Ben Weinstein
Sony PlayStation MLB “Mr. Met” and “Chavez”
Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles
Production: Notorious 24:7, bicoastal
DP: Ben Weinstein (“Mr. Met”); Paul Laufer (“Chavez)
Editorial: Venice Beach Editorial, Los Angeles
Editor: Greg Young
Affiliation: Notorious 24:7, bicoastal
How did you get into directing? I was always an artsy kind of kid, into drawing painting, making videos with friends. I was obsessed with those sentences that are made with pictures; they’re called pictograms (sometimes called a rebus). In college I became quite serious about shooting film, mostly Bolex stuff on 16mm black and white. After school I worked as a DP for about eight years, then as an editor for another three. Working as a DP and an editor has basically freed my mind from the technical constraints of filmmaking. Now I can concentrate on getting my personality up on the screen. This is the goal. Getting my sensibilities out of my head and into the work.
Why do you want to direct commercials? Mostly to make people laugh, to put up my work on a large stage, and of course to make a buck. Commercials offer a huge opportunity to stretch out creatively. I cherish every step of the process to grow as a filmmaker.
What’s your most recent spot project? Most recently, a three-spot Sony PlayStation campaign for MLB ’06. The spots were packed with visual effects and comedy, which made it the greatest challenge and most fun of anything I had yet worked on
Do you have plans to work in other areas–e.g. shorts films or features or TV? Have you ever done any of that in the past? For now I’ll be concentrating on spots and music videos. This year I was lucky enough to write and direct two Moby videos, both of which had about 90 percent narrative. I was thinking, “Well, we can get a ton of story in 18.5 seconds of a spot, why not pack the same amount of story over three minutes?” In the Moby video “Beautiful,” we were able to weave a tale of lust and regret, a 1970’s key party gone wrong–a jealous husband’s slow descent into rage and the double murder suicide that followed. All with big furry animals, of course. It was like The Ice Storm meets Boogie Nights meets–Teletubbies. Dan Connelly, my producer, was instrumental in making that job go off without a hitch. He also wrote some of the funniest stuff in the video. On the next video for Moby, “Spiders,” I wrote such a long story that Moby asked, “Can you fit that all in one video?” I’m like “YES! WE CAN!” He’s like “ok–I trust your vision, go for it–“
I directed a short called The Ball Chair, with writer/actor Jason Nash. It made a big splash at HBO’s US Comedy Arts Festival, and then got picked up by Comedy Central. I’m very proud of the comedy, the timing, and the cut. I’ve shot some features as a DP, most notably the summer camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer.
What do you think is the best part about being a director? The short answer: The best part is seeing the dailies, and realizing that it’s even better, funnier, more touching than how I saw it in my head. I also love the process that leads up to the shoot.
What’s the worst part? Sleep deprivation.
Who is (are) your mentor(s)? My father is very funny, a real perfectionist with a great eye, so its safe to say he is my most influential mentor. For a long time I was in acting class with Adam Marcus, who is a brilliant director. He’s an inspiration to be around. I think all directors should be in class, at least for part of their career.
Not counting your own work, what’s your favorite recent ad? Why? There’s this spot for DC shoes where these skaters are shooting the most incredible baskets in an indoor skate park. They’ve set up a basketball net in the skate park and they’re using their skateboards, the park, and the surroundings to shoot the funniest most impossible baskets. In one this skater uses his board like a baseball bat–he smacks the basketball with his board 100 feet and in. We’ve seen it before like in some Rold Gold commercial but here it’s on a new level of funny. It’s shot on DV, hand held. The genius of it is the nonchalance with which the skaters pull off these feats. It rocks.
