Director Makes Foray Into U.S. Market.
By JEREMY LEHRER
Director Mark Mainguy has joined bicoastal Access Film. A former fashion and portrait photographer, Mainguy has been directing Canadian spots for the past four years via Toronto-based Radke Films. The Access roost will be the first U.S. representation for Mainguy, who will continue to direct in the Canadian market through Radke while also maintaining an affiliation with Montreal-based Voodoo Arts. Mainguy is repped by Voodoo Arts on spot projects for which that company does visual effects.
Jonathan Gilson, Access’ executive producer, described Mainguy as a "problem solver" who is a "good filmmaker and storyteller." Gilson added that Mainguy has "good taste" that is characterized by "strong sensibilities" in aesthetics and casting. Gilson was introduced to Mainguy by Barry Bittle, who is VP/corporate development at Voodoo Arts.
Gilson added that he liked Mainguy’s use of visual effects, which he has incorporated into some of his spotwork. "[Mark] uses [visual effects] if he needs an exclamation point, or to punctuate a story," said Gilson who feels that Mainguy will have no problem transitioning into the U.S. market. Access plans to pursue storytelling, dialogue and humor spots for Mainguy.
Mainguy said that he joined Access because he liked Gilson’s take on the production process. "[Jonathan] seemed like a very passionate man about filmmaking in general, and about the integrity of the creative," reflected Mainguy. "He seemed more involved than anybody I’d ever talked to from an executive producer level. [Spot production] wasn’t so much about quoting [bids] to him; it was about, ‘How can we make this [spot] the best thing ever?’" Mainguy, who will remain based in Toronto, said that Access also offered him the support he sought as a new director in the American market.
Mainguy said that he liked to direct spots that involved people, but was generally interested in "good creative" to which he could make a contribution. He emphasized that he avoided jobs that were "strictly visual" because he preferred spots that required problem-solving, storytelling and people skills. Though he is a photographer, Mainguy does not DP the spots he directs, explaining it was difficult to direct performance-driven spots when he had director and cinematographer responsibilities. Mainguy added that his photography background was an asset when it came to doing visual effects, because he understood the composition and lighting complexities of matching shots that would later be composited.
Mainguy noted that since he had worked in the U.S. as a photographer, he felt comfortable making the transition to spot directing here.
After graduating with a B.F.A in applied arts photography from Toronto’s Ryerson Polytechnic University in ’83, Mainguy began his career as a still photographer. His photography projects included fashion spreads and corporate commissions, as well as assignments for magazines such as Outside. During that time, Mainguy photographed subjects including the Pope, Ronald Reagan, George Burns and Candice Bergen. In ’89, one of Mainguy’s fashion stills was included in American Photography 6, an annual compendium of acclaimed photographs.
After a few years of photography, Mainguy opted to try his luck at spot directing. In addition to his own desire to direct, Mainguy had seen photographer friends such as John Mastromonaco make the switch. (Mastromonaco is now represented in the U.S. by Bravo Zulu, Santa Monica.)
"I didn’t love fashion as much as I loved making stories and story-pictures," said Mainguy. "[Spot directing] is exponentially more challenging as far as what you get to be involved with intellectually."
To demonstrate his proficiency at spot storytelling, Mainguy wrote, directed, shot and produced a spec which ultimately led to his hooking up with Radke Films.
Credits for Mainguy include Chrysler’s "In the Ring" via BBDO Toronto; Bell Canadian Open’s "Octopus" via Cossette Communications, Toronto; HMV’s "John Cage" via Taxi Advertising, Montreal; and Crayola’s "Heart" via TBWA/Chiat/ Day, Toronto. All of the spots were produced by Radke Films.
Mainguy joins an Access directorial roster that includes Brian Culy, Pierre Dalpé, Roberto Espinosa, Steve Gordon, Lloyd Kramer and Richard Sabean. Access also represents director Craig McCord in the New York market (McCord is represented in the rest of the U.S. by Dallas-based Brand New Shoes).
Access’ sales team consists of Perry Schaffer on the East Coast, Char Noonan on the West Coast and Jack Lewis in the Midwest.
Tim Burton Discusses His Dread Of AI As An Exhibition of His Work Opens In London
The imagination of Tim Burton has produced ghosts and ghouls, Martians, monsters and misfits โ all on display at an exhibition that is opening in London just in time for Halloween.
But you know what really scares him? Artificial intelligence.
Burton said Wednesday that seeing a website that had used AI to blend his drawings with Disney characters "really disturbed me."
"It wasn't an intellectual thought โ it was just an internal, visceral feeling," Burton told reporters during a preview of "The World of Tim Burton" exhibition at London's Design Museum. "I looked at those things and I thought, 'Some of these are pretty good.' โฆ (But) it gave me a weird sort of scary feeling inside."
Burton said he thinks AI is unstoppable, because "once you can do it, people will do it." But he scoffed when asked if he'd use the technology in this work.
"To take over the world?" he laughed.
The exhibition reveals Burton to be an analogue artist, who started off as a child in the 1960s experimenting with paints and colored pencils in his suburban Californian home.
"I wasn't, early on, a very verbal person," Burton said. "Drawing was a way of expressing myself."
Decades later, after films including "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beetlejuice," his ideas still begin with drawing. The exhibition includes 600 items from movie studio collections and Burton's personal archive, and traces those ideas as they advance from sketches through collaboration with set, production and costume designers on the way to the big screen.
London is the exhibition's final stop on a decade-long tour of 14 cities in 11 countries. It has been reconfigured and expanded with 90 new objects for its run in... Read More