On May 17 at the DGA Theater in New York City, SHOOT debuted its 10th annual New Directors Showcase reel, which is now available at http://nds.shootonline.com.
The latest edition of the Showcase and reel reflects the work, creative sensibilities and inventive talent of 34 helmers–31 individual directors and a three-member team covering 32 Showcase slots.
The field of talent is wide ranging from freelance directors, many of whom are seeking production company affiliations, to a noted agency creative who’s transitioned to full-time director and just landed his first production house roost, to a filmmaker who saw her short subject documentary earn an Academy Award nomination this year.
The alluded to ad agency artisan is Tim Roper who’s spent the last 15 years at Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami, L.A., and Boulder, Colo., as writer and executive creative director. He left the agency life in February to direct commercials and entertainment content. In making the transition which he describes as being “from agency guy to writer/director guy,” Roper has secured his first production company home, coming aboard Partizan.
Roper got his initial directing break at CP+B when Hulu agreed to let him helm three commercials featuring actor/comedian Will Arnett. Roper wrote the spots for this year’s Super Bowl and Oscar telecasts.
Other former agency artisans are also in this year’s New Directors Showcase mix. Manny Bernardez is with international production house Savage and has a pedigree that spans the agency and client sides of the business. Bernardez earlier served as VP/group creative director at Digitas. Prior to that he was creative manager at Nike Global Brand Connections. Work contributing to his selection to the New Directors Showcase included Nike’s “Larry Fitzgerald” online spot.
This year’s Showcase includes ten directors with no production house affiliations, two of whom have advertising agency backgrounds. Lawrence Chen made the SHOOT Showcase on the strength of such work as the online spot “Little Things” for The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). Chen is currently a producer at BBDO New York and moonlights as a director.
And Aron Paul Orton, who is also sans a production company roost, earned New Directors Showcase inclusion on the basis of Taller San Jose’s “Home of Second Chance–Woman” PSA for agency DGWB, Santa Ana, Calif. Orton broke into the ad business via DGWB, starting in the mail room and working his way into the creative department, later building the shop’s in-house edit bay. He established himself as an editor there, cutting for such clients as Wienerschnitzel, Toshiba Copiers, Ryka, Hilton Garden Inn and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Beyond an agency pedigree, there are assorted backgrounds and a wide range of experience in varied fields represented in our 10th New Directors Showcase roster. You can get a taste of that diversity in the mini-profiles that grace this section.
Helping to fashion the 2012 New Directors Showcase were entries from SHOOT’s 2012 New Directors Search, choice submissions to SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery, our Up-and-Coming Directors features, and feedback from advertising agency creatives and producers.
Below are thumbnail sketches of the Showcase directors with their responses to varied select questions. Additional Q&As with each director will appear on http://nds.shootonline.com on May 18 and on SHOOTonline/The SHOOT >e.dition on May 21.
Here’s an overview of this year’s field of talent:
How did you get into directing?As far back as I can remember I have experimented with creating alternate worlds. Whether it was by shooting on VHS as a young kid, drawing abstractions in class as a teenager or just by closing my eyes. What is your most recent project?0000 The Movie What is the best part of being a director?The spontaneous surprises that are uncovered even after endless preparation. |
How did you get into directing?As a kid I was always intrigued by the film world. But it wasn’t until the day that I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey that a switch inside me tripped. Never to reset again. And since that day, I’ve been actively honing my skillset to try and become as good of a director as I can be. What is your most recent project? Just finished directing a super fun animated athlete super hero digital content piece for Footlocker/Nike. Had the pleasure of working with a very talented cast of animators, as well as very willing and awesome athletes who were gracious enough to let us record their VO’s and render their likeness in super hero form:) What is the best part of being a director?Aside from bossing people around…. Ha! What is the worst part of being a director?It’s the same part of being an only child. It’s the same part of being a creative….Being told “No”. What is your current career focus: commercials & branded content, TV, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.?I hate limitations of any kind. Right now the most important thing for me is to continue to produce great creative work. And further push my creative voice and skills to the next level. Have you a mentor and if so, who is that person (or persons) and what has been the lesson learned from that mentoring which resonates most with you? |
How did you get into directing?Directing has always been my focus and passion. I started by wrangling friends into helping me with my projects. I love the challenge of putting together all the puzzle pieces of a film and seeing my vision finalized into something I’m proud of. Because of the awesome free labor of friends and family, I was accepted into the directing program at Cal State University Northridge. What is your most recent project?Currently shooting spots for AT&T and Sovereign|Santander. What is the best part of being a director?Collaborating with actors and crew on all the different elements of film production that help tell the story. Being on set is always such a fulfilling experience to see everyone working together and pushing themselves creatively. |
