John Stillman, Creative Director at Boulder’s Plugin Studios, has been creating compelling visual effects and motion graphics for major players for the last 15 years. He’s done VFX for ILM, Weta and Warner Bros on films, such as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Twister, Sleepy Hollow, the Matrix sequels and Lord of the Rings – winning an Academy Award along the way.

Most recently, he’s worked on commercial projects for clients, including MTV, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, TBWA\Chiat\Day and Mekanism. Be sure to check out both his motion and FX reels when you visit his site. You’ll find John and Plugin Studios on our list of Recommended Talent when you need them.

From the details that are available, it sounds like the agency stayed strong and, despite trying to negotiate a new contract with Chrysler, decided not to take (what we’re imagining to be) and much lower rate for their services. AdAge reports that the Chrysler account was worth an estimated $2.4 billion to BBDO’s Detroit office, which employed 2,000 people, back when they won the business in 2000. Today, 485 staffers are left to figure out what’s next – hopefully finding their way outside Detroit where the sun seems to be shining much brighter.

Saw this on Digg. The caption was, “Today I hired a new designer, this is how we set him up.” Pretty darn luck employee.