scrutiny of repeated viewing. That’s what good work is—work that appears simple, but actually has some layers of complexity underneath." Achieving that sort of simple complexity is what Logevall strives for. "I guess I want to grow," he says. "It’s interesting to think, ‘What haven’t I done?’ "
Logevall may wonder where his own creative evolution will take him, but he’s already come pretty far. While always interested in interior and product design, he studied economics in Vancouver, B.C. "That was uninteresting," he deadpans.
Instead of taking the usual route, recalls Logevall, he fell into film directing through the "art department side of it," as a production designer. After art-directing for awhile, Logevall got the chance to shoot some low-budget music videos and spec commercials, after which, he says, "I was off and running," shooting his first spot, for Footlocker, in 1993. He credits director Bruce Dowad, for whom he was a production designer, with really getting him started. "We’re very different in style and personality, but Bruce Dowad was the one," explains Logevall. "I was art-directing for him for many years. He was very loyal and took me around the world and got me interested in and comfortable around the camera. I think he was the one who sparked [my interest in directing]."
The Swedish-born Logevall, who cites European directing legends Fellini, Fassbinder and Rossellini as influences, sees feature film potential on his horizon. But he emphasizes that he will proceed with caution: "I like what I’m doing so much, and it’s been such a great year, that I wouldn’t want to do a film just to do it. I just want to make sure it’s the right thing."
When asked which spot he feels best captures his style, Logevall is unsure. "I don’t know if I’m so good at critiquing my own work," he explains. But he does add that perhaps Comdisco’s "Boy," a black-and-white spot via The Richards Group, Dallas, is one that does the job. The ad is about business technology, and focuses on a young child who says in voiceover, "I am me, and I am much, much more than just a handful. … I am technology."
Logevall likes the way the child became a "little metaphor." The spot, believes the director, "put a human face on something that could have been cold."
The bottom line in his work, according to Logevall, is that "We’re not here for a long time. Hopefully you can have fun."µ
