I recently entertained 26 five-year-olds at my sons “drop off” birthday party. This is when the guests’ parents slow their cars down outside your house and eject their offspring onto your lawn, returning hours later with wine stained teeth and leaves in their hair.
Of course, we launched the festivities with a Star Wars-inspired “Jedi Obstacle Course”–complete with a “Death Star Tunnel Crawl”; a “Tire Mace (maze)” (affectionately named after Mace Windu); and a “Whack the Empty Water Cooler Jugs With a Light Saber” game. Winners were awarded plastic Gold Medallions, which they proudly wore for the remainder of the party.
Remarkably, these 33-cent awards created a dynamic change in the behavior of the once-innocent party-goers, reminding me that from a very early age, we are defined by our awards. They shape who we are, how we are perceived, and ultimately position us in the food chain.
I have been directing [what I would like to think of as] pretty sweet regional work for years–adding to the concepts (or taking away when appropriate), keeping things subtle, employing a keen eye for art direction–and maintaining a pretty solid style and voice. More than a handful of times, my name graced the pages of this very publication next to respected directors Baker Smith, Noam Murrro, Jim Jenkins, David Kellogg and the like.
But it wasn’t until last year, when a campaign I directed was honored at Cannes, that I got a taste of what awards can do. I will always continue to grow and evolve as a director, but without really changing the way I approached my job I found myself starting to get boards from formidable ad agencies for national brands. Did I have a sudden burst of talent? Perhaps qualified participants in the obstacle course are just bound to get a medal at some point.
Awards create a buzz, building recognition, followed by an increase in quality boards, resulting in a higher caliber of work, which ultimately results in more awards–repeat cycle as long as you can. This metamorphosis takes the same director, with the same sensibility, to an entirely different level.
Theoretically, directors with skill and talent can be recognized and hired regardless of the creative they’ve worked on or clients they have worked for. But even with good regional work, it seems difficult to suggest a lesser-known director these days. In these times of “Preferred Director Lists,” stiff competition, changing media landscape, and agencies staying lean, it’s harder to stick your neck out and discover new talent.
There are jobs that are appropriate for new talent, and I hope undiscovered directors–myself included–continue to create a presence by finding great creative opportunities and racking up some award credit. Inversely, I implore creative buyers to keep a keen eye out for these emerging Jedi’s, after all there is a reason one kid kicks another kid’s ass in the obstacle course. I’ll be mindful not to treat awards lightly. Maybe I’ll even get a little shelf.
I am very lucky to direct little stories, meet like-minded and incredibly interesting people, and work on projects that hit the “Trifecta” (happy client, agency and director). The greatest award is the reward of the job.
[Matt Pittroff is a director with Twist, New York and Minneapolis.]
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More