Filmmaker Proves Spot Mettle With Short Films.
By JEREMY LEHRER
Short filmmaker Douglas Avery has joined the roster of Villains, bicoastal with an office in Chicago. Though Avery hasn’t any spot-directing credits under his belt yet, he was signed by Villains on the strength of four short films he wrote, directed and produced. Avery, a London resident, will travel stateside as needed to direct American spots.
Avery made his short films—Creep, The Long Run, The Hitch, and Timmy—after growing tired of his job as a lighting assistant on fashion and celebrity shoots, and realizing that filmmaking was his true love. Save for The Long Run, Avery shot the films himself. While committed to the intrinsic value of short films, Avery also believed this work would provide a means of gaining entrée into music video and commercial directing.
In his short films, Avery demonstrates a flair for offbeat and macabre storytelling. Creep is a dark portrait of a stalker. The Long Run is about a man who loses his job, his wife and then (most of) his clothes before ending up in an inflatable pool to ease his mind. The Hitch is a circuitous story of an encounter between a senior citizen hitchhiker and a young tough guy. And in Timmy, Avery puts a dark twist on a mother-to-child admonition to hurry home after running an errand.
Avery said his background in both photography and filmmaking prepared him well for spot directing. "Having the background of still photography, working on big campaigns—and especially big clothing campaigns— [I learned that] in the end, what you are doing is selling the product," he said. Avery viewed spot directing as "a problem-solving [task] to [present] the product in a way that isn’t obvious—and to do it with a memorable story."
Villains wasn’t the only organization to recognize Avery’s spot directing potential. In ’98, The Hitch was included in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. More recently, through London-based Blink Productions, which represents him for commercials in the U.K., Avery was awarded a Levi’s campaign via Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London. He is currently in preproduction on that project.
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Avery, who is American, initially secured spot representation in Europe. For a year until this September, he was represented by Freedom Films, London, where he directed "My Mate Paul" and "Don’t Die Just Yet," two music videos for Irish DJ David Holmes. Avery is now represented by London-based Science for music videos.
When searching for U.S. market representation, Avery researched and contacted a variety of commercial production companies but found that things clicked when he talked with Villains’ executive producer Robin Benson, who showed a great deal of enthusiasm for his films. "At Villains, we’re always so excited to develop the careers of directors, so when somebody doesn’t have any [commercialmaking experience], I find this a great challenge," Benson said. "I saw something really … smart in his short films. I liked that they were unexpected, I thought they had an interesting point of view, and I liked the humor behind them." Benson was elated that Avery was awarded the Levi’s campaign and thought that would provide an excellent segue into spotwork stateside. She added that she hoped Avery would direct spots that were driven by "unexpected and surprising stories."
Avery said he has an affinity for black comedy with a dose of adrenaline, and described his style as "David Lynch meets the Coen Brothers, with a tiny touch of John Woo." The Woo allusion meant that Avery would strive for "action propulsion [cinematography] instead of just a static frame."
Avery added that the shooting methods he used on his short films would influence his approach to spots. To save costs, Avery rigorously storyboarded his shorts to ensure that he knew exactly what footage he needed to assemble the films. "I still am very economical with the amount of film I shoot, just because I go in with a clear vision of what I want," he noted.
Avery began his career as a lighting assistant for celebrity photographers such as Annie Liebovitz while still an undergraduate at New York University. After graduating in ’90 with a B.F.A. in fine art photography, a B.A. in psychology and a minor in sociology, Avery continued working as a lighting assistant for photographers such as Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel and Steven Klein.
Signing on with Villains does not mean Avery is abandoning short films. "I want to have a reel that has spots [and] shorts on it. I’m always looking to do new shorts," he said.
On the East Coast, Villains is represented by Carl Forsberg, Douglas Howell, Peter Mullan and Marianne McCarley. In the Midwest, the company is handled by Marsha Icko and Marilyn Clancy. And on the West Coast, Villains is repped by Brent Novick.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More