For the first time in the 20-year history of the Directors Guild of America’s (DGA) best commercial director of the year award, the DGA credited the first and second assistant directors who worked on the spots that made up the entry cards for this year’s nominated directors, including winner Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international hungry man. The gesture evidences a growing respect for the creative accomplishments of the spot community.
Some feel the accolades are long overdue; the DGA has been honoring feature film ADs for decades. In any case, according to DGA special assignments executive Jon Larson, the response has been positive. Asked what the policy shift reflects, Larson says, "The DGA commercial award nominee has always been the director. That continues to be so. However, we do recognize the importance of the work of the AD. They are the backbone of the director’s team, and as such, their contribution to a successful spot is significant."
With that in mind, SHOOT spoke with the ADs recognized for their recent work on the DGA nominated spots to find out who they are, what they contributed to the projects, and what it was like working alongside some of the year’s top directors—Buckley; Leslie Dektor of Dektor Film, Hollywood, Rocky Morton from Los Angeles-based Morton Jankel Zander; Dewey Nicks of bicoastal Epoch Films; and Joe Public (a.k.a. Adam Cameron and Simon Cole) of bicoastal Headquarters. Welcome to the ADs’ POV.
BRY’S GUYS
"He’s like the Pied Piper," says Kevin Byrne of Buckley. "He makes you want to do a good job."
It’s a directing style that seems to be working. Byrne, along with Bruce Pratt, Cole Campbell and Pierre Cailliarec, provided AD and production support on Buckley’s four DGA-winning spots. Byrne produced and first ADed Monster. com’s "When I Grow Up" via Mullen, Wenham, Mass., and also produced OnHealth.com’s "Friends" for TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco. First and second AD on "Friends" were Pratt and Campbell, respectively. The pair also first and seconded E*Trade’s "TriMount Studios" via Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), San Francisco. Cailliarec first ADed E*Trade’s "Broker."
A 15-year veteran of the spot business, Byrne has been freelancing for the past three years. He works regularly out of hungry man, producing more often than he ADs for directors such as Buckley, Hank Perlman, David Shane and John O’Hagan. As a producer, Byrne regularly relies on Cailliarec and Pratt as first ADs.
Having worked with Buckley on a dozen assignments, Byrne described Monster.com as a "whirlwind job" that involved 60 kids in three cities in six days. Partly for that reason, the DGA recognition was welcomed. "I think it’s great," Byrne says. "I’m very hands-on with everything—preparation, talent and scheduling. It’s not often that ADs get recognized, but they are a large part of the process."
Particularly with a director such as Buckley. For one thing, Cailliarec explains, the director "reacts quickly to any situation on set. Be it physical comedy or a line [of dialogue], if it’s not working, he’ll fix it right away. It’s a real instinct with him." Therefore, Buckley’s support staff must be able to roll with the punches.
Likewise, Pratt recalls that the primary challenge of "Friends" was that they only had three hours to shoot the spot. "It’s amazing how it came out," Pratt says. Campbell points to the fact that there’s a two-minute cut of "TriMount Studios" floating around as evidence of how much footage they captured. "It was an ADing feat," Campbell says of the one-day shoot, which involved pyrotechnics, dozens of extras and Anna Nicole Smith.
For Cailliarec, Pratt and Campbell, the winning spots represent their first collaborations with Buckley, but not their last. After E*Trade, Cailliarec ADed six more campaigns for the director, though he continued to team with other helmers such as Nicks and Morton (Cailliarec ADed some of Nicks’ DGA nominated work). Pratt and Campbell, who have been working together for five years, have teamed up on several jobs with Buckley. The pair also frequently works with director Stan Schofield of Schofield Films, New York.
Byrne has also worked with Schofield, which brought Byrne, Pratt and Campbell together. "This business is very incestuous," Pratt says. "It’s a small group, so if you get along with someone, you want to hold on to them."
The dynamics of the relationships will most likely grow and prosper in the future. Cailliarec, who has been a first AD for 10 years, has aspirations to direct "down the road." And Byrne, while uncertain about making that leap, doesn’t rule it out. Pratt, who has done some second-unit ADing and production management on features, is content working as an AD on spots. "I like the sprint versus the marathon that a feature is," he says. Meanwhile Campbell says, "I follow Bruce eagerly." But Campbell will likely advance to first AD in the near future. "My goal in life is to be a first AD, and at thirty-one I’m almost there."
NICKS’ PICKS
Cailliarec also first ADed Ameritrade’s "Let’s Light this Candle" and "I Just Want to Be Held," which were created by OgilvyOne, New York, and directed by Nicks. Second AD was Alan Berger, with whom Cailliarec has worked steadily for four years. (Berger could not be reached for comment.)
According to Cailliarec, the challenge of the Ameritrade work, which was lensed in upstate New York, was "trying to shoot in the rain off a camera [rig on a] car, in a small town that really didn’t want us there."
The first AD acknowledges that his working relationships with directors vary, as do the directors themselves. For instance, while Buckley’s background is in writing, Cailliarec says, Nicks’ history is still photography, so he approaches assignments from "a strong visual and conceptual standpoint."
