The spots I’ve done have been developing from more linear to more narrative to more storytelling to more dialogue," says director John Mastromonaco. What I do now is visual storytelling with a bit of humor."
Well known for his visually striking vignettes, Mastromonaco, who directs ads stateside via Bravo Zulu, Santa Monica, and in Canada through untitled, Toronto (formerly Jolly Roger), started branching out into narrative and humor work over the last year and a half.
How did the shift in styles come about? "I’ve been doing vignettes for a long time and I still really enjoy doing them," Mastromonaco explains. "But I started falling into more storytelling. To make an extremely long story short, I really enjoy it."
Hallmark’s "Grumps," which Mastromonaco helmed out of untitled via Leo Burnett, Toronto, and Hyundai’s "Chair," which he directed through Bravo Zulu, out of Bates USA West, Irvine, Calif., are two examples of the helmer’s recent work.
"Grumps" depicts a family celebrating a man’s 75th birthday, and the septuagenarian seems a bit cranky. His granddaughter approaches the patriarch, who is sporting a party hat and a sour expression. As she recites a birthday rhyme that pokes fun at his age, family members warily look on, anticipating the grouchy grandfather’s reaction. She finishes the little poem, and a moment later, the old man smiles, and joyfully picks her up. All are relieved. A shot of a Hallmark card reveals the source of the girl’s words. The tag follows: "No one says it like Hallmark."
"Pacing the spot out to deliver that end line" was key to making the ad work, says Mastromonaco. Unlike many other spots of its ilk, the commercial is gorgeously lit and composed. "It’s always nice to make things look pretty, as long as the visual presentation of the material does not overwhelm the concept," he explains.
Hyundai’s "Chair" opens in an office full of cubicles. A quick succession of shots shows two younger guys clowning around on the job. The main character imitates their boss as his buddy gives him a wild ride in the boss’s plush swivel chair. Things come to an abrupt halt when their superior spots the embarrassed duo and sternly asks, "Is that your chair?" Cut to a parking garage where the boss admires the interior of a parked Hyundai. The two younger guys appear and see him checking the car out. The main guy says, with a hint of touché in his voice, "That’s my chair." The slightly humbled boss looks on as the pair speeds off in the Hyundai.
"A lot of that stuff wasn’t scripted," notes Mastromonaco of "Chair." "We knew who [the characters] were: these guys working late who were goofing around in the boss’s chair. We knew we were going to do dialogue, so we had them wired to capture a lot of the pushings and shovings." He believes one reason the spot works is that "you can identify with these characters. We’ve all seen them. It was just capturing the subtleties.
"Location, casting, performance, the look of the film, how it was edited, sound—all of those elements came together in a nice balance to make a full-bodied spot," Mastromonaco adds. "[The spot] doesn’t use any one area to bring home the message; it uses the whole palette."
Mastromonaco also did Vaseline Intensive Care’s "Palm Reader," through untitled via Ammirati Puris Lintas, Toronto. The spot won a Silver Lion at the 2001 Cannes International Advertising Festival.
Double Duty
A Vancouver native, Mastromonaco frequently works on both Canadian and U.S. market spots. How does working in the two countries differ? "In Canada, [the agencies] embrace the director to be part of the complete process," he explains. "They want to know who you would like to edit it; they always want to make sure that you’re going to get your favorite colorist. They’re also interested in your thoughts on who would be good for sound design. The better shops in America address that point, but it’s a rarity.
"In America, [spotmaking] is more of a business," continues Mastromonaco. "In Canada, it’s not as refined a process. I like the American way. It seems to lend itself to production that’s a little more planned out and refined. What I like about Canada is that you get to freestyle a little more—you get to take more chances. I learn lessons constantly from both sides of the border."
Regarding the actual craft of commercialmaking, Mastromonaco finds, "In terms of the aesthetics or the actors or what you put on film, there really is no difference."
The director, who worked as a still photographer from the late ’80s through the early ’90s, had already been shooting print ads in Canada for a few years when a friend who was a creative director suggested that he helm a spot. He’d never really considered directing commercials, but he wound up directing a Canadian ad. "That put the bug in me," he says. "It was like discovering photography all over again. It was fresh and invigorating."
He went on to join The Partners’ Film Company, Toronto, and Radke Films, Toronto, before joining Jolly Roger in ’97. His first U.S. affiliation was bicoastal HKM, which he signed with in ’93. After stints at Bedford Falls and Reactor Films—both bicoastal firms which are part of the Stoney Road family of companies—he signed with Bravo Zulu in ’99.
Mastromonaco says that photo-graphy continues to influence his spotmaking. "Photography gave me a visual sensibility," he states. "It allowed me to explore the viewfinder. Directors that come at [directing] from a writing [background] or an agency [background] bring something else to a project. I brought a visual sensibility, and I had to learn the other sensibilities," he points out.
"Photography relates closely to vignette-driven advertising, where you’re dealing with images. I don’t think there is that much of a parallel between photography and storytelling. I enjoy what I’m doing now because it’s not solely based on what it looks like. It’s more of a total package."
