LOS ANGELES—Noted commercial and music video director Samuel Bayer has signed with bicoastal RSA USA and its clips division, Black Dog Films, for U.S. representation. The director will also look into developing longform projects through the company’s motion picture and television production house, Scott Free. For the past 10 years, Bayer had been repped by Mars Media, a division of bicoastal HSI, which was the first company to rep him for spots.
"Contrary to popular belief, this is not a family run business-RSA welcomes Sam Scott," quipped RSA USA principal/director Tony Scott, who heads the company with his brother, director Ridley Scott.
Among Bayer’s final projects at Mars Media was Mountain Dew’s "Animated," via BBDO New York. The ad features extreme sports athletes who try to catch a can of the soft drink, but end up meeting fates reminiscent of perennially foiled classic cartoon characters like Wile E. Coyote instead. For instance, a mountain biker who jumps a canyon to catch the Mountain Dew can manages to grab it, but then he looks down and realizes how high up he is. His neck stretches, and he plummets to the ground. As well, a skier who tries to catch the can slams into a rock wall and flattens his body, which peels off the wall slowly.
"I’ve done a number of Mountain Dew spots, but this was one of best boards I’d seen in a long time," Bayer said. "It was just cool."
Known for creating visually powerful images, Bayer has also directed ads for Nike, Toyota, Pepsi, Packard Bell, Coca-Cola and Visa, and music videos for The Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, Cracker, Blink-182, Lenny Kravitz and Marilyn Manson. Last year, he donated his time to direct a short film, Torch Runner, for New York City’s official Olympic bid committee for the 2012 Games, which features athletes carrying the Olympic torch through the city.
"I was a New Yorker, and for a time had a loft by the Trade Center," said the director, who is now based in Los Angeles. "New York is always going to be in my heart, so I wanted to do something for the city. I also had access to shoot anywhere I wanted-Times Square at dusk, the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City police officers on horseback—so it was for a good cause, but it was also a great job to do."
Bayer’s other noteworthy credits include the Nissan spot, "Red Circles," via TBWA/ Chiat/ Day, Los Angeles, which won a Grand EFFIE in ’01, and his music video for Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which was voted by MTV as the best music clip in the cable music channel’s history, according to RSA USA.
"He’s one of the rare directors who actually went to art school, and it shows in his work," said RSA USA managing director Jules Daly. "We’re thrilled-over the moon-to have him."
Bayer earned a fine arts degree from New York City’s School of Visual Arts, where his focus was on painting. While in New York in the late ’80s, he began working as a production assistant on music videos, paving the way for his directing career.
"I fell in love with the genre, and also realized that I was a really bad painter," Bayer said. "I’ve been thinking about that time in my life a lot lately, when I rolled the dice, stopped painting, and started trying to do film.
"Perhaps, to a lesser degree, I was looking for that kind of change now," he added of his shift from Mars Media to RSA USA. "HSI is absolutely a great company, but I needed change. I wanted to be around different people, exploring different kinds of work."
RSA USA offered not only a longstanding company track record, but a successful feature division as well. "I think it’s very impressive that it’s a company that’s been around thirty-five years," Bayer noted. "It’s equally impressive that it’s run by two directors who still work in commercials and have incredibly strong feature careers. It’s a unique company, and I’ve known Tony a number of years. I also really like Jules-her personality, and the way she runs the company. She was a big factor in my decision."
In terms of potential feature collaborations, Bayer said there have been discussions, but nothing concrete is in place as yet. "I’m mainly interested in trying to control the material as best as I can," he related.
Several of Bayer’s commercials can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where they are showcased in the permanent film/video collection. Since he began directing in ’91, he has helmed more than 200 music videos and commercials.
RSA USA is represented by Holly Ross of Los Angeles-based Hello Red on the West Coast, Chicago-based Chris Karabas in the Midwest, and New York-based staffer Philip Fox-Mills on the East Coast.
