When recently asked by SHOOT about how the emergence of varied content forms has impacted the marketplace, Jonathan Shipman, head of production at McCann Erickson, New York, observed that while there’s always a place for both seasoned and new directorial talent, a new breed of hybrid artisan has started to come of age.
“There are newer, younger, more creative suppliers emerging as opposed to just those who are strictly directors or editors or music people,” he observed. “This is talent that’s taking on greater portions of production. We are finding young creative people capable of directing, animating, doing graphics and so on. It’s a talent pool that’s well suited to new types of content.”
Eriks Krumins, executive producer of Venice, Calif.-based Backyard, noted that the norm as recently as five years ago was that directors would primarily come from the agency creative ranks, photography or other traditional filmic backgrounds. “But these days,” he related, “new sources are popping up, young kids are coming out of varied backgrounds and experiences. They not only can shoot stuff, they can also edit it, bring in graphics and animation, create their own CG–all in a very resourceful manner.”
This was part of the attraction for Backyard relative to director Luis Carone, who was recently selected for SHOOT’s sixth annual New Directors Showcase. Carone has been directing spots via 02 Filmes, Sao Paulo, Brazil, establishing himself in assorted genres. He earned inclusion in the SHOOT Showcase largely on the strength of a charming, humorous car insurance spot featuring a young lad having trouble with a remote-controlled toy automobile. At press time Carone was about to embark on a live-action/CG opening sequence for a video game. Backyard marks his first stateside representation.
For this Production Companies Series feature, SHOOT sounded out executive producers from shops that are home to 2008 Showcase talent such as Carone to get their takes on the marketplace for promising, up-and-coming directors.
“Luis grew up and lives in a multi-platform world where all kinds of content are distributed and displayed,” said Krumins. “He has a strong background in motion graphics, design, 3D, lighting assorted elements. Unlike many young designers, he has a feel for live action so when you see him mesh live-action with graphic and design work, it all fits and feels real. He can adapt the mood, tone and style to the goals of the film. His work ranges from casting-dependent work for a Claro cell phone lifestyle spot to stuff that is darker, richer and evil in tone like his MTV ‘Overdrive’ promo.
“But the bottom line,” continued Krumins, “is that he’s a hybrid talent who brings different disciplines to the table, which is ideal for a fully integrated 360-type project encompassing a broadcast commercial, mobile, web and gaming components. The world has opened up to a much larger landscape–and so too has the type of directing talent that is coming into the marketplace. Still it always comes down to talent and that can come from those with traditional backgrounds as well as these new hybrid artists.”
Viral viable “It’s becoming harder and harder to break in new directors,” related Michael Sagol, executive producer of CaviarLA. “But one new area of opportunity is the viral world.”
For example, director Keith Schofield of CaviarLA was at press time about to take on some Rayban virals for San Francisco agency Cutwater.
“The money isn’t fantastic but it’s work that gives you creative latitude,” noted Sagol. “It’s amazing what risks you can take, what you can get on your reel and how that can help you leapfrog your career to a higher level.”
That dynamic has already worked for Schofield who directed some viral fare for Jennie-O, including the spot “Wrestling” which generated such a buzz that a year later BBDO Minneapolis took it to television. “Wrestling” was part of the work that earned Schofield inclusion into this year’s SHOOT Showcase.
As for how he “discovered” Schofield, Sagol recalled working at a production services firm which shared space with another company. The vault guy at that other shop was making experimental music videos for his own amusement and bemusement.
“The work was crazy but it was special,” said Sagol, “The problem was that I didn’t have a production company yet to do anything with it. So I had to wait about a year before I was situated properly [at CaviarLA] and as soon as I was, I sought out Keith.”
Agency pedigree Brian Billow recently came aboard the directorial roster at bicoastal/international Hungry Man, a company that knows him well, having collaborated with him when he was on the agency side. Billow signed with the production house after exiting his creative director’s post at DDB Chicago.
Matt Buels, managing partner/executive producer at Hungry Man, said that he and company founding partners Bryan Buckley and Hank Perlman have long been fans of Billow’s creative talent and became enamored of him as a director upon seeing his short film Bodega.
Billow made our Showcase on the strength of a Wrigley’s spot he directed for DDB Chicago.
“It’s been part of our company’s DNA,” related Buels, “to develop directors who have been agency creatives.” (Buckley and Perlman themselves being prime examples.)
“In some respects, it can be easier to introduce an established agency creative like Brian–who already has a brand in this industry–into the directing ranks. He can help to plus scripts with his writing talent. And that also positions him for longer form content that’s evolving as he can help to shape and create those projects. There’s definitely a place for a gifted director/writer in today’s landscape.”
