On May 11, SHOOT will debut its 2010 Showcase Reel during the eighth annual New Directors Showcase Event at the DGA Theatre in New York. The evening event, beginning at 6:00pm follows the SHOOT Directors Symposium that will take place from 9:30am-3:30pm.
The New Directors Showcase reel will be available for viewing on SHOOTonline beginning May 12 along with live URL links for the directors’ contact information (either production company or personal link for unafilliated directors) and additional Q & As with each director beyond what you will see below. The reel reflects the work and inventive talent of 39 helmers–26 individual directors, five directorial duos, and a three-person team–covering 32 Showcase slots.
For additional information on the New Directors Showcase, please see the “A Higher Profile” lead story.
Here’s a sneak preview of this year’s field of talent:
AB/CD/CD
(Arnaud Boutin, Camille Dauteuille, Clement Dozier)
Paranoid US, Frenzy, Rokkit
Lily Allen’s “Fuck You Very Much” music video
How did you get into directing?
We’ve always directed stuff. As kids, we used to use our parents’ camera to make fake TV shows. Then we began connecting with other people to direct different small projects. Every time we had an opportunity or a subject to work on, we would take it. If we were not working at our jobs, we were working on films. We often worked in pairs, so it happened naturally that we eventually gathered as a collective. That was our way of making it official that we were directors.
Dozier: I used to film my friends rollerblading and started directing shorts around that.
Dauteuille: I used to make some fictional films with my buddies, basically we just tried to redo Beverly Hills 90210.
Boutin: I used to make illustrations for books, started telling stories, and sometimes I tried to animate it.
What is your most recent project?We are currently finishing director’s cuts of a commercial we shot in Brazil a few weeks ago. It’s for Orange in Belgium. It’s pretty close to what we did for Lily Allen. The last thing we released is a music video for a band from Brooklyn called Acrylics. And yes, our minds are already on a few new projects.
What is the best part of being a director?Being confronted with a lot of different things. We probably got into directing because we love video but also because it’s a job that allowed us to work a wide range of disciplines. It’s wide in terms of the subjects we tackle and the activities we do every day as directors. And in these past six months we traveled a lot around the world.
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Andersen M. Studio
(Martin and Line Andersen)
Broadway Films
New Zealand Book Council’s “Going West” alternative media content
How did you get into directing?
Andersen M Studio was founded by Martin Andersen in 2001 after having spent two years working with acclaimed graphic designer Vaughan Oliver at v23. Line [Martin’s sister] joined the company in 2006 upon graduating from Central State Martin with an MA. This created an interesting creative partnership between the siblings, having specialized in different disciplines (Martin in typography, photography and sound, and Line in stop-frame animation and hand-drawn typeface design). Line had created a stop-frame paper animation for her final year project whilst studying for her MA. This film received a lot of publicity and started getting us commercial animation work. The first commission was to create six 20-second animations for in-house screenings for the Southbank Centre and secondly a commission from Nokia to create a one-minute animation for in-store screenings at their flagship stores. In the past one-and-a-half years the studio has had their first two TV commercials first for TV channel More4 where they partly directed (with Siri Bundford) the trailer for Ian McKellen’s Shakespeare Season and most recently the much talked about two-minute stop-frame animation “Going West” for the New Zealand Book Council, commissioned by Colenso BBDO. The film was shown both as a national cinema and TV commercial in New Zealand, and has already had more than 750,000 hits on YouTube.
What is your most recent project?
We just finished another stop-frame animation for PanMacmillan (publisher). A two-minute film to promote Kate Morton’s forthcoming book “The Distant Hours.” It’s much darker and surreal than Going West. It will be used as a viral campaign near the publication date of the novel. It has been a very interesting project where we were able to experiment with our animation techniques using live fire and pigment dust.
What is the best part of being a director?To be able to write and create stories and express them in a metaphorical way. We also love photography and sound and it’s fantastic to be able to merge the two. It’s a new and exciting medium for us to work in.
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Alex Beh
ONE at Optimus
Babe short film
How did you get into directing?
I was gearing up to put my first short film (Sugar) together and while looking for a director, my producer simply asked me, “why don’t you just direct it?” That was the first moment I realized I could direct, essentially just assuming the role of director. After reading “On Directing Film” by David Mamet, it became even more apparent to me that I loved it and would continue to do it.
What is your most recent project?My most recent project is a short called Bus Stop which I directed and starred in, shot by a fantastic cinematographer, Morgan Susser. It is currently being edited, I’m also working on a viral project for Motorola, and a feature film to be shot in Chicago.
