Tom Dunlap

Tom Dunlap, Deutsch, Los Angeles' SVP/head of integrated production, will join RSA Films on July 13 as an executive producer. In his new role, the agency veteran will seek out new business opportunities for the global company in the digital and entertainment worlds.

Dunlap, 34, says he began talking casually with EP Jules Daly and company co-founders Ridley and Tony Scott about the company's future about six months ago.

"I wasn't looking for a job by any means - especially in this economy. I've been a big fan of RSA for some time," he says. "We just started having lots of conversations about what the production company of the future is, what's going on in the media landscape, what's going on with RSA and the perception of RSA in the world."

Before he joined Deutsch in 2007, Dunlap was a veteran of shops TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles and Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam, where he oversaw production of Coca-Cola's "Happiness Factory" spot. At the time, he says, RSA Films was one of his "go-to" production companies.

In 2001, he had his first taste of life as a vendor at the small editorial boutique Stuart Waks & Co. When that company folded, he returned to TBWA and worked within their in-house production department Mutiny Films, which encompassed digital, experiential and integrated production.

Dunlap says he achieved a lot at Deutsch and leaves the company in a "very good place". "I've created a very strong integrated production team that comprises TV producers, interactive producers, business affairs and traffic," he says. "Was I done here? No, I was not done... the world changes daily and I don't think anyone can ever be done. It's not like you just finish something and sit back on your laurels."

"He was extraordinarily conflicted because he was committed to making that transition to Deutsch and doing what he wanted to do there," adds Daly. "He really takes things on and it was hard for him to walk away at this point."

Though the company has a solid reputation in the film world thanks to Ridley and Tony Scott and its involvement in the BMW Films campaign, RSA has dabbled in digital production with a past partnership with ACNE Film and now with a web series inspired by Blade Runner called "Purefold" that's being produced in London through studio Ag8.

Daly adds that part of Dunlap's roll will be to seek out new opportunities in new media and digital for RSA's roster of directors. "We have the potential to do so much more than we do even with our talent," she says.

www.rsafilms.com