Billow is part of a new talent influx at Hungry Man. Buels himself has been upped to replace Stephen Orent, a founding partner who recently left to form Station, a bicoastal/international production house with a roster that includes some Hungry Man alums. “We’ve hired six brand new directors in the last six months,” noted Buels, citing such talent as Nanette Burstein (who just came aboard), Taika Waititi and Mitch Stratten.
“It’s always been hard to develop new talent but a lot comes down to what the talent can do and the people we’ve brought in all have great film to show,” said Buels. “Thankfully agencies tend to trust our judgment in terms of new directors. But getting the chance is only the first part–the talent has to deliver.”
Waititi has done just that with his first campaign at Hungry Man, a well received package of Pot Noodle spots for Mother, London.
And Stratten reflects both the aforementioned hybrid theme as well as the opportunities afforded by new content forms. “Mitch is a South African director who’s a sculptor, a musician, a skateboarder who’s developed a skatewear brand,” related Buels. “These creative outlets feed back into his film work. And with these different outlets that he’s making a living at, he can take the time to build his directing career the right way.”
One of the first building blocks for Stratten via Hungry Man is a Motorola piece out of London-based digital agency Poke, a sister shop to Mother. Though he wasn’t at liberty to discuss details of the digital project, Buels noted that it represents the kind of new media opportunity “that didn’t exist before for new directors.”
And to have Poke’s creative director and London D&AD president Simon Waterfall seek out Stratten for the project is a coup in and of itself.
Station
The alluded to Orent, managing partner of Station, also has a director in the SHOOT Showcase–Harold Einstein, a former agency creative. Orent hearkens back four years ago when he was at Hungry Man and director Marcos Siega was working on a job for BBDO New York in which the creative directors were Gerry Graf and Einstein (who both later went on to TBWAChiatDay, New York).
“Harold hasn’t changed one iota since then in terms of his enthusiasm for the work,” said Orent. “That and his talent, his attention to detail, his thorough preparation well before the shoot while still leaving opportunity for creativity and spontaneity on the set all went into our decision to commit to him as a director.
Among the work that earned Einstein a Showcase slot was a comedic Avis spot, “Accents,” for McCann Erickson, New York. He has since wrapped a Crest spot for Saatchi, New York, and Sony for 180LA.
“Harold has great relationships in the industry, which have already gone a long way toward building him as a director. Plus he gets on a call and is able to relate to the creatives on the other end,” related Orent, noting that this agency history and understanding are important in a marketplace in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to break in new talent.
“Look at what’s happened over time,” said Orent. “When we started Hungry Man eleven years ago, there were tons of jobs wide open for new talent. But now A-list directors are going after those jobs. There are fewer opportunities. You even have the A-listers courting viral work and other new forms that you think would normally be ripe for new talent.”
HSI Michael McQuhae, executive producer of bicoastal/international HSI Productions, knew exactly what he was getting into when the company decided to sign director Ryan Ebner. McQuhae and HSI had the benefit of having collaborated with the then freelance agency creative turned director on a slew of real people Sears spots for Young & Rubicam, Chicago.
“It was about six to eight months of work and you could see Ryan’s natural talent, his understanding of dialogue, diction and performers,” said McQuhae. “Based on our Sears experience with him, we went after him to be on our roster. A big plus is that he has that fundamental understanding of the agency and client sides–At Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners where he worked for so long, Ryan gained experience pitching on accounts, going after that business and creating great work for clients. I find people coming to him not only as a director but also because they know him as a writer. They trust his creative instincts and like that he can help with writing if necessary. In today’s marketplace, that’s ideal as campaigns call for spots as well as other forms of content that need to be developed.”
Ebner was included in this year’s SHOOT Showcase in part due to his “MaternaCord” spot for Mother, N.Y.
Italian job Showcase director Rich Lee took a more circuitous route to a spot directing career. He got his initial break as an effects artisan doing a pre-visualization for Constantine, the feature directorial debut of music video/commercials director Francis Lawrence.
“Francis was impressed with Rich, thought he had a strong sense of lensing action, of how things cut, of camera moves that helped the pre-vis come to life,” explained executive producer Patricia Judice, who heads the commercials division of Hollywood-based DNA, which is Lawrence’s roost for clips and spots. “At the time Rich was directing a music video for a friend’s band and Francis told him to let him know when the video was done….Francis saw the work and endorsed Rich as a protégé, helping to bring him to DNA.”