What is the best part of being a director?Control. Working with great, experienced cinematographers and producers and directing wonderful actors.
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Kris Belman and Scott BalcerekCaviar
Gatorade’s “Replay” web series/alternative media content
How did you get into directing?Balcerek: I used to boss my twin brother around. I was five minutes older and it felt like the right thing to do.
Belman: A junior in college, I signed up for a documentary filmmaking class that required me to create a 10 minute film. I went back to my hometown of Akron, Ohio, to begin shooting a local high school basketball team. I was immediately struck by how fascinating some of the characters were, and knew that the overall arching themes of friendship and brotherhood were the stars of this film, and it had to be longer than 10 minutes. Seven years later, I proudly premiered the film at the Toronto Film Festival, and all the players showed up-including current NBA star LeBron James. I suppose somewhere in that seven-year journey I became a director.
What is your most recent project?Balcerek: I’m trying to finish a documentary about a musician named Satan. It’s real Hell. I’m also writing a comedy. That’s Hell too.
Belman: After More Than A Game, I jumped into a commercial project with Gatorade, and my editor on MTAG, Scott Balcerek. REPLAY was a fascinating look at athletes in their mid 30’s given the chance to replay the football game of their lives. It proved to be an incredible look not only at the inner strength these men possessed to train for this full contact football game, but also the mental toughness and appreciation to have a second chance in football and in life.
What is the best part of being a director?Balcerek: Wearing an ascot while using a bullhorn. Not that I get to do that.
Belman: I love having the chance to take a subject, and analyze it from a way nobody else thought about doing. With More Than A Game, everybody thought the focus would be on LeBron James. Walking out of theaters, however, they were talking about Coach Dru Joyce, or how the theme of friendship was the bond that tied the film together. It’s a liberating feeling to do something like that, and that is my favorite part of directing. That and getting free screeners.
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Jeff BitsackHumble
Lowe’s “Jimmie’s Garage”
How did you get into directing?Back when I was working on ESPN at W&K NY, David Shane (our director on SportsCenter) planted the seed. I wound up directing a few things while still on the agency side, including some Emmy-nominated web films for Domino’s Pizza that I shot through Humble. I kept in touch with Eric Berkowitz, Humble’s EP, and eventually decided to make the jump to full-time directing in July ’09.
What is your most recent project?I just finished up two campaigns. One was for a new dating website called Zoosk, and the other was for Gillette with Derek Jeter, John Cena and a bunch of the NASCAR drivers. Right now, I’m working on a couple of commercials for the UFL, a new football league. I can’t reveal much about the project at this point but let’s just say large, nasty welts will be involved.
What is the best part of being a director?The figuring stuff out and seeing it come together really, really well. The team. The teamwork. The continual learning. The not having to go into an office every day. The independence. The freedom. I’m really having fun. Seriously, I love it. Especially the beret and those baggy pants that you tuck into your tall boots….very cool.
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Aaron Brown & Ben Chappell
(a.k.a. Focus Creeps)Foundation Content
Cass McCombs’ “Dreams Come True” music video
How did you get into directing?We went from spending a lot of time just nerd-ing out on every video/film format around to shooting music videos for friends. There were a million late nights, hundreds of feet of film and lots of sweat along the way leading up to rounding out last year with multiple videos listed on year’s best lists–as well as shooting pieces for major brands including Scion, Mountain Dew, Budweiser and Target.
What is your most recent project?We wrapped a video for Neon Indian on Mountain Dew’s “Green Label Sounds.” It was a cool combination of a supportive ad environment but also there was a great DIY freedom to improvise pretty experimental scenes throughout the course of the shoot. We are also finishing up the post on a film we shot chronicling a 10-city tour of the bands Girls, Smith Westerns and Magic Kids.
What is the best part of being a director?It’s fun to invent problems that you then get to choose who you want to figure it out with. Collaboration and seeing how other people see things, and the ultimate product that comes out of everyone’s input and contributions is a tremendous feeling. It’s fantastic to have an idea and then see that idea realized in front of you. Like going to battle but without the casualties.
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Bill BruceRSA Films
New Balance’s Feet On Head short film
How did you get into directing?Directing is something I could no longer not do. It isn’t a job. It’s always been a calling. So after years of listening to the constant ringing, I finally picked up the frickin’ phone.
What is your most recent project?
I wrote and directed a campaign for Save the Children. We filmed in Ethiopia and Bangladesh, which was both trying and inspiring.
