What do Paul Cameron, Paul Laufer, Lance Acord and Jeff Cronenweth have in common? (A) All are noted commercial directors of photography; (B) they all have a top-notch, highly visual style; (C) they have each made the jump from commercials to feature films and back again; or (D) all of the above.
If you chose all of the above, go to the head of the class. Laufer, Cameron, Acord, and Cronenweth are all DPs who work on commercials, and made the jump to feature films with commercial directors.
Cameron, who is represented by bicoastal Dattner & Associates, is a cinematographer with an extensive spot resume, and recently acted as DP on Gone in Sixty Seconds, the Dominic Sena-directed crime caper starring Nicolas Cage and Robert Duvall which opens next month. (Sena directs commercials via bicoastal/international Propaganda Films.) Laufer, who is repped by bicoastal International Creative Management (ICM), shot The Cell, a big-budget feature directed by Tarsem, a noted helmer of both commercials and music videos who is represented by bicoastal/international @radical.media. The film, which wrapped last December, is set for release this summer. Acord, who is handled by Dattner & Associates, has worked on a number of Spike Jonze-directed spots, including Nike’s "Morning After" out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., and was also the cinematographer on Being John Malkovich, Jonze’s first film. And Cronenweth, also repped by Dattner & Associates, worked with David Fincher of Propaganda on three features: Seven (as part of the second unit), The Game (also on second unit), and Fight Club (as DP).
Of course, commercial directors have a long history of making the jump from commercials to features. Ridley Scott, who directs commercials through his own company, bicoastal RSA USA, made the transition to features with two highly designed pictures: The Duelists (1977), Alien (1979), and most recently, Gladiator. Other commercial directors who made the transition to features include Michael Bay of Propaganda (The Rock, Armageddon, and the forthcoming Pearl Harbor) and Mark Pellington (Arlington Road), who was formerly with Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, and recently switched representation to Propaganda. Less noted, however, is that the spot directors often take along a DP or two from the commercial world.
They do so out of loyalty, but also out of the shorthand they have developed over the time they have created spots together. For Gone in Sixty Seconds, Sena requested Cameron, a man he had worked with over the years on both music videos and commercials, such as Nortel Network’s "Come Together" via Temerlin McClain, Irving, Texas. Cameron also recently DPed Lockheed’s "Rush Hour," directed by Peter Goldschmidt of bicoastal Omaha Pictures. The DP has shot a range of spots with a variety of cinematic looks for Philips, Saturn, Blue Cross, Chevy and Seiko. "Elopement," a black-and-white spot for Pella Windows directed by Mike Bigelow of bicoastal Coppos Films for Young & Rubicam, New York, was nominated for a commercial Emmy in ’98. (Bigelow has since shifted representation to Space Program, Hollywood.)