But that wasn’t the key to instant success. “Rich marinated on the shelf here for about a year,” said Judice, “but then began to pick up momentum, doing a video that Francis grandfathered for Dashboard Confessional. Rich then did a couple more videos.”
However, this work on the video side didn’t catch Judice’s eye until she was in the DNA lunch room and heard about a shoot Rich was going out on that afternoon. “It was a video for Mumm-Ra, a British band, in which Rich envisioned the band members as sculptures. I fell in love with the video,” said Judice. “I sent it out to our reps to drum up some commercial work. We got a nibble from a West Coast agency but nothing came of it. We kind of flatlined with Rich for a month and then I sent the video to a friend in Europe who loved it.”
That friend was Karim Bartoletti, executive producer of Italian production house Filmmaster, who eventually helped Lee land a commercial for sports newspaper La Gazzetta out of McCann Erickson, Milan.
Next a video that noted DNA clips director Marc Webb and Lee collaborated on for Fergie had a hand in landing Lee another ad job for Italy. The Fergie clip featured a pop-up book element that served as a reference point for an Eni energy commercial in the works at TBWA Milan. Lee got the gig which is his featured spot on the SHOOT Showcase reel.
At press time, Lee was wrapping another Italian assignment, this one for Sony Ericsson for McCann, Milan, and next up is a Hotpoint appliances spot for Leo Burnett, Milan. In between this flurry of Italian fare was a Lee-helmed Disney Hong Kong job out of mcgarrybowen, New York.
“Italy wasn’t part of our master plan for Rich going in,” said Judice. “You send out messages in a bottle and you never know who it applies to or what will come back. You just have to be flexible enough to match the director’s unique talents to the situation and what the agency needs. The key is that Rich always had a voice and in many ways that Mumm-Ra video encapsulated his aesthetic, his voice, for others to see and hear. It’s like the early work of any great director–you see something there that’s worthwhile and that sparks opportunities.”
However, those opportunities, observed Judice, aren’t easy to come by in today’s marketplace which is more competitive than ever. New directors are now competing against established directors and the battle for both traditional commercial work and new forms of client-sponsored content is fierce.
Judice, though, sees an advantage in new content forms for music video directors who comprise much of her commercials roster at DNA. “My music video directors are all used to writing and that’s an edge when it comes to developing and getting the chance to direct longer form content.”
Docu spec Loretta Jeneski, executive producer of bicoastal Nonfiction Unlimited–a production company known for bringing documentary filmmaker talent into the ad arena–goes to the Sundance Film Festival every year to check out not only documentaries but film in general.
Last year there was a documentary, Zoo, that fell off of the proverbial radar due to its subject matter–a horse sex scandal. “People didn’t want anything to do with it but I read a couple of reviews of how visually inventive it was so I checked it out. Seven minutes into the film, I wanted to sign the director,” recalled Jeneski. “Zoo redefined the documentary genre. The film was so cinematic in a way that I hadn’t seen before anywhere, let alone in documentary filmmaking.”
Jeneski approached the director, Rob Devor, about doing commercials. He hadn’t considered it before but was intrigued by the possibility. Jeneski assembled a reel consisting of clips from Zoo as well as two narrative films that Devor directed.
The feedback was favorable with one proviso, said Jeneski. “We consistently heard, ‘the work is great but we can’t bring just this to our client. How will it translate into a :30?'”
So Jeneski decided to go the spec spot route to satisfy agency requests, particularly one from Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York, which had a cinematic documentary spot campaign in the works for Bonefish Grill.
Nonfiction Unlimited financed a three-day shoot for Devor in Seattle, which yielded two pieces that demonstrated Devor’s documentary prowess within the context of the :30 format. One was a profile of a deep sea fisherman for Whole Foods; the other spec was for Coleman in which people use Coleman lanterns to seek out clams who come ashore at night.
This spec fare ultimately helped Devor land the Bonefish Grill campaign which entailed international filming in seaside communities.
“In the past the marketplace was different,” related Jeneski. “We would take documentary filmmakers who were crossing over and find good creative with challenged budgets to give them a chance to prove themselves. But because the market has gotten so competitive with veteran directors looking to scoop up every last morsel that used to be there for new directors, we have to sometime explore other options. This was one of those times [in the case of Devor]. You can still pick up a good initial project for a new director but they aren’t as plentiful or immediate as they used to be. When you have an advertising agency considering you for a campaign as we did with Rob and they’re asking you to show them something now, you need to act and that’s what we did with the spec work.