What is the best part of being a director?The ability to put together a team of amazingly talented people who are all committed to do everything in one’s power to tell a great story and make magic.
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John J. BudionClick 3X
E*Trade’s “Lottery”
How did you get into directing?My path to directing was sort of an unconventional route. Although I went to NYU, I didn’t study film there. As a 17-year-old freshman, I got an internship at a postproduction facility in NYC. Within six months of being there I became a junior Flame artist and started doing VFX work on commercials. While attending college I progressed to become a senior Flame artist, and eventually started doing visual effects on-set supervision. This proved to be invaluable experience as I was consulting with directors and learning a lot from them. Understanding the post side of things, really opened my eyes to the creativity I could implore if I got more involved on the production side of projects. Additionally, my experience in postproduction is ultimately what opened up opportunities to direct. This made it a natural next step for me.
What is your most recent project?I just finished shooting and doing the visual effects on a campaign for Centrum. It was interesting because the budget did not allow for motion control but I wanted to keep the camera moving to keep the spots dynamic and I needed multiple passes of elements. I devised a turntable technique to simulate motion control which allowed me to do in-camera transformations of what I was shooting. Again, it helps me tremendously on set that I know the visual effects side of things.
What is the best part of being a director?Seeing the finished picture on air. It’s very rewarding to see something of your direction and creation on television screens in a crowded sports bar, coffee shop, or some other public place. It makes the over-caffeinated late nights worth it.
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Joe BurrascanoNathan Love
Pop Secret’s “Dark Knight”
How did you get into directing?Directing animated films and telling great stories is something I’ve always wanted to do. From a very young age, I was inspired by the first films my parents took me to see in the movie theater, Fantasia and Star Wars. From then on, I knew I wanted to be involved in making movie magic. Starting Nathan Love was a dream come true, and it enabled me to develop a studio focused on creating the things I loved most–imaginative worlds and inspiring characters. The company has been fortunate enough to attract some amazingly talented people to help bring these tales to life. Working with them is part of the magic that makes it possible.
What is your most recent project?I’m always working on my own stories and ideas that I hope to one day produce as a film or television series, but commercially I just started a really fun Baskin Robbins campaign. Already in progress is a new Chips Ahoy! Spot for China, and a series of ads for Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
What is the best part of being a director?Creating a memorable experience for the audience and seeing a great, emotional reaction. Besides the payoff, I really love the process itself–working with a lot of fun, creative people, bringing these great stories to life.
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“JD” Joe DanieleCineshooter LLC
“Final Nail” spec spot
How did you get into directing?I’ve been a “DP” for years, who works very closely with directors…..I found in tabletop shooting the “DP” and the director work as one. Cancer, lung cancer in particular, has taken the life of several members of my family, I wanted to do something to get the message out and this [spec spot] is what I came up with.
What is your most recent project?“Final Nail” is the most recent piece I have directed. Thus far I have only directed a couple of “PSAs,” things I have thought of……I want my message to help people.
What is the best part of being a director?For me it is the “building the team,” like a sculpture you take raw material (people, sets, props, equipment) and you mold it into something that you can call, “My creation.”
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D.A.R.Y.L.
(Montgomery James, Edward Lovelace)Pulse@Chelsea
MySpace.com’s “Get Real Close” alternative media content
How did you get into directing?D.A.R.Y.L. is made up of Montgomery James and Edward Lovelace. We met at film school in England and moved to London to make no-budget music videos. We chose not to get real jobs and see if we could survive by taking 10 percent of 50 quid budgets. We continued with promos for a couple of years before embarking on shorts and commercials. We have just recently finished our first feature which is probably the first time we’ve been able to get our vibe across with no limitations.
What is your most recent project?Werewolves Across America is our first feature film. It’s an experimental documentary shot across the United States last year. The film is a portrait of modern American youth culture and sheds light on a group of artists/musicians who are striving to survive outside of the constraints of modern society. We have also just completed the MySpace relaunch campaign for BBH in London. We shot films for nine different artists including Alicia Keys, 50 Cent, and Florence and the Machine, allowing fans to star in a film alongside their favorite artist.
What is the best part of being a director?Apart from being skint and constantly frustrated, it’s good to be able to get our ideas out onto screen. We also got a chance to meet 50 Cent on one of our commercial shoots which was cool. He gave us all sorts of advice for getting the ladies including telling them we directed Titanic. So far, this method has been flawless.
