Bicoastal Big Block has added director Richard Farmer to its roster. Among his spotmaking credits are Free Credit Score with a magically appearing Fancy Bear, and LG V20 phones which entailed creating 1990s’ R&B songs about iconic memes.
The recent LG commercials reflect Farmer’s innovative style and singular perspective. Shot exclusively on the LG V20 phone, Farmer took well-known memes, from “Double Rainbow” to “Damn Daniel,” and “remastered” them in high quality, showcasing a mash-up of his skills across the realms of narrative, music and VFX. It’s this adaptive talent that has garnered his work recognition at Cannes, The London Film Festival, the Malibu International Film Festival and the MTV Video Music Awards. At press time, Farmer has already hit the ground running at Big Block, having just booked a job for Simon Malls.
An Oklahoma native, Farmer spent time post-college living in London, Seattle and Prague, working on indie films and videos. He then began his ad career on the agency side, producing at Ground Zero in Los Angeles. After a few years, he went on to produce for Mindfield, a production, editorial, and animation company for commercial television and music videos.
Farmer made his first directorial mark as part of the Happy duo (with Guy Shelmerdine), working in commercials (including Wendy’s featuring carnivorous bunnies), music videos and short film fare. Farmer then broke out on his own as a solo director, settling in at Green Dot Films for six-plus years and later moving on to a two-year tenure at Humble, his most recent roost prior to joining Big Block.
Geno Imbriale, executive producer at Big Block, said of Farmer, “You can see his strength and passion for off-the-wall comedy in every spot he directs. His photography and music background–shooting bands and lifestyle—has only amplified his perfectly spot-on comedic timing. And because of his experience as a producer, Richard can talk the talk and interface seamlessly with clients to create the best possible vision.”
