r+d creative in 2004, Andy has overseen productions for nearly every major federal government department in Canada, as well as many Crown corporations, associations and private sector clients. As a musician in an 'earlier life' Andy composed and sang for Canadian band Eight Seconds, and wrote for such diverse clients as the United Nations, Ottawa Senators and Veteran's Affairs Canada. He enjoys bringing a variety of talents to play on our video, audio and multimedia productions. Now if he could just convince his kids not to cry at night when he sings to them …

With more than two decades' experience in video and multimedia production, Paul has honed his creative and technical skills in many roles. He's directed and edited a variety of corporate videos, documentaries and television series, including Météo+ and Francoeur for TFO, and Destination Nor'Ouest for TVA Productions. Paul is also a veteran videographer, and a technical wizard who's completely at home using tools like Final Cut Pro, Avid, Photoshop and After Effects. This winning combination of creative and technical expertise gives Paul an in-depth understanding of all production elements, making him an invaluable asset to the r+d team. A francophone, Paul, has won eight national and provincial awards for his production work. And he won't stop telling us about them, in either official language.

Tasia has been rocking the industry in Toronto and Ottawa for the past several years. Her keen eye for detail and ability to think big-picture make her one of the best in the business. She's managed and coordinated for television—including the TVOKids' series Spellz—as well as for many high-profile events such as the Gemini Awards, the Grey Cup and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association Awards. Since joining r+d, Tasia has added several government and corporate notches to her heavyweight belt, including videos for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian International Hockey Academy. In her downtime, she buffs up on trade research by obsessing over the latest television talent. Favourites include MacGyver, Bret "Hitman" Hart and Prison Break's Wentworth Miller.

Laurie brings a wealth of experience in project and event management, public relations and communications for a wide variety of clients around the world. In Vancouver, she oversaw key accounts for Bell Canada, the Business Council of British Columbia and Tourism British Columbia in relation to sponsorship and positioning for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Prior to that, Laurie spent several years in Hong Kong managing multi-million dollar event budgets, and handling international sports marketing for Octagon. At r+d, Laurie serves as the main client liaison and head honcho to the crew, ensuring that all productions are delivered on time, within budget and beyond expectations. Just don't expect her to remember your name before she's had her morning coffee.

In a world of run-on sentences and misused semicolons, Amanda is a breath of fresh air. For the past decade, she's written a range of materials including feature screenplays, video scripts, interactive modules, slogans and web content. Her short film, Sight Lines—which she wrote, produced and directed—earned her a spot on Ottawa Life Magazine's list of 'Top 50 People.' Amanda recently launched her own publishing shingle, Wonderpress, through which she's written and published a series of children's picture books. With r+d, she has collaborated on several video scripts for clients such as the Department of National Defence and FINTRAC. As quick with her tongue as she is with a pen, Amanda always does her best to keep the crew in line.

Olivier is our resident expert in all things editing. He's worked on everything from documentaries and dramas to corporate videos and music videos, for an impressive list of organizations that includes TVA Productions. Olivier is also a compositing and animation wizard who loves fiddling with After Effects to make productions as slick and seamless as possible. Since joining the r+d team in 2007, Olivier has finally found inner peace. A typical Pisces, he loves music and enjoying the outdoors (especially snowboarding and scuba diving), and is amenable to eating every vegetable on his plate—except eggplant.

Firuz wears many hats: award-winning animator, artist, designer, editor and, above all, storyteller. Drawn to the arts from a young age, he was introduced to the world of motion graphic design when he bought a PlayStation with his first paycheque and discovered 3D animation. Since then, Firuz has made a name for himself locally and abroad in many different mediums. His artwork has been curated nationally and internationally; as editor, he has collaborated with Academy Award winning filmmaker Susan Martin on her feature length documentary, Chrome and Thunder; he's had his broadcast design work aired on stations such as CBC, City TV, TVO and Space; and his critically acclaimed animated short film, Sometimes People are Animals, was screened in Canada, Finland and Estonia. As animator, Firuz brings his expertise to many of r+d's projects, collaborating with the team to take videos like the 5 Wing Goose Bay promotional piece to new heights. His undeniable talent is almost enough to make us overlook the fact that he named his cat Puck.