By Christine Champagne

Football figures into some of Peter Berg’s best work these days, including the critically acclaimed series Friday Night Lights, which he brought to television after directing the film of the same name–both projects were based on H.G. Bissinger’s book about a Texas town obsessed with high school football.
    Then there is that irreverent Hulu spot starring 30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin. Okay, it isn’t football-themed, but the Berg-directed “Alec In Huluwood” did debut during Super Bowl XLIII, and it was one of the few standout spots we saw during the Big Game this year.
    Lauded by advertising critics and the public, the :60 has Baldwin taking and running with the notion that watching too much television will rot our brains.  He notes that Hulu beams TV shows to your computer anytime, anywhere for free and “there’s nothing you can do to stop it. I mean what are you going to do? Turn off your TV and computer?
    “Once your brain is reduced to a cottage cheese-like mush,” continues Baldwin, “we’ll scoop them up with a melon baller and gobble them right on up.”
    An animated tentacle then emerges from under Baldwin’s suit coat, confirming that he is an intergalactic alien creature and that Hulu is indeed this other world’s weapon of choice for conquering human civilization.
    A parting voiceover relates, “Hulu, an evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy.”
    Berg couldn’t say no to the Hulu campaign–he also directed a spot featuring Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku titled “Eliza Fondue” and a :30 spot with Baldwin that hadn’t broken as of press time–when Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B) presented the idea (a joint effort between the agency’s Boulder and Miami shops) to him.
    For starters, Berg is a big fan of the web video service, and when it comes to selecting spot jobs the director, who signed with bicoastal Pony Show Entertainment just over a year ago after previous stints with New York’s The Shooting Gallery and bicoastal Tool of North America, said his choices rely “first and foremost on the product.”
    While Berg has to be truly invested in what he is selling, he also has to be sold on a concept, of course, and he said CP+B came to him with well thought-out ideas for the Hulu spots. So the biggest challenge for Berg in shooting “Alec In Huluwood” in particular was ensuring that the visual effects were the best they could be.
    “I knew that the quality of Alec Baldwin’s performance would be strong,” Berg related, “and, frankly, I wanted to make sure that we didn’t have cheap, bogus-looking effects that would detract from that.”
    As you’ll recall, there are various effects in the spot (actually, more than you’d realize, Berg said, noting there are set extensions), including an animated brain and animated tentacles that suddenly emerge from under Baldwin’s jacket.
    “The CG component is always challenging in any spot because you’re dealing with limited resources, and because this was a Super Bowl spot, we were dealing with limited time,” Berg said.
    “We had to work quickly with the folks at Method [the Santa Monica, Calif.-based visual effects shop] to get it right, and you never quite know until the last second whether it’s going to work.”
    The visual effects may have been a concern but working with the talent in the Hulu spots wasn’t given that Baldwin and Dushku are experienced actors as is Berg, who is perhaps best known for his television series work as Chicago Hope’s Dr. Billy Kronk as well as roles in films such as The Last Seduction. “Dealing with actors can be a confusing and sometimes intimidating experience for directors or ad agency folks or clients who don’t have a lot of experience with the language of an actor. They can be intimidated on how to approach actors and are often at a loss as to how to communicate with actors. I think having spent as much time as I have acting kind of has given me a good shorthand for figuring out what it is a specific actor needs to not only make them feel comfortable but help them understand what it is that people want from them,” Berg observed, adding, “Actors generally want to please, but they’re just oftentimes nervous, insecure and unsure of how to do that.”
    Asked if he has ever appeared in a commercial as an actor, Berg has to pause to think back on his career. “No, I don’t think I ever have,” he mused.
    That said, Berg is open to appearing in a spot and would happily step in front of the camera for Hulu if the opportunity presented itself. After all, as the producer of Friday Night Lights, a show which many fans watch on Hulu, Berg would be the perfect spokesman.
    While Berg’s Hulu work has gotten him notice in as of late, he also recently got a chance to direct his first music video. The client: was none other than singer Christina Aguilera. “I’m a huge fan of hers,” Berg shared, “and I guess she had heard that I was a big fan and asked me if I wanted to do something with her, and I said yes sight unseen.”
    The clip, “Keeps Gettin’ Better,” finds Aguilera sitting at a console, reviewing imagery in which she appears as characters ranging from a retro hippie chick to a modern biker chick. Directing the Aguilera video, which takes viewers on a digital trip through time, truly tested and ultimately improved his effects capabilities, said Berg, whose first serious immersion in effects came when he directed the Will Smith film Hancock about a hard-living superhero who falls out of favor with the masses.
    “I like the idea of testing myself and trying lots of different things,” Berg said, “and for the last year and a half or so, I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can about the world of visual effects because there is so much innovative work you can do now with it.”
    Berg is happy with how the Aguilera video turned out, although he says he would have loved to have more time to work on it.
    “I’ve never done anything as quickly as I did the Aguilera video. That was really fast, particularly in postproduction. I think the challenge for us there was it was such a post-heavy video, and our post schedule was really short,” Berg said. “If we had had another week or so to play around in post, it would have been really helpful.”
    The director would love to do another video, by the way. “I’m a huge White Stripes fan,” he enthused. “If the White Stripes call, I’d do a video for them in a second.”
    For now, though, Berg is busy trying to make sure that NBC picks up Friday Night Lights–which, incidentally, is an advertiser-friendly show that has skillfully incorporated sponsors such as T.G.I. Friday’s (one of the characters worked at the restaurant), Toyota (another character sold the company’s cars) and Under Armour (the football players wear the sports apparel) without turning off the audience–for another season.
    Additionally, at press time, Berg, who has directed films including the aforementioned Hancock and the Jamie Foxx/Jennifer Garner action thriller The Kingdom, was about to make a decision on his next feature project, revealing that he was considering a remake of Dune as well as a couple of other projects.
    And, of course, Berg will gladly take on select spot assignments that appeal to his product as well as creative sensibilities.
    “I don’t often have the time to do commercials,” Berg said, “but I really love doing them when I’m available.”

MySHOOT Profiles