How did you get into directing? What is your most recent project?The latest job was for Adidas/DSG with the very talented minds at 180LA. We shot with RG3 in Baylor, Texas, for a day, then jumped over to Austin for a day. Really fun gig. May they all be as creatively rewarding as this one. What is the best part of being a director?The collaborative process and getting to meet and work with some amazing people behind and in front of the lens. What is the worst part of being a director?No complaints here. Just happy for the work. |
How did you get into directing?I started working as a runner on large scale feature films shooting in the U.K. whilst I was still at school; so I really grew up around filmmaking, learning about every element of film production from working as an assistant director to script reading and research for producers. But it was when I went to university that I really started to realize that I was a director. I studied English at Oxford University, and the opportunities for making theatre there are truly fantastic. I started directing theatre, choosing productions to align with the literature I was studying; and I still work with a lot of the actors, writers, producers and other directors I met there. Even though I always knew I wanted to work in film, my studies at Oxford, and then in Theatre Directing at RADA, fortified my love of storytelling. What is your most recent project?I’m developing a half-hour sci-fi short film with my consistent writer and collaborator, Sian Robins-Grace. I want to make a short at maximum capacity; taking the form as far as it can go, with massive ambition and high production value. Alpha Omega is a short that conjures a future in which a ravaged London is in the midst of a century-long civil war, where the battle line isn’t race or religion: it’s gender. And the resource at stake isn’t land or wealth: it’s reproduction. Exploring the future of fertility science, and how advances in science and technology have the fearsome power to reprogram our social and sexual DNA, Alpha Omega is shaping up to be a project, on which I’m excited to collaborate with top young British creative talent. What is the best part of being a director?The chance to collaborate with a cast and crew, all of whom only ever seem to brighten and improve your own ideas. It’s an amazing privilege to be the focal point of a group of people working together to create a world. There’s this sense that being a director is a role fuelled by ego and individual ambition, where everyone is working for you, serving a single vision only contained in the director’s mind: but really the element of the job I love the most, is how much you learn from your cast and crew, how the film develops through every conversation you have with each cast or crew member, and how–even though you have to have faith in your own opinions and a strong creative vision–it is a role in which you can be strongest as a collaborator rather than a dictator. |
How did you get into directing?I had always messed around with the family video camera. So when I went to college, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t majoring in film, I still made fun little movies with friends and family. What is your most recent project?I just finished shooting a national spot for KFC. And I’m now excited to start pre-production for an animated musical… go figure. What is the best part of being a director?Taking an idea and giving it life is by far the best feeling. But I also love the process and collaboration. What is the worst part of being a director?Being your own worst critic. What is your current career focus: commercials & branded content, TV, movies? I love heartfelt comedy, and more specifically, comedic commercials and branded content that connect with people on some level. |
How did you get into directing? What is your most recent project?Just finished a funny little St. Patrick’s Day spot for Guinness Black Lager involving a kilt, an Irish bagpiper, and bending over. I recently returned from Malawi where I was shooting a documentary about local healthcare workers in rural villages. I like working on a range of projects. What is the best part of being a director?Working with a talented team, the challenge of telling great stories in 60 seconds or less, bringing great creative to life, the first class international travel, the money, and the women. What is the worst part of being a director?Knowing that the last three things listed above aren’t true. What is your current career focus?Commercials and music videos. I love the short form. Each project is so self-contained, you only get a couple weeks to craft something great, and it is always a real challenge to tell a story in as little as 15 seconds. In terms of genre, I want to work across a variety of styles, such as comedy, drama, and action, but specialize in visual storytelling with a focus on doing as much as I can in-camera. |
How did you get into directing?“Directing” is a funny word. We’re not sure when that term was applied to us but we have been making creative work as individuals for as long as we can remember. Skate videos, family birthday videos and spying on the neighbors are classic beginnings for each of us. What is your most recent project?We’ve got a few things we are working on at the moment, a couple mobile application projects, short films, and another long form film project that we are refining. What is the best part of being a director?For us, and our style of filmmaking, the best part is getting lost, meeting people, and learning beautiful things from the unexpected. What is the worst part of being a director?I’d say one of the worst parts is that word “director.” There’s something inherently important or special sounding about that word. Maker, filmmaker, curious person-all these seem better fitted. What is your current career focus: commercials & branded content, TV, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.?We think about this quite a lot and it changes often, but generally there are movies, TV shows, commercials, and Internet videos. We’d like to focus on creating content for the spaces in between all this stuff. |
