In Good Company: Making magic happen

Pamela Schneider, BFA 03
Creative and multimedia director

After meeting Moment Factory’s founders at a dress rehearsal for a dance show in 2001, Pamela Schneider began veejaying, jamming, brainstorming and building special events with them. What started off as a casual and full-time hobby soon turned into being hired as Moment Factory’s first employee.

At the time, Schneider was a dancer and a student at Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts. “My purpose in choosing interdisciplinary studies was to find ways to merge movement, video and sound to create one new medium of art,” says the alumna, who is now one of Moment Factory’s creative and multimedia directors.

“Before any of us even knew what we were as a company, the partners and I were always talking about this idea of sparking human connection by harnessing technology to create these magical destinations,” she says, “yet hiding the technology so people would get lost in the magic and the illusion. Those communal experiences would create the bridge to have people interact in the real world — inspiring our slogan ‘We do it in public.’”

Jonathan Chammas, BA 16
Lead, senior video director and editor

“It was very surreal to hear Jimmy Fallon announcing something I worked on,” says Jonathan Chammas, lead, senior video director and editor at Moment Factory.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown, I was cast on an editing project for a musical artist — although I didn’t know who it was initially,” he adds. It turned out to be the 2021 premiere television performance of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single — and number-one hit — “Drivers License” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Chammas completed the editing from his condo in Montreal, with the project’s creative director guiding his vision of the scenography and set design to create the dramatic colour-changing lasers that surrounded Rodrigo playing the piano.

“It was stressful knowing it would be on television, but I was very excited and motivated to deliver the best product possible,” he says.

Bianka Monette, BComm 92, GrDip 95
Chief financial officer

When it comes to what keeps Bianka Monette motivated on the job, the answer is easy, says Moment Factory’s CFO.

“Every day is different — the employees are passionate and the projects we deliver are inspiring,” she notes. “The company is growing rapidly and we are expanding worldwide and creating new types of projects. My job is always exposing me to new things!”

Fresh out of school, Monette joined an audit firm, working with clients across diverse industries. Since then, she held leadership and executive roles in hightech, television, mining and renewable energy before joining Moment Factory.

“When I came for an interview and met the people and felt the culture, I knew I wanted to work here. As an added touch, I saw the dogs and the skateboards,” says Monette, an animal lover who also volunteers as treasurer for the Montreal SPCA.

“I am always proud of the work we accomplish, but it’s the people that make all the difference. They are just so exceptionally talented, creative and passionate.”

Reflecting on her career, Monette says the biggest obstacle has been the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Most of us at Moment Factory come to the office every day. We value our collaboration and the time we spend together — and when COVID hit, everybody went home. The pandemic forced us to adapt and review our processes. Even though we turned over every rock, cut every possible expense and reduced management salaries, we still had to let go of 10 per cent of our workforce,” she says. “We had never done that before and it was very difficult, both personally and professionally.”

Many projects stopped overnight. Yet thanks to diversification, says Monette, long-term projects such as installations in airports and train stations enabled the company to keep going.

Monette credits Concordia for kicking off her career success. “The Faculty of Commerce [now John Molson School of Business] was reputed to be the best school for accounting — more advanced and higher quality,” she says. “Even now, I maintain strong friendships with good friends I met at Concordia, and my time there remains a source of cherished memories.”

Luis Aretuo, BFA 16
Motion designer

Luis Aretuo developed an interest in motion design as a teenager, “yet there were no formal education programs around,” he says.

He studied print-based graphic design at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, while teaching himself motion graphics on the side — figuring out the software, looking at what studios were doing and how the craft was evolving. He eventually moved to Montreal to switch into Concordia’s Design and Computation Arts program and hasn’t looked back.

“My classes at Concordia provided a whole different lens on the practice of what I thought was so narrow and straightforward. My professors brought a new layer of theory and ethical questions into my conception of design.”

After graduating, Aretuo worked as a video editor, then landed a job as a junior motion designer at I/O Studio, a Montreal production agency. Four years ago, he joined Moment Factory, where he now creates 2D and 3D animations.

"As an artist, most of my day is spent in production, but with so many creative people, we also have a lot of laughs and good times.”