Bicoastal Believe Media, the commercial production house under the aegis of executive producers Luke Thornton and Liz Silver, has signed two directors: music video helmer Sanji, who had most recently been freelancing; and Jayson Moyer, a recent graduate of the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, Calif. Believe is Moyer’s first spot production roost; the company reps him exclusively for commercials. Sanji is repped for commercials and music videos, however the director’s priority is the spot arena. Earlier in his career, Sanji had been with bicoastal/international Propaganda Films.
Both directors have wrapped their first assignment under the Believe banner. Sanji helmed an ad for Sears via Burrell Communications, Chicago, while Moyer directed "Rites of Passage," a client-direct ad for X-L, a clothing line.
Since coming aboard Believe, Sanji also co-directed a Renault commercial for the European market with Erick Ifergan, founder/director of Serial Dreamer, a Believe satellite. The ad was created by Publicis, Paris, and features a car that appears to be driving on a giant spinning record. The visual elements were borrowed from the noted Lauryn Hill music video, "Everything is Everything," which Sanji helmed last year via Little Minx, Los Angeles. The clip won R&B Video of the Year at this year’s Music Video Production Association Awards. (For the past few years, Sanji directed music videos on a freelance basis. He exited Propaganda in the mid-’90s.)
"We have always felt that to create a brand for a production company, one needs to grow with your directors," said Thornton. "Both Sanji and Jayson underscore our commitment to breaking new talent into the television production business."
Sanji began experimenting with film and visual effects in his youth, directing his own short films. In ’91, he made his music video debut with "Passing Me By" for the band The Far Side. The black-and-white clip featured upside-down images and garnered industry attention. Shortly thereafter, Sanji signed with Propaganda.
He next directed "If I Had No Loot" for the band Tony Toni Tone, as well as a clip for Boys II Men. However, from ’93 to ’96, Sanji chose to focus on personal endeavors outside of the music video arena; he returned to directing in the late ’90s. When Thornton and Silver approached him, the director said, "They seemed to be sincere and interested in creating something innovative in an honest environment." Sanji also expressed interest in iBelieve Media, the company’s interactive division, in which Believe director David van Eyssen is a partner.
TOKYO tales
Moyer got his start in advertising in ’97, when a trip to Japan with some friends led to a three-month internship at Wieden+ Kennedy, Tokyo. Working alongside then creative director Larry Frey (now a director at bicoastal/international @radical.media), Moyer got hooked on advertising. Upon his return, Moyer enrolled at Art Center.
Thornton was introduced to the up-and-comer by Art Center professor Stephen Berkman. A director who formerly worked with Thornton at bicoastal/international The End, Berkman is a long-time friend of the Believe co-founder.
Last November, Moyer wrote, directed and produced two spec ads, both of which were recognized in the student category at this year’s Clio Awards. "Stability" for New Balance, which took a Gold Clio, shows a man posing for a photo. He can’t keep his balance because he has an amputated leg. Then the photographer places a sneaker in his hands, amazingly providing the amputee with much needed balance. "30 Grit" for Preparation H won a Bronze Clio. The ad shows a craftsman sanding the backside of a wooden doll.
Sanji and Moyer join a Believe directorial roster that consists of van Eyssen, Floria Sigismondi, Vincent Jerome and the Quay Brothers. The Serial Dreamer lineup includes Ifergan and director/cameraman Darius Khondji.
Mary Knox of independent rep firm Help!, New York and Minneapolis, serves as head of sales for Believe and Serial Dreamer. Both production companies are repped on the East Coast by New York-based Michael Arkin; in the Midwest by Chicago-based Gay Guthrey; in Detroit by Ron Hoffman; and on the West Coast by Los Angeles-based Vicky Miller.
