Spring is a magical season, a time for renewal and a fresh start. And we’re definitely getting fresh in this spring edition of SHOOT’s Directors Series. Even in our individual profiles of accomplished directors who are helping to shape advertising in traditional and new forms, there’s a sense of newness, perhaps best underscored by Peter Thwaites, this year’s DGA Award winner as best commercial director of 2008. While hardly a newcomer, he is a fresh new face that’s been thrust into prominence, beating out a field of more established directorial nominees and making a name for himself beyond the U.K. where he continues to be handled by Gorgeous Enterprises, with stateside representation via Anonymous Content.
Other fresh choices come from the agency side. There’s Kim Gehrig, a former creative at Mother, London, who has made her mark directorially at Academy Films, London, most notably with Amnesty International’s You Are Powerful. And then there’s Jason Zada, a co-founder and the former executive creative director of interactive agency EVB, who is now focused fully on directing at Tool of North America.
In terms of feature talent now bringing a freshness to the advertising scene, consider Ross Katz and Ondi Timoner. The former just signed with TWC for spot representation, fresh off his critically acclaimed HBO film Taking Chance. And Timoner is a lauded documentary filmmaker whose We Live in Public just won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary Film at the Sundance Film Festival. Timoner has already begun to establish herself in spots and is handled by Nonfiction Unlimited.
This is just a smattering of the talent that’s showcased in this special edition. Our lineup of up-and-coming directors is quite diverse and includes a couple of brothers who opened some major doors on a shoestring budget, a “time sculptor,” an agency creative who’s type O Positive, a music video helmer who has diversified into spots, and a European who moved to Brooklyn and is now directing through a Chicago shop which represents a unique production business model.
And then in our Cinematographers Series, we look at several notable DPs who have settled nicely into the commercial director’s chair.
So read about our spring crop of Magic Makers and enjoy. As always, we very much welcome your feedback.
Click on Director’s name for feature: Jason Zada, Kim Gehrig, Ondi Timoner, Peter Berg, Peter Thwaites, Ross Katz, Rupert Sanders, Simon McQuoid, and Smith & Foulkes.
