Director Raymond Bark has joined bicoastal Gartner for exclusive U.S. spot representation. Bark, who’s been splitting his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, plans to permanently relocate to Southern California this summer. He continues to be represented by Toronto-based Blink for Canadian commercials. Additionally, he maintains a U.K. spot affiliation via Branded Film, London.
For the past year, Bark was repped in the U.S. by Concrete Productions, Dallas. The Concrete deal, he said, grew out of his earlier tenure at The Partners’ Film Company, Toronto. Bark explained that Partners’ had a relationship with Concrete that led to his reel being shopped to U.S. agencies. That shopping helped Bark garner several projects at Concrete, most recently a humorous Milkbone spot via Acme Idea Company, Norwalk, Conn., and a Tide campaign as well as an Oil of Olay ad, both from Saatchi & Saatchi, New York. The Oil of Olay assignment was shot in London and co-produced by Concrete and Branded Film.
Bark noted that Concrete performed well on his behalf, but he was looking to make a move to signal his stepped-up commitment to the American ad market. He said that Gartner appealed to him on several levels, including the high quality of director James Gartner’s work, and the support offered by company president Don Block and partner/executive producer Rich Carter.
Carter quipped that the Gartner studio may be setting a record for "slow growth," in that Bark becomes "only the second director we’ve signed in three years." Bark joins a directorial roster that consists of Gartner and Ray Dillman, who last year took the primetime commercial Emmy Award for his Snap.com spot "New Friend" out of NBC On-Air Promotions, Burbank, Calif.
"We’ve been very selective about who joins us because we want to maintain the happiness factor here," related Carter, who said that Bark has "one of the best reels I had never seen before."
Via the work of directors Gartner and Dillman, the studio is often associated with the emotional storytelling genre. Carter observed that Bark can enhance that reputation without being in conflict with the work that Gartner and Dillman attract. At the same time, continued Carter, Bark has other skill sets that will help diversify the house. Carter described the director as "a storyteller with a bit of a visual focus." The executive producer also cited the comedic touch in the Milkbone spot.
Bark took a circuitous path to spot director. In his native South Africa, after studying to be a lawyer and subsequent global travel, Bark decided to pursue a film career. He apprenticed in Johannesburg’s feature industry in the ’80s, first as a camera assistant. He then dabbled in editing and eventually became a first assistant director.
Upon relocating to Toronto, Bark’s priority was to get development funding for a couple of scripts he had penned. However, without a reel of work, he was hard-pressed to generate interest. Out of necessity, he began to explore other pockets of filmmaking, and through a connection got the opportunity to helm an Amnesty International PSA. The spot was well received and caught the attention of Partners’, which brought him aboard as a commercial director. Bark then firmly established himself in Canada’s ad market, helming a wide range of storytelling spots. He spent four years at Partners’ prior to joining Blink in ’99.
Gartner’s sales team consists of independent reps Sarah Holbrook on the East Coast, Tracy Bernard in the Midwest and Toni Saarinen on the West Coast.