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Gregory de MariaResident
Chew Lips’ “Slick” music video
How did you get into directing?
I started directing about two years ago. It was the direct path from my artistic background. I have been working as an art director in motion graphics and post for eight years. I have been passionate about filmmaking since my teenager years. All the aspects are a sort of pinnacle of art–writing, visuals, music. I’m spending all my time and energy to conceptualize and produce complex and unique film projects.
What is your most recent project?
“Slick,” a fully 3D animated piece for the London band Chew Lips. It was a long process to conceptualize and achieve this video. Many unique VFX were involved. I designed and edited it. Resident Creative Studio produced. I had the pleasure of working with a small team of artists who put their hearts into this wonderful film.
What is the best part of being a director?I love to create amazing concepts and worlds, thinking and interacting with different artistic mediums. I love to create something interesting for an audience, using all tools I can to make it happen. I’m very hands on, spending a lot of time researching and testing. It’s a logical creative process that you need to go through and dive into. Then perhaps you evolve and grow as an artist.
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Shane DrakeWild Plum
Altoids’ “Man Conditioner” spec spot
How did you get into directing?I was always distracted by the art of making films. It wasn’t until I graduated with a pre-med degree, spent time as a youth pastor, an actor and student at Princeton graduate school that I finally took the distraction seriously. I soon “learned the ropes” so to speak after garnering the attention of another director who wanted to mentor me. It turned out that I had a knack for the craft and went on to start my own company, Red Van Pictures, where I produce and direct music videos. A couple years later I won the VMA for Video Of The Year at the MTV Video Awards. Winning the award lead to many new relationships, including my current relationship with Wild Plum where I now direct commercials. My distraction has finally become my career and I truly feel that when I am on set, I am home.
What is your most recent project?I recently finished my first broadcast commercial for Lincoln that aired during the Grammys, which also had a successful viral presence. I am currently in production shooting the Ford music videos for American Idol. The videos are a uniquely exciting opportunity. It is an honor to get to work so closely with the Idols and Ford on one of most successful shows in television history.
What is the best part of being a director?I believe that aside from the wonderful opportunities to travel, create and meet new people, the job itself truly utilizes all the skill sets that come most naturally to me, namely capitalizing on my abilities in artistry, communication, and teamwork. I love to be inspired and to use that inspiration to cast a vision. The ultimate satisfaction comes in seeing that vision become a reality.
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Marie Dvorakovaunaffiliated (Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Steenbeck Story spec short film
How did you get into directing?I was always fascinated by other people’s stories, their behavior, small situations or gestures one observes. And I could not resist the idea of recreating these on film, which is why I went to study film directing at the renowned Prague Film & TV School–FAMU.
What is your most recent project?Taking place in the Cistercian Monastery in Europe, On the Wall is a comedic short about a young man’s forbidden love affair with the natural world, introducing the unseen world of microorganisms and their relationship with humans in a fascinating way–using real action, microscopic photography and digital animation.
What’s best about being a director?
I can keep playing as a grown-up without my parents saying it’s time to go to sleep.
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Varda HardyCurrentContentCreation
Rock for Equality.org’s “What Kind of Planet Are We On?
alternative media content
How did you get into directing?When I was six years old on holiday in Israel, I peeked through the window of a beachside motel room and discovered the giant glowing faces of a man and a woman kissing. This “vision” was Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman playing on an adjacent drive-in movie screen. It was a magical moment. That’s when I decided I wanted to make movies. I’ve made short films since I was in elementary school. Eventually, I got into script supervising which opened up opportunities for me to learn from some truly remarkable directors. I stopped script supervising and leaped wholeheartedly into directing. Since then, I have written and directed award-winning branded content, web series, online video campaigns, and viral videos. I’ve discovered that combining an artist’s vision with a brand’s influence and power can result in truly creative and meaningful work.
What is your most recent project?I co-wrote and directed a series of videos for MZA Events’ “Rock for Equality” campaign. One of the videos, “What Kind Of Planet Are We On?” went viral after receiving a “best innovation in video” award from YouTube.
What is the best part of being a director?I really enjoy the early stages of visioning a project: facing that incredible challenge of how to realize a story so it’s fresh, truthful and resonates on an emotional level. I truly love collaborating with my cast and crew to create work larger than all of us.
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Eric D. Howellunaffiliated
Ana’s Playground short film
How did you get into directing?My introduction came through stunt coordinating for feature and commercial projects. This experience provided me with a unique opportunity to work with talented actors in intense situations. In addition, I found that I was helping to set camera positions and creating boards for coverage. My film school took place on the sets of hundreds of productions.
