By Robert Goldrich

For some time it’s been clear that Joaquin Baca-Asay had arrived as a director. But putting a punctuation mark on his successful transition from cinematographer to commercial helmer was his first career DGA Award nomination back in January on the strength of four spot entries: CSX’s “Breathe” for Mullen, Winston, N.C.; Volvo’s “Switch” for Arnold Worldwide, Boston; Bank of America’s “Doors” out of BBDO New York; and Lenscrafters’ “See What You Love” via Cutwater, San Francisco.
    In terms of underscoring Baca-Asay’s career progression, it’s the varied nature of those competition entries which in some respects rivals the Directors Guild nomination itself.
    A scant three and a half years ago, Baca-Asay, an accomplished cinematographer, moved to the director’s chair at Park Pictures, which is still his commercialmaking home. His first major directorial gig was the lauded Nike spot “Defy” for Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam, which was largely visually driven as reflected in it being recognized with a 2007 AICP Show honor in the Cinematography category (the spot was also lensed by Baca-Asay). Still, Baca-Asay’s directorial touch was evident as that same year he earned inclusion into Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase. Later came such spots as Net 10’s “Bill,” about a guy who rescues greyhounds, and Nike’s “How I Fight.” Both Baca-Asay-directed pieces are people portraits that reflect far more than just visual acumen.
    Fast forward to this year’s DGA Award nomination and the spots that earned him that honor are still marked by adroit cinematography but are also driven by a humanity that takes different forms. “Breathe” and “See What You Love,” take simple approaches that accentuate the human element. Lenscrafters’ “See What You Love,” for instance,  depicts folks–whose faces are unseen–positioning their hands as if they were eyeglasses or mini-binoculars focusing in on and framing the people and objects of their affection.
    Meanwhile, although B of A’s “Doors” is on a larger scale, the spot doesn’t lose its humanity. “Sometimes you can run into the danger of people becoming props in something carefully designed but as we see different people going through different doors, we still feel them and their warmth,” related Baca-Asay.
    And “Switch” takes on a whimsical storytelling dimension as two women in side-by-side parked Volvos switch identities in a slice of life that takes on the feel of a French farce.

Playing favorites
    Baca-Asay feels deeply honored by the DGA nomination as best commercial director of 2009, not only because of the peer recognition but also for being included in a field of nominees whom he greatly respects. In fact, among his favorite directors are fellow nominees Chris Palmer of Gorgeous and Tom Kuntz of MJZ (who won the DGA Award).
    Baca-Asay’s appreciation of Kuntz is based on first-hand experience in that he served as DP for Kuntz on a number of jobs, including such notable spots as Skittles’ “Trade” and “Leak,” both honorees in the humor category of the 2007 AICP Show, the same competition in which the Baca-Asay-directed “Defy” was honored.
    That symmetry in timing, though, isn’t representative of any grand design or plan. In fact, Baca-Asay hardly fits the profile of a cinematographer who had a long burning aspiration to become a director–quite the contrary. He spent much of his life resisting any move to the director’s chair.
    At NYU, Baca-Asay learned the nuts and bolts of narrative filmmaking. He focused on cinematography. “I worked on everyone’s film and found that a great advantage,” he recalled. “I directed one film which turned out well but I hated the process of directing. I found it stressful while cinematography was a joy. I liked collaborating with a director and trying to bring forth his or her vision.”
    Baca-Asay pursued such collaborations as he sought to make a career of cinematography, moving rather quickly up the industry ladder, as a P.A., grip, gaffer. He gaffed for assorted young DPs, including Lance Acord who later hired him as a camera operator. “I quit gaffing when I was 26 or 27, got a DP agent and then had a two-year freefall with barely any work,” recollected Baca-Asay. “I got a series of small features of a higher budget than what I had been doing on the side while gaffing. And then I met Mike Mills, a very talented commercial director, who gave me a chance. Lance recommended me to Mike.”
    This was the beginning of Baca-Asay becoming a respected spot DP, working regularly with Mills and going on to shoot for such helmers as Mark Romanek, Kuntz and Lisa Rubisch. Over the years, Baca-Asay also made his mark on the long-form front, directing the features Roger Dodger (directed by Dylan Kidd), Super Troopers (directed by Jay Chandrasekhar),  Thumbsucker (helmed by Mills),  We Own The Night and Two Lovers (both directed by James Gray).
    Though regularly fielding queries about directing, Baca-Asay wasn’t tempted. “As a DP I could pick from five jobs but directors were always hustling just to get considered for one. I had people who regularly hired me, and I didn’t have to compete in those cases with anyone else as a DP. I saw how taxing being a director could be. The whole bidding process and the work they had to do weren’t attractive to me. The idea of building a new reel didn’t interest me. I’d occasionally direct a music video for a friend but wouldn’t go further than that.”
    There were opportunities to go much further, at one point for a Coca-Cola assignment via Berlin Cameron. Later the same agency came back with a small spot project for Silk Soy Milk. Baca-Asay relented, calling a producer he holds in high regard, Lalou Dammond, who suggested the job be run through Park Pictures, a company in which Acord is partnered.
    The experience was a positive one and Baca-Asay was later asked if he would like to come aboard the company’s directorial roster, the first project being the high profile “Defy” for Nike, which initially came in for Acord who became unavailable due to his having to prep for cinematography on Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are.  Again, Acord played a supportive role in Baca-Asay’s career, being available for help if needed on the job and providing him what has turned out to be a long-term home at Park Pictures.
    “I found it fun to control the elements [in ‘Defy’], to work with and collaborate with the very best people,” said Baca-Asay. “I was so fortunate to get such a big job out of the gate and I wound up loving directing. To this day, I love bidding on jobs, doing treatments, the agency phone calls, mapping out my vision.”
    After “Defy,” Baca-Asay served as DP on a Kuntz-directed music video, and a few more spots. From then on Baca-Asay’s commercialmaking endeavors have been as a director. And now with the DGA Awards in his rearview mirror, he finds his directorial assignments “continuing to move more and more in the direction of capturing humanity,” building upon the nature of the work which earned him the Guild nomination. “The jobs I’m getting are more narrative-based work and the level of characters I’m able to create has risen. I just wrapped another B of A commercial with little stories that add up to more than the sum of its parts.”
    On the horizon is a UNICEF spot advancing the issue of clean water for Droga5, N.Y. “It’s a social realist piece with vivid characters and details,” related Baca-Asay. “It’s gratifying to get the opportunity to do this kind of work.”

MySHOOT Profiles