The name Chris Woods has generally been cited in tandem with that of Jeff Low as they’ve made their mark the past two-and-a-half years as the directing duo of Woods+Low which, via Toronto production house OPC, scored two Gold Lions last month at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
However, both Woods and Low are now focused on solo directing careers in the U.S. while continuing to be available as a collective–under the Detroit moniker–for select Canadian market projects through OPC.
Individually Low directs stateside and in Europe via Biscuit Filmworks which he joined earlier this year (SHOOTonline, 4/28). And Woods signed with the recently launched Alive & Well which handles him throughout the U.S.
Woods is no stranger to directing individually. Prior to Woods+Low, he helmed assorted commercials, including one for Ornge emergency medical rescue helicopters out of Taxi, Toronto, which won a Cannes Bronze Lion several years ago. His directorial debut, Bell Canada’s “Anthem” for Toronto agency Grip Limited, was honored with a Gold Bessie Award recognizing excellence in Canadian advertising.
Woods explained that he felt the time was right for him to once again go solo. “It’s a natural progression for Jeff and me, for each of us to pursue our own vision. That often evolves when a team reaches a certain point. I love working with Jeff as he did with me but we both wanted to branch out and grow.”
For his “growth” opportunity, Woods first gravitated to The Sweet Shop as his roost in the American ad market and internationally largely because of the rapport he built with–and the track records of–Stephen Dickstein, who at the time was that company’s global president/managing partner, and Phillip Detchmendy who served as managing director/exec producer for its U.S. operation.
But when Dickstein and Detchmendy exited to form Alive & Well, Woods decided to join them. “I got to know both of them personally and professionally,” related Woods, noting that while joining any startup requires a bit of a leap of faith, he feels confident about his decision given how Dickstein and Detchmendy have helped to shape and advance the careers of assorted notable directors over the years dating back to Dickstein’s days at Propaganda Films and Detchmendy’s at Satellite.
However while Propaganda and Satellite were affiliated companies, Dickstein and Detchmendy worked there at separate times. Their paths hadn’t crossed at the same company until Detchmendy joined The Sweet Shop last year (SHOOTonline, 10/7/10) for a six-month stretch. And the bond between Dickstein and Detchmendy strengthened with them now partnering in Alive & Well.
Already Woods has gotten into the American ad flow via Alive & Well, having wrapped a five-day shoot in South Africa for a General Mills lifestyle/humor job via Saatchi & Saatchi New York. And at press time, Woods was slated to embark on a comedy piece promoting Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants out of BBDO San Francisco.
Dickstein said he was drawn to Woods’ talent and experience. “Canada’s been a really good spawning ground for talent for many years,” observed Dickstein, citing a duo he helped secure back in the day at Propaganda, Kuntz & Maguire who directed much of their early breakthrough work for Canadian agencies. (The team had a successful run for some time, with Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, both former agency creatives, going onto solo directorial careers of note.) “I’ve always kept an eye on talent in Canada and Woods+Low jumped out at me. Both Jeff and Chris are super talented and have great futures.”
Dickstein said he and Detchmendy enjoy a comfort level with Woods in that he’s directed solo before and has executional chops as a cinematographer and still photographer. “Chris has the full conceptual and executional package which is such an advantage in this competitive landscape,” assessed Dickstein. “He can make beautiful images, he can capture beautiful images that do full justice to a concept. He can handle storytelling, comedy, dialogue. His transition to directing on his own has been quite natural–it’s something he’s done in the past and is comfortable with.
Woods in on an Alive & Well directorial roster that includes Eric Hellenbrand, Phil Abraham, Henry Hobson, Aaron Salgado, Alex Feil, Robin Hays, and Andreas Roth whose student commercial for Dirt Devil titled “The Exorcist” earned him inclusion in this year’s Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase unveiled at Cannes. Roth was a student at Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany and gravitated to Alive & Well as his first career production house roost. During the recently concluded Cannes ad festival, he also garnered a joint first prize in the European film school category of the Young Director Awards competition.
Opportune moment
Woods reasoned that this is an opportune time to make a stateside splash in that his work in Canada has been so diverse, helping him develop a wide-ranging reel. “Canada is such a great breeding ground, one where there isn’t as much pigeonholing. I’ve been able to take on visually driven stuff while getting more into dialogue and comedy. It all comes down for me to not a particular kind of job but rather getting good creative from U.S. agencies. I don’t care what the nature of the job is as long as the creative is worthwhile.”
Indeed Woods has garnered his share of creatively worthwhile Canadian assignments, including the alluded to Cannes Gold Lion-winning work that he and Low teamed up on for Skittles out of BBDO Toronto. Woods+Low directed the offbeat Skittles spots “Cage Cop,” “Hitchhiker” and “Cat” which last month collectively as a campaign earned a Cannes Film Gold Lion. “Cat” additionally garnered a Cannes Cyber Gold Lion for Viral Video. The Skittles fare encourages viewers to give their computer screen the finger, behavior which isn’t as ornery or ill mannered as it sounds. Instead the simple placement of a finger on a strategically positioned dot enables a person to play a participatory role in a Skittles story as it unfolds on the Internet. In “Cat,” a feline licks your finger, succeeded by an offbeat guy in a cat costume who does the same. The viral opens with an invitation to “Touch The Rainbow” and ends with a declaration that we have just licked the rainbow. Meanwhile, in “Cage Cop,” a well-placed finger on the computer screen stops an oncoming getaway car, allowing a winged cop to cage a would-be Skittles bandit. Turns out the cop–who’s little more than a head with wings attached, as well as a police cap–knew the culprit years ago when they were fellow summer campers. The video’s parting slogan is an earnest “Reunite The Rainbow.”
“The attention the Skittle campaign has received has been amazing,” said Woods. “It generated over two million hits in the first month and a half. The creatives, the writer and art director on the job, deserve the credit. The idea was so strong that it kind of made our job fairly easy.”
The BBDO Toronto creative ensemble on the Skittles campaign included creative directors Carlos Moreno and Peter Ignazi, writer Chris Joakim, art director Mike Donaghey and producer Ann Caverly.
Digital plans
Alive & Well also has plans for a digital division, Kicking & Screaming, which will tap into the production company’s core roster. For example, noted Dickstein, Woods’ Gold Lion-winning work in the Cannes Film and Cyber competitions underscores his crossover versatility, making him an ideal talent for the web and alternative media content that Kicking & Screaming will create and produce.
Furthermore, Kicking & Screaming is looking to secure its own coterie of talent spanning creative technologists, digital artists and live-action webisodic directors. Dickstein said more details and signings for the digital division will be finalized in the coming weeks.