What is your most recent project?Ana’s Playground is a short film that I created simply as a writing experiment. The story quickly got under my skin and drove me to bring it to life. The film was financed through charitable donations and I’m working on finding corporate partners who want to utilize the film for cause marketing.
What is the best part of being a director?People, story, and passion. These are the elements that a director is surrounded with and are what keeps me constantly coming back for more. A director gets the opportunity to create an impassioned environment and to champion people to do their best work towards a single vision. Then I get to share that vision with thousands of people–fun and terror all at once, just like doing stunts!
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Ellen KurasPark Pictures
Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) feature documentary
How did you get into directing?With a vision to make films that can be emotional and visual yet inspire change, I first stepped into the film world as a 24 year-old director of a documentary, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), which was later nominated for a Spirit and an Academy Award. Even when I moved deeper into cinematography as more people saw my work and asked me to work with them, I always kept my hand in directing by continuing to work on my film. Now I feel like I’ve come full circle again to speak as the director and as well as a DP. Why now? Having finished my own film, I want to pursue a certain desire to create more than visual metaphor. I want to shape the whole story–using sound as metaphor, editing as punctuation and the imagery as a way to show us new ways of seeing and telling stories.
What is your most recent project?Just finished directing/shooting two spots for TARGET with Wieden + Kennedy. Great experience, great people. Funny that in the midst of all the hair/makeup/wardrobe/casting/ location prep, I suddenly stopped when asked what film stock we were ordering….”Oh yes, the film stock!” Being able to open up ideas when talking directly to the entire creative team–the production keys, the agency and clients–opened up my mind in a wholly new way. I really feel inspired to continue this work.
What is the best part of being a director?Getting to drive to set with the producer. And besides riding the wave of everything happening at once, I love the thrill of listening to a track that works with the images, and makes the story resonate, I love the moment when the editor finds the right beat, the right moment to cut out or to cut in, I love the feeling that we’ve come to learn something about our own lives in 60, or in 30 seconds, and if we’re lucky, in 15.
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Michael LanganMekanism
Ann Arbor Film Festival’s “Road Trip”
How did you get into directing?I first got excited about film directing when I realized that it combines all the media I love to work in: performance, photography, design, sound, and music. Then I specialized in animation when I discovered that you can be a total control freak. Making short films was a great way to break into directing, and I still create independent work in my spare time.
What is your most recent project?I’m currently in production on a three-spot campaign for Case-Mate, a smartphone case manufacturer. We’re creating a God-like character with a man’s body and a little girl’s oversized head who conducts case designs through her hand gestures, a man with hands made of steel wool, and a rendition of “Ave Maria” using the screams of people dropping their phones.
What is the best part of being a director?I love creating problems to solve. Every idea is a riddle, requiring a lot of thought and experimentation to figure out how to make it come to life on the screen. Watching a piece on loop the night you finish it is pretty sweet, too.
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Ian Allen Limunaffiliated
Annie short film
How did you get into directing?After high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I wandered around studying architecture, E.C.E. and I.T. but nothing seemed to fill the gaps. Then, I finally landed on a four-week intensive filmmaking workshop and my love for storytelling came to life. I enrolled in IAFT (International Academy of Film and Television) in Cebu, Philippines, and graduated with two awards, Excellence in Directing and Technical Excellence. Since then I try to direct and film as much as I can.
What is your most recent project?My most recent project is Joyride, which is currently in competition at the jury round of the feature film competition in Filmaka, fingers crossed! In May I will be directing a music video for Cultura Profetica, a reggae band from Puerto Rico.
What is the best part of being a director?I like taking the audience through a journey that in real life a vast majority won’t experience. I always try to make the simple become extraordinary.
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Dennis Liu@radical.media
Microsoft’s “Office 2010” alternative media content
How did you get into directing?I went to this boarding school called the Taft School, and every year they pick a couple of town kids to go. I don’t come from deep pockets, so some studying got me in, and they had this tech’d out video room. So, I was lucky to be working with non-linear editing systems just when I was 13–Final Cut Pro Version 1, and the XL1. I’ve been writing, shooting, directing, and editing ever since. I’ve been concentrating on writing the most innovative ideas I can think of. I can shoot beautiful looking film, but in five years, I know everyone will be able to. So I’ve been trying to take it a step further with writing. That’s all anyone is going to have when everyone learns the 7D. Great writing and phenomenal ideas.
