What advice do you have for new directors?

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As an executive producer who has been managing a production companies for nearly 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of director reels/websites come through my inbox. I’ve seen great work, I’ve seen okay work, and I’ve seen the work that makes you jump out of your seat and want to sign the person right away; but I want directors to know that they should not think that they will sign with a company immediately following the completion of a couple projects. Obviously, there are many directors who get signed early their careers, but many do not.

We get a lot of reels/websites that are filled with commercial spec work, and I find commercial spec work to be an amazing way to build reels and even define your voice as a director, but sometimes specs feel like specs. If you make a perfect spec, and I mean, one that really feels real top to bottom (great locations, actors, set design, editorial, color, vfx, etc.), you have a better chance tricking us that it’s real. Make your specs amazing, don’t make them too long, really make sure that they look and feel like something that’s on TV or YouTube. If you make a spec feel real, you have a better shot at getting production companies and agencies excited to work with you. Focus on taking your time, do your research, see what brands are doing, and do your version of something that they might do -- make sure you have great casting, find the right locations -- all of this will help your piece shine. Brands are doing a wide range of video content now, and it’s easier now than it’s ever been to create a spec, just make sure it doesn’t feel like a student film.

Also, DO NOT GIVE UP. If you have talent, drive, and ambition, you have a shot at making it as a “professional” director. It’s really easy for new directors to look at their peers or others on Instagram and feel like they are succeeding quicker than they are. Which could be true, but it doesn’t mean that you cannot still succeed, and even surpass others. Sometimes you have to just grind it out to get noticed. To have work that speaks to new audiences, it takes time to find and develop your voice – don’t expect it to happen overnight. It didn’t for me, it didn’t for many of the directors we work with at Tuff Contender.

Any tips on how to balance career and personal life?

Balancing personal life and your career can be challenging, but I’ve actually figured out a really solid way for myself to “do it all” - I started saying no to projects that would tie me when I didn’t want to be tied up. Of course this isn’t a perfect science, it doesn’t always align perfectly. It’s okay to say no, just don’t say no to often.

What advice do you have for new directors?

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The saturation and competition of directors in the advertising space is the highest I have ever seen, but directors shouldn’t feel discouraged. Rather, they should find their voice within the noise and hone their specific style. I know directors hate to be pegged into one genre, but understand that creative directors and clients are looking for a specific skill set and genre when choosing a director, so one must specialize. Always be creating; don’t wait for a job.

Also, while the trend to stay freelance is so appealing these days, make sure you understand the pros and cons. Being freelance appears, at the surface, as a way to get as many leads as possible. However, when agencies see more and more that you are being presented from so many production companies, it does lessen your value.

My recommendation is that you find a production company to advocate for you. Whereas the freelance model requires you and only you to advocate for yourself, especially after a company tries to sell you several times and does not see a good response to the work. That’s really the main difference. It’s natural for the company to move on to the next director or creative until success is found from the pool of freelancers.

A good production company will also provide a home and support structure to back you — a place that gels with you and ensures they’ll submit your work and champion you throughout the sales process. It can be very much the “chicken or egg” paradox in the sense that you have to build a body of work -- enough to create effective reels. That’s why it’s important to always be creating and building new work, even when you’re not working.

Also, understand that, sometimes, you must be submitted multiple times to an agency before they even remember and recognize your work. Ultimately, when you’ve built a strong body of work and given the production company enough variation and work to build reels from, you will see the rewards.

Any tips on how to balance career and personal life?

It is crucial that you love what you do. When you really love what you do, going to work every day feels amazing. That being said, it is equally important to take mental and emotional breaks, so that you are able to feel rejuvenated often. Life is too short, so prioritize your health.

What advice do you have for new directors?

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I think the most important thing for a new director is to have a distinct point of view and that’s a very difficult thing to have really though it sounds simple. It’s about knowing what you want to say or show and knowing how best to do that so it helps define who you are and what you want to achieve. Right. Not easy. We see so much work that lacks this element and so when we see someone who has thought about the direction they want to go in, they really stand out. We always say don’t follow trends because by the time you notice them, they are already gone.

The best thing to remember is that yes, every story has been told, probably a million times in a million ways, but not by you.

What advice do you have for new directors?

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To be successful, a director’s reel must show creative range, but it must also present a cohesive directorial style that ties everything together and tells people who that director is. These days, we’re seeing how important it is to include short-form commercial work–not just music videos or shorts. Agency creatives and their clients need to know that a director can tell their story in a :15, :30, or a :60. And I encourage our directors to find a balance between their love of storytelling and current marketing trends. It’s not news that every campaign needs a social component with shorter bits of content. The days of agency creatives rolling their eyes at the idea of doing :15s and :06s are long gone. These elements should be embraced as opportunities to deliver powerful little messages. If long-form is the ‘comedy special’, :06s are the sharp one-liners you’ll remember long after the laughter dies down.