Thomas Wolfe famously wrote “You Can’t Go Home Again.” But disproving that adage–now for the second time–is director Samuel Bayer who has returned to HSI, marking his third tour of duty with the production company. Already at HSI, Bayer at press time was about to embark on a spot celebrating Dodge’s 100th anniversary for The Richards Group, Dallas.
Bayer broke into the business with a nearly 10-year stretch at HSI, firmly establishing himself in the music video and commercialmaking disciplines. He departed for RSA, noting that he had a great run there and valued his relationship there with the now late Tony Scott before returning to HSI for a two-year stretch. Next came a brief stint with aWHITELABELproduct before he settled into Serial Pictures, a sister shop to Anonymous Content, for four years.
During his Serial tenure, Bayer directed much lauded fare, most notably Chrysler’s “Born Of Fire” commercial which debuted during the 2011 Super Bowl telecast and later that year went on to win the primetime commercial Emmy Award. Out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., “Born Of Fire” won assorted other honors, including a Cannes Film Craft Gold Lion in the Direction category.
This past November, Bayer won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 21st Camerimage, the international film festival in Poland which celebrates the art of cinematography. Bayer was recognized for his accomplishments in the music video arena; he directed the breakthrough music video for Nirvana’s “Smell Like Teen Spirit” in 1991 (the director’s first clip) and went on to work with such performers as David Bowie, Metallica, the Rolling Stones, Marilyn Manson, Lennie Kravitz, Aerosmith, Green Day and Justin Timberlake. Apart from his directorial endeavors, Bayer has earned widespread recognition for his cinematography, lighting and photographing his own work. Among Bayer’s accolades are MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rock Video of the Year and Best Cinematography for Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and Best Rock Video for Metallica’s Until It Sleeps. His many commercial credits span such brands as Nike (including the acclaimed “If You Let Me Play,” a two-time AICP Show honoree for Direction and Dialogue or Monologue), Mountain Dew, Chrysler, Coke, Pepsi, Nissan and Lexus. He also directed the remake of Nightmare On Elm Street.
Bayer noted that he comes back to HSI with a new sense of purpose, in part sparked by his experience last summer working with Sean Penn and his J/P Haitian Relief Organization. Bayer directed and shot a short film which entailed extensive lensing in a refugee camp that Penn’s group has been running for the past three years, springing forth from the disastrous earthquake which struck Haiti in January 2010, killing 250,000 in a matter of seconds. What started as an emergency relief effort by Penn and his compatriots is now evolving into an organization designed to be self-sustaining and run by Haitians. Bayer’s film played at a charity benefit during the recent Golden Globe Awards festivities. Furthermore, Bayer’s photographs were auctioned off at the event to raise additional funds.
Though the 12-minute short is untitled, Bayer said that the title should be “Redemption” as Haitians are looking to turn the tide and ensure a better future. “Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,” related Bayer. “The life expectancy there for a man is 45 years. Some 300,000 people died in the earthquake in 2010. Much of the country is still living under rubble. It was a profound experience for me–doing something with a charity for charity. It is one of the highlights of my career. The people in Haiti are still hopeful and beautiful.”
As for why he decided to return to HSI, Bayer explained, “It’s both the old and new,” perhaps best embodied in Rebecca Skinner and Michelle Ross who became partners/owners in the company some two and a half years ago (SHOOTonline, 6/3/2011). Skinner and Ross are HSI veterans whom Bayer said he has “always been comfortable with; I enjoyed working with both of them. We go back to working together in the mid-1990s. But it’s not just familiarity with them–it’s what they’re doing now that’s new at the company, bringing a new energy as partners, moving it in new directions and into new forms of content. HSI is a very different place than when I first joined. It’s like a brand new company with old friends.”