How did you get into directing?I had been working as a still photographer but I had a vision for a film. It was prior to the historic election of 2008 and I felt the stories of the foot soldiers who brought us to this day needed to be told, so I decided to make a documentary. As a still photographer, traveling to visit indigenous cultures, I interviewed the subjects for days to build trust, even before the camera comes into it. It was an easy transition from still to motion because what interested me was the storytelling. What is your most recent project?I’m in development on a new documentary about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder–its impact on our heroes, treatment, and how we look at mental illness. We are exploring it in new and fascinating depths. What is the best part of being a director?I love inspiring and being inspired by a team of creative and talented people. From having a vision, to seeing it take shape and come to life is exhilarating. |
How did you get into directing?By lots of false starts and hard work. What is your most recent project?A great doc/ad/science project with Droga5, New York, and the upcoming Omega campaign. What is the best part of being a director?Thinking a lot about the work. What is the worst part of being a director?Thinking a lot about the work. What is your current career focus: commercials & branded content, TV, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.? My focus is about telling a story and being cinematically honest to the idea, your characters’ ideas and the world they inhabit. I don’t think that should be platform or genre specific in any way. Film in advertising is such a changing business and medium–digital platforms now are creatively what music videos were 10 years ago. Distribution in the film business is changing–its an exciting time to be involved in the medium. For me at the end of it all though, it’s about the idea, the story and how that unfolds, whether in an ad or in a feature. |
How did you get into directing?I was called into a meeting by a friend whom that I’d known for a long time, but had never worked with. During the meeting we discussed a wide range of strategies and content of the images they wanted to make alongside conceptual conversation of the projects they intended to use the images for. It was at that point that it became crystal clear to me that motion was the correct solution to the story they wanted to tell. I was already visualizing the scenes in my mind…how they were edited together….how the people would come to life. I could sense the emotion and see the audience feeling it as well. I’ve been a photographer my entire adult life. I’ve also always been a storyteller. I imagine my audience sitting around the campfire…watching and listening. Sometimes the fire rages, other times it’s just the glowing embers. What is your most recent project?I’m continuing to create content for San Diego Hospice. I’m also working on a script about what motivates people to own their own businesses. It’s a narrative piece that I’m planning on shooting this summer. We also are considering a piece about Nobel Laureates. We’d originally planned it to be stills but film seems a better solution. What is the best part of being a director?I believe that ideas can change the world. I have so much passion for how film expresses ideas. Combining visual expression with ideas. It can be so powerful. What is the worst part of being a director?Have not found it yet. I’ve rarely found a shoot that I couldn’t find some redeeming quality to hang onto. What is your current career focus? I’m interested in all kinds of work. I come from a commercial background and was told my specialty was shooting people…connecting people and brands in an emotional way. Based on that I expect to create branded content with interesting storytelling. But the fact is that everything but advertising is new to me and I love that. I hope that I don’t get pigeonholed so that I get to taste lots of different genres. I’d love to do a food show. Narrative work really intrigues me. I love the idea of developing different characters as well as the story. And big landscape pictures also intrigue me. How are they different in film than stills? How do you make them work? |
How did you get into directing?I’ve always been fascinated by the power of pictures and started with photography, drawing and painting at an early age. I discovered my love for filmmaking at the age of 19. After forming a VJ group with friends, I went to intern at production companies and agencies before I enrolled at the Filmacademy Baden-Wuerttemberg to study Direction. In order to deepen my direction studies, I spent 2009 at Central Saint Martins College in London and was awarded a scholarship for the UCLA-Masterclass in Los Angeles in 2010. What is your most recent project?My most recent project is my graduation film. It’s a 45-minute TV pilot called Killing All The Flies. It’s still in postproduction and will come out at the end of 2012. I’ve always wanted to do a film in the thriller/sci-fi genre, so I’m really excited to bring this film to life. What is the best part of being a director?Being able to move and captivate people as well as giving them the opportunity to escape reality even if its just for two minutes. I cant think of anyone else that is able to do that! What is the worst part of being a director?The actual realization of my vision is dependent on a lot of people giving their best. What is your current career focus?My plans for the future are commercials and features. That’s where I’m heading. Have you a mentor and if so, who is that person (or persons) and what has been the lesson learned from that mentoring which resonates most with you? During my first job as an assistant director I was taught a valuable lesson. During the shoot I was unable to fulfill a task in the required time. I attempted to explain myself but the director told me that If I wanted to be a director I must always take full responsibility for not having done a job properly. You can never blame your crew, weather or any other negative circumstance, the responsibility is always yours. It was a hard lesson at the time, but its something I have taken with me ever since. |