The remainder of Nicks’ DGA-nominated work consists of Union Bay’s "Rocket Man" for Toth Design & Advertising, New York and Concord, Mass., and Ameritrade’s "Square Dance." Alan Breton was first AD on both ads, while Julian Metter served as second AD. Both Breton and Metter enjoy the atmosphere on Nicks’ set. "When I started in the business, it was fun and I was seduced," says Breton. "Then I went through a period in the New York low-budget world, where it wasn’t as much fun. Now it’s fun again."
Breton has been an AD for a decade, and has worked with Nicks on a regular basis for the past year. He’s also teamed up with Epoch’s Adam Bernstein. Breton’s background is in television, where he ADed sketch comedy shows such as FOX’s MAD TV and NBC’s Saturday Night Live, as well as several award shows. He plans to continue on the AD track for the foreseeable future, and says his role on set is to "provide structure to the insanity."
Metter has made a career change. After seven years of PAing and second ADing, Metter joined theRomp. com, an entertainment Web site geared towards men which launched this month. In his current post, Metter will direct and produce original animation and live action shorts. For the past year, he’s been freelancing for the site. While he admits to some misgivings about starting over, Metter says, "at the same time, it’s what I wanted to do when I got into this business: produce and direct."
ROCKY’S IV
Metter isn’t the only AD who has made the transition to directing. Shortly after first ADing Lexus’ "Fly" for Morton and Team One Advertising, El Segundo, Calif., David Jellison signed with bicoastal Tool of North America. Jellison’s second AD on "Fly" was Kevin Brady, who is now working as a first AD for Jellison and other Tool directors such as Erich Joiner and Scott Burns.
It was Jellison’s spec ad that convinced Joiner and Burns of his potential. "It’s a hard transition," admits Jellison. "It’s hard to convince people that you are creative. They’re like, ‘You’re the guy who used to say lunch is ready.’"
Brady is enjoying his promotion. He started in the business as a kid, appearing in cereal and toy commercials. After college he found work as a runner in television, but was eventually lured back to spots. His relationship with Jellison resulted from a "fluke." Jellison needed a second AD for a one-day shoot and called Brady out of the blue; the pair has been working together for the past four years. "A lot of times you work with people whose outlook is different," says Brady. "With Dave, it was a mesh. He is very professional, but at the same time he understands that we’re making commercials and you can laugh and enjoy what you’re doing."
The remainder of Morton’s DGA-nominated work consists of "Promo" for The Minus Man via Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York, and Homestead Guest Village Studio’s "Comb" and "Stick" for just partners, Richmond, Va. Mike Samson was first AD, and Marc Garland was second. (Samson, who is currently first AD on NBC’s Third Watch, was unavailable for comment.)
Garland got his start in the entertainment business as director of covert operations for Penn & Teller, which means that he set up magic tricks. But, Garland says, "After thirteen years, they were doing more complicated things—running over each other with tractor trailers, which I felt was beyond my expertise." On the set of the duo’s feature film, Penn & Teller Get Killed, Garland met Samson, who was a DGA trainee. The two developed a rapport, and Garland entered the DGA program shortly thereafter.
Since that time, Garland has worked mostly in television (New York Undercover) and features (John Duigan’s Lawn Dogs). Morton is the only spot director Garland has worked with recently, but the second AD knows a unique talent when he sees one. Morton, he says, "has a custom-built skateboard that he uses like a camera dolly. It’s a beautiful, fast apparatus. He also insists that actors not wash their hair the night before the shoot. He wants them to have dirty hair and minimal makeup, because he says that’s the way people look in real life."
Talent generally falls under the second AD’s domain, so after working with Morton on the Homestead campaign, Garland knew what was expected for "Promo." "As soon as Mike said we’d be doing it with Rocky, I immediately thought, ‘I’ve gotta tell the actors not to wear makeup.’ It’s knowing those things—the director’s preferences—so that he doesn’t have to think about it anymore. That’s my contribution, I hope."
PUBLIC POSSE
Joe Public relied on three first and five second ADs for their six DGA-nominated spots. Scott Javine first ADed Snapple’s "Sponsor" via Deutsch, New York, as well as Cracker Jack’s "Sizes" and Dreyer’s "Truck Driver," both for GS&P. Javine’s second ADs were Brian Bettwy for Dreyer’s and David Goldstein for Snapple.
Howell Caldwell first ADed and Randol Perelman-Taylor seconded Churchs Chicken’s "Fire 2" for Cliff Freeman and Partners. On Amazon. com’s "Two Minutes" via FCB, San Francisco, Caldwell teamed up with second AD Thorny Harper.
Peter Jackson first ADed and John Mattern seconded adidas’ "El Duque Dance" out of Leagas Delaney, San Francisco. (Jackson, Goldstein and Bettwy could not be reached for comment.)
