By Robert Goldrich

In reference to Snicker’s five-Webisode Instant Def series, Jimmy Smith, executive creative director at BBDO New York, relates, “We’re talking music, superheroes, comic book graphics…everything that’s pop [culture] wrapped up in an instant.”
    But the show itself was hardly an instant concoction. According to Vic Walia, Snickers’ senior marketing manager, Instant Def was a year and a half in the making. And director Jesse Dylan of Los Angeles-based Form estimates that he and his team spent about six months on the project. In fact, notes Dylan, the series entailed Form forming a visual effects shop on its premises.
    “We couldn’t easily afford to go to a major visual effects studio given the budget so we opted to build our own After Effects company here with freelancers and different people,” explains Dylan. “Craig [Rodgers, executive producer and Dylan’s partner at Form] was heavily involved in and committed to that build-out. It worked out great. This was the type of project that would have been hard anyway for us to produce and then just hand off to a post/visual effects company. We wanted to be involved in all aspects and to see it right through to completion.
    “As a director, it was a wonderful experience. Jimmy’s vision couldn’t be realized just with physical production–going to a location and shooting,” Dylan continues. “We had to marry After Effects with the world Jimmy was creating, 3-D visuals a la Sin City. So we shot most everything green screen and built in everything else needed for different scenes.”
    Instant Def stars the Black Eyed Peas as Snickers factory workers by day and superhero defenders of old school hip-hop by night. The series teamed Snickers with BBDO New York, Atmosphere BBDO New York (which created the special www.InstantDef.com Web site) and Dylan, among others.
    The Webisodes–each an engaging four-minute mix of animation, visual effects, graphics and live-action–have thus far attracted more than one million consumers and counting to the site. There they have viewed the shows and in many cases sent them to friends. Blogs have been created as an offshoot, online chatter has been generated and deeper relationships have been built with the audience–a Snickers’ branded relationship as well as young people’s relationships with the characters. Indeed Snickers’ goal of connecting with teens and young adults has been realized through the project.
    The Snickers project was gratifying both personally and professionally for Dylan, who also helmed the Instant Def teaser trailer (shown at theaters in the top 10 U.S. markets during Memorial Day weekend, and in the In-Store Sports Network, Footlocker, FootAction and Champs stores nationwide) that helped drive traffic to the site. On the personal score, Dylan says, “The chance to help realize Jimmy Smith’s vision was a treat. He’s good people and we have known each other and worked together for a long time, dating back to when he was at Wieden+Kennedy. I’d work for him anywhere and at any time.”
    Professionally Dylan enjoyed being part of the push for new forms in the advertising/marketing landscape. “Ultimately brands are trying to reach people in all sorts of different ways,” he observes. “The Internet is a big part of that. Production companies have to be ready to make those connections in different media. Web components to campaigns are becoming more commonplace.”
    But Instant Def was anything but common. Dylan says of Snickers’ Walia, “I take my hat off to him for going with this project. He went out on a limb and supported what Jimmy [Smith] envisioned, which has created a buzz and a hip vibe for Snickers.”
    The series represented Dylan’s most ambitious foray into entertainment content for the Web, adding to a filmography that spans commercials, music videos, features and experimental fare, an example of the latter being last year’s evocative, poignant Sony “Dreams” short Into The Light, which was shot in high definition.
    At press time, Dylan was working on a Motorola spot project, which also entailed a Web application. He recently wrapped an American Express campaign for Ogilvy & Mather, New York, which profiled several entrepreneurs who have been assisted by the AmEx Open services network.
    Dylan embarked on his career after dropping out of NYU Film School. He left formal education for the chance to gain hands-on experience. His first directorial endeavors were in the music video realm. His music clip credits include work for such artists as The Wallflowers, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Nick Cave, Henry Rollins and Lenny Kravitz.
    The director then diversified into commercials, helming over the years for Pepsi, Coca-Cola, the National Football League, Chase Manhattan, Snapple, Budweiser, Audi and Reebok, among many others. And then feature films entered the mix with Dylan directing Kicking & Screaming, American Wedding and How High. Dylan also remains active in still photography, a longtime passion.
    The opportunity to discover and cultivate new passions, he says, is a large part of what makes directing worthwhile. He cites Instant Def as an example, noting that new forms are emerging and being encouraged in the marketplace. “You see it coming with new media serving as a catalyst for the creation of different kinds of content so that marketers can reach and relate to consumers. This represents the chance for directors to spread their filmmaking and their creative wings.”
    Yet there’s a constant dynamic across traditional and nontraditional media for Dylan. “While there’s a different cadence to projects depending upon the medium, they’re all ultimately about one thing–telling stories,” he affirms.

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