Ivan Bird doesnt specialize in working with animals, even though two of the British DPs most recent spots might lead you to believe so. Both spotsaadidas "Horses," directed by Ringan Ledwidge of London-based Harry Nash, out of 180 Amsterdam; and Nikes "Elephant," helmed by Dante Ariola of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films via Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.awere part of high-profile packages for the Summer Olympic Games. Bird, who is a London-based freelance DP, also shot "Boat," the second spot helmed by Ledwidge for adidas out of 180.
The Olympic spots all showcase Birds artistic eye, something the veteran of cinematography (who, by his own estimation, has been a cinematographer for about 10-12 years) no doubt developed way back when he worked as an assistant photographerahe continues to do some still photographyaand a trainee draftsman. Bird later became a camera assistant, working as a "focus-puller" with a company in England called Park Village, where he was often given the opportunity to do pick-up shots and work with new directors. "I graduated from that, really," says Bird.
In "Horses," athletes from various disciplinesaeverything from gymnasts to sprinters to high-jumpers and moreaattempt to put their stamps on equestrian sports, with amusing results. The spot is bright, splashy and high-energy. The point of the ad is that adidas gear was used in 26 out of the 28 sports featured at the Sydney gamesaand that, perhaps one day, the athletic shoe-and-clothing company will be in all of them. "Boat" follows a similar theme, once again sporting a vivid palette and quick, breezy pace.
An entirely different, yet equally striking, look is achieved in "Elephant," which features Dominique Pinon from Caro and Jeunets 1991 cult classic film Delicatessen. The super-saturated, monochromatic look is accompanied by dreamy calliope music. Pinon and other members of a somewhat run-down circus crouch around a sick elephant. "Cant you do something?" someone asks. "Im the human cannonball, not a doctor," replies Pinon. Two-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong happens to ride by the scene. Seeing the troubled pachyderm, Armstrong gets off his bike and gives the animal mouth-to-trunk resuscitation. "Why Sport?" the spot asks. "Healthy Lungs."
"I think Pinon was in mind from the very beginning," Bird says. "I know Dante wanted a very Eastern European-type, beaten-up circus. … Pinon was fantastic. Im a very big fan of his; its so exciting to work with people like that."
As for working with the elephant, Bird admits, "You have to be very patient. Its interesting. The elephant in Dantes commercial is very highly trained, but would still only lie down for a limited amount of time, because apparently if elephants lie down for [too long] they start to really hurt themselves with the weight of their bodies on their organs. So every time, youd have to be so ready. A lot of it had to be hand-held. And she would actually get upathirty seconds [after lying down] because she could sense shed be doing herself internal damage. That was very difficult. And obviously such a large animal is quite intimidating."
Ariolas and Ledwidges approaches to their work are very similar. "Theyre both quite young guys," explains Bird. "I think theyre both very talented and similar in many ways. Theyre both quite visual and very good with people."
And both directors are collaborative in their approach, according to Bird. "I much prefer working that way, rather than turning up and being told what to do," he notes. "When I first started off, you would be told what to do. Its changed so much now, even from when I started."
Much of Birds work tends to be post-intensive, which the DP says calls for great discipline. For instance, "I just did a commercial for a telephone company over here that was very post.
"Basically its a car chase on top of a bar. We used real cars, and that all had to be matted together," he continues. "It was very exciting, but you have to be very disciplined about your camera angles, and when you can, actually physically get down on the models."
One of Birds favorite commercials is "Surfer" for Guinness via Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London. It was helmed by Jonathan Glazer, who is handled in the U.K. by Academy Commercials, London. "Its won many awards in Europe. Its been hailed as the advert of all times," Bird explains. "The Guinness campaign is that good things come to those who wait, as it takes quite a long time to pour a pint of Guinness. The whole campaign is based on things that take a long time. And the spot is these four guys waiting for the ultimate wave. As you can imagine, they wait a long time. It was a fantastic thing to doaa real insight into surfing and surfing culture."
Even though Bird picks a European spot as one of his favorite ads, he doesnt really see a fundamental difference between working on commercials for the European and American markets. "A lot of people might think theres a European film language and an American film language," he explains. "But I dont know that there is. … Its kind of good, or bad. And I think the good ones in America are fantastic the same as the good ones here."
Film work has also been keeping Bird busy of late. He recently finished a 15-minute short film, tentatively titled Still Voices, for director Susie Roberson, which won a UCI award for best British production from the BBC. He also worked on Sexy Beast, a feature film directed by Glazer, for Fox Film 4, which played at the Toronto Film Festival. Bird says that feature film work is "hugely different in terms of commitment. Youre doing it for twelve weeks and youve always got to be one step ahead … [At the same time] its simpler in many ways, because essentially you dont have the control you might have in commercials."
Right now Birds biggest goal, which he says is still in the "dream phase," is to do a period film. But hes not interested in directing. "Ive been asked that question a lot, but I actually quite like what Im doing now. So Id like to do that for a fair while longer and master this. I mean, every day you learn something different, something new."l
