Committee LA–a hybrid production company and a creative special ops collaborative led by directors Frank Samuel, Jeff Reed and EP Lauren Bayer–has added director/cinematographer David Cornell to its team. Cornell has twice been nominated for the DGA Award for Best Commercial of the Year, winning for his body of submitted work in 1989 and earning his second nom for his entries from the year 2000. For each of the past three years, he has moderated the DGA’s Meet the Commercial Nominees panel discussion.
Cornell most recently wrapped a campaign for Royal Bank of Canada through agency The Buntin Group, Nashville, that is currently airing. Prior to Committee LA he was represented via production company GARTNER, Cornell’s current reel includes spots for Lexus, Charles Schwab, McDonald’s, Visa and the aforementioned Royal Bank of Canada. His career body of work includes Olympic and Super Bowl commercials.
“I have known David for many years and have been an admirer of his work for even longer,” Samuel said. “His talent as a storyteller and creative problem-solver, coupled with his deep knowledge of digital filmmaking, makes him a perfect fit for what we’re building with Committee LA.”
What Committee LA is building is an approach to creative content production that emphasizes a strong strategic approach, coupled with top shelf directing and production talent needed to execute those concepts–perhaps best exemplified by the company’s continuing work for website developer Wix.
Working closely with the Wix client, Committee LA continues to oversee the brand’s creative strategy, as well as production of the brand’s ongoing #ItsThatEasy broadcast campaign, featuring Rex Lee from HBO’s “Entourage” as a Hollywood agent guiding his clients to business start-up success. Its first ad–the Super Bowl spot featuring superstar QB Brett Farve–was followed up in May with an ad featuring model Heidi Klum. The latest round in the campaign is currently in production.
Cornell explains, that this fresh take on the traditional agency/production paradigm is what drove him to join Committee LA and Samuel, with whom he first worked with at Headquarters, the former production company Cornell co-founded in the early 1990s
“Committee LA offers a versatile and proactive approach to creative development and production that has allowed them to build a strong client base very quickly,” Cornell said. “It’s a good fit for me and I see it blossoming.”