What is your most recent project?I just shot a scooter spot with the Phantom. Before that was a music video for Diane Birch. I’m working on writing features and treatments for TV.
What’s best about being a director?
My day rate is in the ten thousands. Beautiful actresses flock to my feet. I boss around crews of hundreds. I get to point a lot. Wait, what? Isn’t this like, your first year doing this? You’re right. It’s pretty much the exact opposite. Except the pointing. I’m 25, and people still think I’m a PA and ask me where the bathrooms are.
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Mark & Louis (Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland)The Sweet Shop
The Six Dollar Fifty Man short film
How did you get into directing?I started at Arts school and Louis started at a local cable TV station where we grew up. A coastal town called Kapiti in New Zealand
What is your most recent project?We are writing a feature film about a boy who runs away from home and joins a shoplifting gang led by a 50-year-old man. It’s based on a moment from when Louis was a teen.
What is the best part of being a director?Louis: working with Mark.
Mark: working with my kids.
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Hiro MuraiPartizan
Nokia’s “Ovi”
branded content
How did you get into directing?My interest in making movies started when my dad bought a camcorder. I originally wanted to be a painter but because I was also a tech geek, I was really intrigued by cameras. I made a bunch of shorts when I was in high school, and eventually enrolled in film school. Professionally, I started out as a DP for music videos and short films. I was shooting a lot for the production company Partizan, and eventually they offered me some directing opportunities–which I happily accepted.
What is your most recent project?I’m currently working on a music video for an artist called B.O.B. As I write this, I’m rushing through storyboards, since it shoots in two days.
What is the best part of being a director?This might sound like a canned answer, but my favorite part of being a director is when all the fragments of ideas and images that have been floating in my head come together in front of the camera. There’s something incredibly satisfying about translating an abstract thought in your head into something tangibly real, although I guess this is an obvious appeal for all creative work.
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Casey NeistatHSI Productions
“An Emasculating Truth”
trailer/alternative media content
How did you get into directing?My mom put a VHS camera in my little boy hands.
What is your most recent project?I’m working on building a tree fort with my kid.
What is the best part of being a director?I really don’t know.
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Sam O’HareAero Film
The Sandpit short film
How did you get into directing?In the U.K. I studied architecture, and taught myself computer graphics as I did that. I moved into architectural visualization and animation, and soon then started shooting some very visual effects-heavy films for architects and developers, especially while at Uniform, in Liverpool. After moving to New York, I worked in visual effects for commercials, and started to direct them shortly afterwards.
What is your most recent project?
“Smooth,” a spot for Jose Cuervo Silver through Colangelo, shot with Harris Savides and Martin Ahlgren, which was over half computer graphics, completed with Method Studios, New York. We explore a bottle sitting in a block of ice, which shatters revealing glasses, ready for drinking by four friends.
My last personal project was The Sandpit, a timelapse tilt-shift short film shot in Manhattan and Brooklyn, about a day in the life of the city.
What is the best part of being a director?I love having the time to think about and craft stories visually. I enjoy the creative process and coming up with novel solutions for achieving effects, both in camera and in CG. I also get to work with some amazingly talented people.
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Seyi Peter-ThomasMTV
MTV On-Air Promos’ “VMA Side Story” branded content
How did you get into directing?When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor. I had a friend whose dad would get bit parts on TV and he gave me a script of a cop show he was on that I pored over. After an embarrassing summer at theater camp when I was 13, I learned the difference between acting and directing and realized that what I really wanted to do was figure out what the story was and how it should be told. In high school, I made several very trippy short films on hi-8 video that got me into NYU film school. And, shortly afterward, I landed at MTV On-Air Promos. At MTV, I’ve had the opportunity to do an array of different types of work and to experiment and challenge myself.
What is your most recent project?I just shot a spot for a new MTV comedy where the main character from the show gets de-pantsed in front of his entire school. It’s the kind quirky, cinematic storytelling I love to do. We shot the spot in super slow motion, hitting every pained expression. We figured if we were going to do a dick joke, let’s make it the most epic dick joke ever. How would David Lean do a dick joke?
What is the best part of being a director?Without getting too mystical, I think it’s the process by which each new project reveals itself to you. Each creative endeavor is its own unique puzzle that you solve as you go. There’s always some new thing to learn, new people to collaborate with, a chance to try a technique you’ve thought about but never done. It’s a job that lets you constantly explore different places and ideas. Also, there are lots of good snacks.