How did you get into directing?While studying in the screen-based arts department of Bezalel’s Academy I started making short animated films. Working alone on animated shorts was a great introduction to the process of filmmaking and especially directing such projects. Directing wasn’t a goal for me. It kind of happened out of the love for the whole bits of the process. What is your most recent project?I’m currently working on a festival opener for the 2012 AgIdeas Design Conference in Melbourne. My last commercial project was a one-minute spot for Honda’s “Blue Skies for Our Children” Campaign. What is the best part of being a director?Must be the insanely great talents you get to work with and help to realize your visions. What is your current career focus: commercials & branded content, TV, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.?I am after the ideal balance between commercial and personal work. I get to direct some animated commercials through the wonderful XYZ Studios and in between I keep exploring new territories of the visual and interactive worlds. |
How did you get into directing?I started as a graphic designer, and I got into motion graphics around 2001. I spent the next eight years or so working as a designer/animator for Superfad, Digital Kitchen, Brand New School and many others. Directing was something that was always at the back of my mind, my father was a CD at several ad agencies when I was growing up and he used to take me on commercial shoots…I have always been drawn to it. Working as a creative on the post end, stepping into the role as director was the next logical step. At the same time the DSLR revolution was happening which gave me the chance to start experimenting with live action. Josh Taft, a great director and fellow Seattleite took me under his wing as a B cam operator on a few of his shoots. He landed me a meeting with Tim Case of Supply&Demand Integrated. Tim took a big risk on me and funded my short film American Dreams. It basically all started then and there. What is your most recent project?I have spent a good portion of the past year collaborating with the agency Heat in San Francisco on their Bank of The West campaign. I have done several spots for them, documenting real customers who are exceptional examples of forward-thinking West Coast entrepreneurs. What is the best part of being a director?Each project is a new adventure! I get to go new places meet great new people and create something from scratch. |
How did you get into directing?Even as a child, I’ve always had a camera in my hand. As I got older I got interested in design, editing, music, visual effects. Directing has been a natural progression. What is your most recent project?I’m currently directing a series of commercials for Yoplait, I recently shot commercials for Levi’s and Ritz Carlton. What is the best part of being a director?The best part about being a director is seeing your vision materialize into something tangible. It’s incredibly satisfying to go from thought to execution. What is the worst part of being a director?The worst part about being a director is when you have to compromise your vision. What is your current career focus?My current focus is on visual storytelling in commercials and music videos. Who is your favorite director and why?This is an extremely difficult question, but I would have to say Scorsese. He’s had such a great career, and has been able to stay relevant for nearly half a century. He brings a lot of different elements to his projects: strong performances, great soundtracks, and amazing photography. |
How did you get into directing?When I was very young, video cameras were as big as my entire body. As I grew bigger, they became smaller and at some point we became suited for each other. Because I had younger brothers, naturally I told them where to stand and what to do. Use of “extreme closeup” in my early work was perhaps gratuitous in hindsight. What is your most recent project?There was a joke that I wanted to bring to the screen for a long time, so I adapted it into a spec PSA of sorts for Ad Council. I cannot reproduce said joke here due to it’s profane nature. What is the best part of being a director?I’m like a kid in a candy store when I’m directing. Being a director to me is about uniting all the departments to create the best thing possible. So being involved in every aspect is the best part. I’m a huge tech nerd, so I view all the gear as expensive toys. I also love the entire art department. It’s like an adult playground. What is your current career focus?I enjoy visual storytelling the best. Especially when anything magical or imaginative is involved. I’d love to shoot more VFX spots. And comedies. Magical comedies basically. |
Eddie Alcazar
Manny Bernardez
Andrea Ball
Matt Bieler
Chanya Button
Ben Callner
Lawrence Chen
Everynone (Will Hoffman, Daniel Mercadante and Julius Metoyer)
Robin Fryday
James Gooding
Marshall Harrington
Hanna Maria Heidrich
Eran Hilleli
David Holm
Jonathan C. Hyde
Jeff Jenkins