British director Daniel Kleinman doesn’t do spots that run on American television all that often. But when he does, he leaves a definite mark. He currently has two ads in heavy rotation: "Wakeboarding" for Audi, out of Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), London; and "Bridge" for Chrysler, out of FCB Worldwide, Southfield, Mich. And while both spots showcase cars in unlikely situations, they have little else in common.
"Wakeboarding" demonstrates the Audi Quattro’s four-wheel drive capabilities by having it pull a man on wakeboard—sort of a snowboard for water skiing—through shallow beach surf. And "Bridge" touts Chrysler’s handling by running three sporty cars over a Golden Gate Bridge that has been pulled into sweeping S-curves by a fleet of massive tugboats.
But while "Bridge" depends heavily on effects by FrameStore, London, "Wakeboarding" was done in-camera, using careful editing rather than effects to create a near-impossible scenario. "I tend to not like doing special effects for the sake of special effects," says Kleinman, who is repped in the U.S. by Ritts/Hayden, Los Angeles. "My kind of training was through doing music videos in the 1980s. Mostly what I did were things that were based around special effects. Also, coming from an [art and illustration] background meant that I quite liked the idea of collaging different bits of film together in order to create pictures. I enjoy doing [effects] but what I find narratively dull about special effects is that they are so ubiquitous now—they have to be so spectacular to make you sit up and take notice."
When the "Wakeboarding" job came in through Kleinman’s London production company, Spectre, he wanted it to be as real as possible. "The tricky bit was to find somewhere where it was physically possible to do it," he says. "We looked for locations all over the world. It had to be a very flat, shallow beach, so you get a big expanse of water, but also the sand had to be very hard. I wanted it to look cold. It had to be a kind of brutal environment, as opposed to a Caribbean site. The only place I could find was in New Zealand."
The job also demonstrates what Kleinman likes about working with British agencies—namely, that the director is involved from the conception of the spot through to the final editing. "BBH wrote a script that was basically one paragraph," explains Kleinman. "I had to find a way of doing it. I like to be able to develop the idea a bit with the agency, if I can, and have input. It also helps me get a very clear idea of what I’m trying to achieve and what everybody wants. The director kind of sees it through from beginning to end; so it becomes, perhaps, a little bit more of a director’s personal vision. The difference in America is that you are brought in later, and before you do the edit they say, ‘Thank you very much, goodbye.’ "
Got Milk?
Despite the success of "Wakeboarding" and "Bridge," Kleinman considers himself more of a comedy and dialogue director than a car guy. His comedy skills are on display in "Everywhere," a spot in the long-running Got Milk? campaign for the California Milk Fluid Processors,