Javine has a background in features, but is currently more active ADing spots for directors such as David Wagreich of bicoastal/international @radical.media, Gore Verbinski of bicoastal/international Propaganda (who recently shifted over to bicoastal Anonymous); and Erick Ifergan of Serial Dreamer, West Hollywood. From the start—when he was a PA on the set of Robert Vincent O’Neill’s Angel—Javine knew he wanted to be an AD. "I love it," he says. "There’s a triad on set that exists between the director, DP and AD. It’s an on-set decision-making factory. There’s a thousand other things, but flexibility is my main concern. And I try not to take myself too seriously. I want to keep it light. I don’t want to come home and kick the dog."
Jackson and Mattern have been working together primarily in commercials for the past several years. "It just clicked," says the second AD. "We have a great relationship that goes beyond work. It makes for a good time."
"El Duque Dance" was shot at a Manhattan nightclub, which didn’t clear out until four in the morning. Says Mattern, "we came in at six. It still had that grunge to it." But the main challenge of the adidas campaign, which featured various New York Yankees, was that they didn’t know until the last minute which players would be available for the shoot. "Ideas changed a lot," according to Mattern. "But we came through it."
Caldwell has been teaming up with Harper and Perelman-Taylor for a year and a half. All three have feature backgrounds. However, Caldwell, whose credits include True Lies and The Long Kiss Goodnight, has been working primarily in commercials of late because he likes the idea of staying close to home.
Harper works mostly in features with first AD/producer Ellen Schwartz (Runaway Bride). He first met Schwartz on the set of Showgirls. His additional credits include Mulholland Falls and Marvin’s Room.
Perelman-Taylor divides his time between spots and features. In April, he will second AD the feature Glass House. Between films, he and Caldwell often team with Joe Public, as well as Jim Zoolalian of Boxer Films, Los Angeles, and Nick Lewin of X-1 Films, bicoastal and Chicago.
Caldwell admits to being "a little apprehensive" about working with a directing team at first, but soon discovered that his fears were unfounded. "Sometimes it’s hard enough to get one director to explain their vision, but I can’t say enough nice things about Joe Public." Harper agrees. "They didn’t talk in two different directions. They understand each other very well."
For his part, Caldwell’s priority is ensuring that problems don’t arise on set. "The difference between a good AD and a bad one is that you find the weak link and protect it—so, as far as [the directors] are concerned, everything goes smoothly on the set, which isn’t necessarily the truth."
On the Amazon.com spots, Caldwell was most impressed with the amount of research the directors and creatives did in order to create an authentic, dated look. "We shot on old cameras, and the cast looks like they’re out of your father’s high school yearbook. They are not of this time period."
Churchs Chicken was also an experience, according to Perelman-Taylor. The spot features an elderly woman whose attempts at frying chicken result in massive fires. "We had about thirty extras, a lot of fire, and Ida, who’s like ninety, swinging a broom," he recalls. "Besides the safety issues, the hardest thing was not laughing."
DEKTOR DUO
The DGA’s decision to recognize commercial ADs is particularly apt when you consider Frank Glenn and Chris Berger. First AD Glenn has been working with Dektor in various capacities for 20 years; for the last 11, he has first ADed for Dektor exclusively. Berger has been Dektor’s only second AD for nine years. Moreover, this is Dektor’s 11th DGA nomination; he won the award in ’92. His entries this year consist of Coca-Cola’s "Downhill Racer" via Edge Creative, Santa Monica; eSCORE.com’s "The Debate" out of Saatchi & Saatchi, San Francisco; and Allstate’s "Anthem" for Leo Burnett Co., Chicago.
Glenn says his opinion of the DGA decision to recognize ADs "is probably not printable. It’s about time." However, he did acknowledge that "it’s harder for the DGA, because not a lot of teams weigh out the way we do." For Berger, the work itself is the real prize. "I think it’s great [that the DGA is recognizing ADs], but it’s always the work that stands out for me."
Glenn first met Dektor when the director joined now defunct Associates & Toback. At that time, Glenn was line producing and ADing at the company, while Dektor had recently relocated from South Africa. Most of Glenn’s career has been in the spot business but he also dabbled in features, and helped launch now defunct GLG in the late ’80s. Glenn soon realized that he "much preferred being out in the battlefield."
Berger, on the other hand, "fiddled around with some other careers" before discovering the film business. He relocated to Los Angeles more than a decade ago and shortly thereafter, while working as a production assistant, fell in with Dektor Film.
Glenn describes Dektor as "a gentle, quiet, internal man who likes to communicate with his lens," and says that they essentially read each other’s minds. Says Berger: "I do all the work of a second AD, with actors and stuff. It’s very intriguing [because Leslie] is an actor’s director."
The trio recently traveled around the world for a Hewlett Packard campaign via GS&P, which may explain why Glenn and Berger seem content with their current lot in life. But both point to the work and relationships they share as reasons for staying put. "At this juncture," says Glenn, "I’m enjoying a wonderful and unique relationship with Leslie." Adds Berger, "I like the idea that we can do quality work—what Leslie calls sixty-second films." Moreover, he describes the Dektor team as tried-and-true. "Obviously, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be here."c
