Sara Marandi
Sara Marandi
The Stepford Wives Teaser
Agency & Production: Imaginary Forces, bicoastal
DP: Harris Savides
Editorial: Giaronomo, New York
Editor: Adam Agard
Affiliation: @radical.media bicoastal/international
How did you get into directing?
Working in motion graphics, I was afforded the chance to direct some of the live-action in my design projects. This helped me segue into pure live-action.
Why do you want to direct commercials?
Design is a pure form of visual communication but it also puts you in a box. I wanted to expand the way a story is delivered – adding depth and emotion. It’s liberating that commercials free you to develop a concept and tell a story. And yet there’s still a discipline to doing it in a concentrated timeframe.
What’s your most recent spot project? Volkswagen in Germany.
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? I’d like to have a lot of creative junctures in my life. I think in order to stay interesting as an artist in the future I’d like to develop a short film.
What do you think is the best part about being a director? Being in charge.
What’s the worst part? Being in charge.
Who is (are) your mentor(s)? In the world of design, I worked on teasers and trailers with Peter Frankfurt who introduced me to the storytelling, pacing and meshing design with live-action.
Not counting your own work, what’s your favorite recent ad? Why? David Fincher’s “Speed Chain.” One thing I really appreciate is the combined masculinity and femininity to the spot. Taking a simple concept so far and treating it with such elegance. As a kid, my parents wouldn’t let my buy a lot of popular music so I watched MTV. I would find myself captivated by David’s videos, even before I could articulate what it was that drew me in.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More