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Oliver Power
unaffiliated
Mi Kasa Su Kasa short film
How did you get into directing?It all started in Tokyo when I was cutting trailers for Japanese films. On weekends I would photograph the city’s idiosyncratic characters and gravity-defying architecture.
The perfect soundtrack for this was the music of LTJ Bukem, legendary ‘Drum ‘N Bass’ artist. His label in London had signed a new artist and was searching for a director to make a music video for the single.
I loved the track and after playing it a hundred times, saw a story. So I wrote a treatment, drew up boards, and handed it in, doubtful it would get anywhere.
Two weeks later, while eating in a ramen noodle shop, I got a phone call saying they loved it, and I had won the gig.
MTV aired it in the United Kingdom and Asia, and it earned a review as “the only Drum ‘N Bass video worth a damn.”
What is your most recent project?Rapp hired me to make a spot as part of a pitch for a new account.Once I had the boards in my hands, I had five days to shoot, edit, and deliver, including motion graphics and compositing.
They gave me the room to be creative as long as I could deliver something stunning and effective in time. It was a serious challenge, to say the least. But everyone was thrilled with the final piece.
What is the best part of being a director?As a director, there is tremendous satisfaction in creating something that was not there before. Being a director is like being an architect.
Both disciplines are about building a world and telling a story; one expresses itself through moving images playing against sound, while the other tells a story through the discovery of a new space.
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Peter Rhoadsunaffiliated
Trojan Condoms’
“Trojan Wallet”
alternative media content
How did you get into directing?I worked on Wall Street for a number of years before I decided to go into the “picture” business. When I finally moved to Los Angeles, I was sure that I wanted to be a cinematographer. I worked in the camera department on Universal Studios’ Big Fat Liar and was fascinated by everything. The director was Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) and he opened the door for me. Shawn showed me the art of directing from the beginning to the end. I was very fortunate to be given an opportunity that doesn’t seem to exist in Hollywood: a true mentor.
What is your most recent project?I recently directed a variety of different projects: A puppet piece, a documentary, and a viral film. Starting with a puppet destroying the earth in “Challenge Your World,” I followed with a documentary for Levi’s featuring the artist Mike Perry, next up is a Dr. Strangelove-esque satirical piece for McAfee.
What is the best part of being a director?Being a director is the best job on the planet. Nowhere else can you tell stories that resonate and explode into peoples living rooms with beauty, or humor or, dare I say it, poetry.
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Jessica SandersEpoch Films
Sony’s “make.believe” alternative media content (produced by Nonfiction Unlimited)
How did you get into directing?
I studied film and English at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. My first short film was about a little girl born with a birthmark in the likeness of the great wall of China on her stomach. It won a number of festival awards. Both my parents are documentary filmmakers so I traveled the world with them on their films, and the artists, writers, fighter pilots, etc., who were in their films were very much apart of my up-bringing. After I directed my first feature documentary film After Innocence which won the Sundance Festival’s Special Jury Prize in 2005, I decided I should check out commercial directing.
What is your most recent project?I just completed a feature documentary called March of the Living about the last generation of Holocaust survivors returning to Poland to visit the sites of the Holocaust with teenagers from Brazil, Germany and the U.S. I am completing a documentary for the U.S. Army about their training soldiers in cultural awareness. I am adapting a book about intersecting love stories into a screenplay with the author. I am also directing some spots for Toyota this month.
What is the best part of being a director?I love that directing is creative, technical, involves art, music, it’s very collaborative. I love working with smart, creative people. Having a background in documentaries has allowed me to meet incredibly inspiring people and experience places and situations I never would otherwise be allowed into — from death row to Aushwitz to George Takei’s bed. I’m excited about mixing my documentary sensibility with a more commercial narrative approach that is visual and artful.
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Ezra J. StanleyAbove Grey Pictures
Levi’s “True Love” spec spot
How did you get into directing?I grew up as a child actor for film, TV, and the stage. I did voiceovers, modeling, opera, all that stuff since the age of six. But I never, and I mean never had the notion of doing anything on the production side even though I was around it all the time. My dad watched a lot of indies and obscure films, while I hung out in the livingroom. Looking back, the Eye was always in me. I saw Kurosawa’s Ran at age five, and I felt the tragedy while recognizing that “there was something brilliant happening here.” In college, I was a computer science major and minoring in cinema just for interest. I walked past a class that was screening a Bunuel film, and it took me over, I could not move. I had never seen anything encapsulate how I emotionally interpret the world. It was an awakening. I had just moved from home, and one morning I got out of bed, my head clearly said, “I have the rest of my life to become a filmmaker. I have another 60 years or so, it’s practically guaranteed!” It’s been a decade, and I’m still moving from that point!
