Commercial industry insiders gathered last week (6/3) at Red Car in Santa Monica for Specs and the City, Group101Spots’ screening of its latest round of directorial talent. This is the third annual event for the Group101Spots organization that gives up-and-coming commercial directors the challenge of creating one spot per month for six months. Twenty-nine spots, of the directors’ choosing, were shown at the event.
Seven select directors finished this year’s program: Lance Larson, Brandon Kraines, Corbett Scott, Michael Victor, Ed Schumacher, Paul Sincoff and Steven Oritt. They come to the group with varied industry backgrounds seeking to develop their spot reels or perhaps to change a reel’s direction.
Every 30 days, the directors must present one commercial each at a meeting that includes the other directors, Group101Spots leaders, as well as production company executives and agency staffers. Through critiques and advice, these gatherings give the helmers insight into improving their spots as well as opportunities to network. At one of the meetings Patti Coulter, co-owner and executive producer of commercial production house BeachHouse Films, Santa Monica, was impressed with Kraines’ submission and soon signed him. His experience includes helming music videos for the likes of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and he will maintain his production company Stereo Lab Films, Los Angeles, for select projects.
As for the other participants, Oritt is on the roster at Black Dog Films, a sister shop of bicoastal RSA USA and RSA Films, London, for music videos. Victor owns editorial house Play, Hollywood, which specializes in writing, producing and editing television promos. Scott comes from an agency background as does Schumacher, who has spot directing experience for clients like Bacardi. Schumacher also owns Ambush Productions, Venice, Calif. Larson has worked as an editor and has helmed a short, music videos as well as some commercials. Sincoff’s experience includes acting for 15 years and working as a creative.
What they all have in common are their aspirations. “Basically what we are trying to find are people who really know that they want to direct commercials as a career and are committed to the kind of work that it requires to make a reel that will actually get them work,” founder and director of Group101Spots Dina Mande said.
To gather material for the work, Group101 solicits scripts for the directors’ consideration from advertising creatives. “The creatives love this group because it gives them the freedom to work without a client,” Mande related. One rule the directors must adhere to is seeking permission to use the scripts from the author(s). They are encouraged to pitch their visions to the creatives and keep them involved throughout the production. “That’s primarily the secret to the success of some of these guys, they are working in a much more real world scenario,” Mande noted.
Professional Growth
“In this next round we are going to focus more on the agencies and getting bigger and better scripts,” said Steven Gould, production advisor for Group101Spots and executive producer at Subliminal Pictures, Burbank. “–We’ve got heavy West Coast representation and we’ve got a little bit of East Coast … we’re going to focus more heavily on getting creative out of New York.”
This outreach to Madison Avenue and beyond is in line with Group101Spots’ plans to expand the collective into the Big Apple. The organization has set up a home base at The Now Corporation in Manhattan and Mande plans to go back each month for the meetings. For the next round of spec work, the group will be accepting applications until June 24 for both Los Angeles and New York.
Although the spotlight is on the directors, Mande commented, “This is an opportunity also for DPs, editors, production designers and other collaborators–like composers who get involved with the spots and help out–to come away with new pieces for their own reels. We are not only helping to advance the careers of our directors, but all of the collaborators who helped them.”
(To view the 29 spots that were screened visit http://www.group101spots.com/2005/2005_spots.html.)
