What many who knew him will most remember about the late Paul Giraud is his dedication to, and passion for, the art of filmmaking.
Giraud, 47, died in a helicopter crash in June while shooting a Nissan spot, out of TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles. Also killed in the crash were first assistant cameraman Mikael Glattes, 37; grip Ivan Weber, 28; and Yukon, Alaska-based helicopter pilot Christopher Guichon, 42.
Director/cameraman Giraud, who had been repped by bicoastal HSI Productions for the past 12 years, had traveled to remote locations all over the world in the course of his career, building a reputation as a world-class commercial director.
Upon his death, Giraud left behind his wife, Valerie, and daughter, Adele, who reside in Malibu, Calif. Other survivors include family in his native South Africa: twin brother Pierre, brothers Marc and Jean-Phillipe, and parents Guy and Muriel. He is commemorated with a memorial stone in the Garden of Remembrance at the Johannesburg Catholic Church where his parents are parishioners.
In talking to Giraud’s friends, colleagues and family, what emerges is the picture of an intense man who was a perfectionist, compelled to find and film captivating images. His dedication extended to the post process: He never made a transfer off negative as is typically done, but rather made a print and transferred footage from it. This technique lent a more textured and detailed look to his film, as well as greater contrast between light and dark, and more vivid colors.
"He was fearless," says freelance producer and longtime friend Mark Jaffee. "He was never out to please anybody. He was out to do the best job. He wasn’t Mr. Collaboration, but people wanted the look of his film. He knew what it took and he would go through hell to get there, and bring everybody with him."
Perfection
Giraud was "certainly not the funniest guy I’ve met in my life, but he was the hardest-working director I’ve ever worked with," remembers Bill Sandwick, executive producer at HSI. "You had to respect him; he was a real man’s man. I earned his respect at about eleven and a half years. We had some titanic fights, and a lot of success."
Sandwick and HSI president Stavros Merjos essentially learned the hard realities of production from Giraud. In what proved to be a trial by fire, either Sandwick or Merjos was present at every one of the director’s shoots during his first few years at HSI. Merjos credits Giraud—by virtue of his exacting demands—with raising the bar of production at the firm.
"He was a tough guy, on agencies and on us," says Merjos. "But what’s great is that after working with him for years, I can work with anybody. We’d never worked with an A-level director on a steady basis before. He taught us their needs and how demanding they can be—and he was a tough one at that."
"After that, we were prepared," notes Merjos. "It also built our reputation that we can work with these guys who are difficult. At first, that’s how we built our company: We took the guys that other companies had a hard time with. By basing our work ethic on [Giraud’s] demands, when we worked with a really good guy, that director would be blown away because we’d be so good. Paul really taught me to be the best I can be, and did the same for Billy."
mentor
In the process of working with Giraud, Sandwick adds, he got to see the world. "Paul would never go to shoot at the same location twice. He’d always look for a place that had never been shot before," says Sandwick, who notes that it was with Giraud that he first traveled to Paris and Italy. "They were always incredibly beautiful places. Of course, you’d have to get up at 3:30 a.m. and wouldn’t get back to your hotel until midnight."
Long hours were par for the course with Giraud, says Jim Bouvet, head of production at the Santa Monica-based production office of Traktor, the directing collective that is represented for commercials by bicoastal/international Partizan. Bouvet worked regularly with Giraud for six years, first as a production coordinator and then as a freelance producer. "For PAs, there was probably not a harder director to work with," Bouvet recalls. "You had to be up at 3:30; sleep was a real privilege. But I think Paul inspired a lot of people by pushing them hard and expecting so much. Oftentimes, people were surprised at how much they were capable of doing. A lot of people who have learned under him have gone on to do great things."