What is your most recent project?It’s the ever thrilling, ever romantic, what did I just watch Levi’s “True Love” spec ad. The spot takes place in the mid-1960s. A young couple seclude themselves in the middle of the night down Lover’s Lane. It’s horror, thriller with some chaotic love! It’s a commercial that looks like a movie. It was made with a very passionate crew, and beautiful actors. It came out pretty much how I storyboarded it!
What is the best part of being a director?I love manifesting into this material world what was a once only in the subconscious world. I feel responsible when I’m directing to honor that. As soon as I’m on set, I enter into a extraordinary high level of attention, and thus reach a state of timeless bliss. The camera rolls, and the dream is created in reality, and I experience Chi when it’s perfect. I want every person to achieve the highest expression of their talent from a grip, to the DP, to my actors. This is very important for me.
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Andrew TucciPublicis New York
Bounty’s “Bring It” rap video/alternative media content
How did you get into directing?I’ve always wanted to be a director. Maybe I’m just bossy. I moved to New York after college and got involved with the improv community in town heavily. Performing in live weekly shows, we started adding video pieces into the productions that I would direct. This was before YouTube. By day I was working for various ad agencies in town as a producer, and whenever possible I would try to direct anything I could for the agency. Eventually my bosses noticed, and let me take the reigns of the Bounty music video. Also my inner ego told me it would be good for me to get out of my shell, and take control of everything.
What is your most recent project?Other than the Bounty video, I also work with a groups of guys on a web series called Gut Punch. It’s a unique look at the inner workings of a boutique ad agency. Please check it out at gutpunchnyc.com.
What is the best part of being a director?It’s a great feeling to have some idea in your head that’s crazy, and somehow you assemble a team of people together to bring that idea to life. People may question you, people may doubt, but as the director you know that your idea is good and right. Eventually they get on board, and even say, “I can’t believe how good that turned out. I thought you were crazy.”
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Cole WebleyUber Content
Kodak’s “Memories” spec spot
How did you get into directing?I’m not sure what triggered my interest in film but by middle school I knew that’s what I was going to do. I studied film at college and worked mostly as a DP. I had always planned on directing, and coming up through the camera department helped me develop a visual intuition that informs my work today. I shot a lot of spec work and built a reel I was proud of and then started shopping it around. I’ve been the beneficiary of lots of great advice and guidance from my filmmaking peers. I was fortunate enough to sign with Uber Content. I have amazing EPs and reps who believe in me as a filmmaker and have invested time and care into helping me shape my career. In the end, any success I’ve had can be attributed to our hard work, perseverance, and some good fortune.
What is your most recent project?I directed a job for American Express featuring the band, The National. The spot features the band discussing the genesis of their creation, their new sound, and the influences that shape them as creative musicians. This is in conjunction with a new “white” charge card Amex is rolling out that is targeted towards young adults assumedly stepping out on their own for the first time and shaping their identity. It’s being edited now.
What is the best part of being a director?I think the best part of directing is the fact that I can make a living doing what I love. I realize that is cliche, but honestly it’s true. I love film, I love telling stories and I love working with people. To have an artistic vision and to have such talented people to collaborate with to achieve that goal is invigorating. Nothing moves me more than film. It’s such a powerful medium.
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Jason ZadaTool of North America
FITC’s “The Last Advertising Agency On Earth”
alternative media content
How did you get into directing?When I was a kid, I used to make short films using all the kids in the neighborhood. Westerns, music videos, anything I could dream up. I was also really into alternative forms of storytelling that included technology. I wrote choose-your-adventure games in Basic on my Commodore 64. I spent 13 years as a creative director in the digital and advertising worlds, so creatively, telling a story in 30 seconds or 30 minutes became my specialty. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized that I was much happier being on set everyday of my life.
What is your most recent project?I have been shooting non-stop for the past few months and have eight projects in various stages of postproduction. One is an animated augmented reality website, a few TV spots, a huge online interactive video experience, a few viral films and an interactive storytelling project for the iPad.
What is the best part of being a director?Being able to emotionally move someone with laughter, surprise, fear, or whatever makes people feel something. I am a very visual director, so I enjoy creating a world in which interesting characters can live. Being able to tell stories for a living is what makes me think that I have the best job in the world.
