Ad agency, production house pros offer advice to new directors, producers
By SHOOT Staff Report
Getting your foot in the door, then opening the door and crossing the threshold are figuratively speaking the first steps to embarking on a career. As for how to best accomplish this–or at least make the process a little easier–for the aspiring producer or director, SHOOT sought advice from professionals on the production house and ad agency sides of the business.
To help those looking to gain a meaningful foothold in the industry–and in the spirit of SHOOT’s 17th New Directors Showcase event held on Thursday evening, May 30, at the DGA Theatre in NYC–we invited a mix of production company founders, partners and producers as well as ad agency EPs to offer counsel regarding the art of gaining an opportunity and making the most of it.
To spark prudent career-building advice, SHOOT posed the following four questions to a cross-section of the industry:
- What advice do you have for new directors?
- What advice can you offer to up-and-coming producers?
- Learning is an ongoing process even for the most seasoned producer. Would you share a recent lesson learned on the job, perhaps related to a project involving new technology (i.e., VR, AR, AI, etc.) or another experience?
- What recent project are you particularly proud of–and why? You can include a direct link to it.
Here’s some of the feedback we received.
CLICK HERE to page through the survey responses, or click on the NAME or HEADSHOT below.
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More