By Robert Goldrich and Millie Takaki

SHOOT’s batch of up-and-coming directors this time around includes a pair of brothers whose Nike work has catapulted them into the limelight, a noted still photographer who continues to be active in print while recently diversifying meaningfully into spots, an accomplished documentary filmmaker making her first foray into the advertising arena, a Honolulu-based director with a short film that has captured attention on the festival circuit, and a native Australian whose directorial stock has risen through a spot depicting evaporation.
    Here’s our fall collection of promising directors to watch:

The Hoffman Brothers    Nike’s “Just do it” mantra applies to Mark and Matt Hoffman, a.k.a. The Hoffman Brothers, a directorial duo who recently came aboard Santa Monica-based production company harvest.
    In recent years, the Hoffmans indeed just did it–client-direct for Nike. It started with Mark Hoffman as a one-man gang shooting, editing and directing web video journals about Lance Armstrong during what turned out to be the athlete’s second Tour de France win.
    Eventually Matt–a working actor and writer–came together with his brother on a digital media campaign for Nike tied into soccer’s ’06 World Cup. Matt conceived much of the work with Mark shooting and executing. A viral spot starring star soccer player Ronaldinho helped drive traffic to the then fledgling YouTube, piquing the curiosity of web surfers wondering whether or not the ball-off-the-crossbar scenario was real or not.  The Hoffmans also turned out multiple viral soccer-themed spots for the “Joga” (which is Portuguese for “Play”) campaign which helped to coalesce Matt and Mark as a directing team.
    The Hoffmans grew up in southern Oregon, both played soccer in college and became well connected in the athletic community. They initially went their separate ways professionally, with Matt studying acting and Mark moving to Germany to study film, returning stateside to work at the Los Angeles office of Imaginary Forces, editing assorted jobs ranging from film title sequences to commercials and promos. There Mark met graphic designer Matt Cullen who later co-founded Motion Theory in Venice, Calif. Mark found himself involved in projects at Motion Theory, getting the chance to contribute editorially and directorially as a freelancer.
    Then came the call from Nike. “The brothers had developed relationships with people at Nike dating back to when they grew up in Oregon,” related harvest executive producer/co-founder Bonnie Goldfarb. “Outside of the agency [Wieden+Kennedy] sphere, Nike had started branding some digital work. Eventually the Hoffmans started conceptualizing, directing, shooting and editing work for Nike as an online component of campaigns. Their work is award-winning [i.e., the ’07 “Joga Bonito Chain” spot won a Gold Cyber Lion at Cannes this year] and they handle everything from soup to nuts–in today’s marketplace they are valuable assets.”
    Goldfarb noted that the Nike projects became progressively larger in scale and scope for the Hoffmans. “When they started exploring production house possibilities to launch them in the commercialmaking and ad agency markets,” said Goldfarb, “they were hotly pursued by companies clamoring to get this kind of conceptual/filmmaking/editorial versatility onto their rosters. We feel fortunate to have landed the Hoffmans in that they can bring a lot to collaboration with agencies and clients and can help to create a unified branding voice for multifaceted campaigns.”
    Beyond “Joga” there have been assorted breakthroughs made by the Hoffmans in their Nike exploits. For example, they were called in on the fly to make good on a promise made by Nike CEO Mark Parker on air to Ellen DeGeneres. The talk show host had a youngster, Chris Bryant, as a guest. He is an inner city kid who jumps over cars. His wish was that he could some day perform in a Nike commercial. So DeGeneres got Parker on the phone live and put him on the spot–resulting in the lad getting to be in a spot. Shortly thereafter the Hoffmans got a call from Nike to make the commercial a reality on a modest budget.
    Putting their conceptual and filmmaking prowess to bear, the Hoffmans came up with a charming portrait of Bryant shot in and around Portland, Ore. As an experienced actor, Matt Hoffman was able to nurture the youngster’s performance, bringing out his real fun-loving self and “Car Jumper” became a hit. This and other web projects began to get broadcast exposure, attesting to the Hoffmans’ engaging spotmaking touch.
    Then came another major stride when Nike got the green light to do a full-fledged TV spot starring tennis great Roger Federer sans an ad agency. The Hoffmans handled the project from concept to completion, brainstorming with Nike on Federer concepts. They came up with an offbeat idea with Federer and his crazy tennis coach paralleling the relationship between Pink Panther characters Inspector Clouseau and Kato, with the latter ambushing the former.
    “Nike had never done this level of an ad on their own without Wieden+Kennedy,” said Matt Hoffman. “It was a wonderful opportunity for us–the first well budgeted job and crew we had up to that point.”
    The spot debuted during this year’s Wimbledon tournament telecast–plus there was a bonus ad developed by the Hoffmans in which Federer plays air guitar with a tennis racket.
    “We were able to show a more playful side of Roger who is such a great tennis player that people sometimes view him like he’s a machine,” said Mark Hoffman.
    Asked what makes them a successful directing duo, the Hoffmans point to their different orientations. “Mark brings the mind of an editor and I bring the mind of an actor to a project, and that mix is  a dynamic that makes us work as a team,” said Matt.
    Mark concurred, reflecting upon his editing experience as being invaluable to him as a director. “When editing, I was sitting with clients directly behind me and the director often wasn’t there. In a sense you’re redirecting what someone else has shot, which means you’re in a position to make or break a spot with the agency. You have your own creativity and get to bring your sensibilities to the project–and that really helped prepare me for directing.”
   
Mark Zibert
    Eight years ago, Canadian born Mark Zibert got a big break as a still photographer, landing a plum Nike assignment from agency Cossette, Toronto. From there his career as a still shooter built steadily and he continues to be selectively active in that discipline as evidenced by his adidas print work for this year’s Summer Olympic Games in Beijing featuring a mass of humanity holding up a Chinese athlete. The job won China its first and only Cannes Gold Lion for print.
    Some three years ago, Zibert’s print ad for Arrow Shirts led to his directing a TV spot based on that print premise for agency John st., Toronto. Though he got his foot in the directorial door with a visually innovative project, it wasn’t the instant catalyst for success that his first Nike print ad proved to be for his photography career.
    “I’d do spots here and there in between print jobs,” recalled Zibert who then made the conscious decision to more aggressively pursue his directorial aspirations about a year ago when he joined Toronto production house Sons and Daughters. Just prior to that, he had helmed Habitat For Humanity Canada PSAs which showcased his storytelling prowess. In “Electricity or Rent,” a guy switches on a floor lamp in his house only to instantly be in the cold outdoors with an illuminated lamp. When he turns off the light, he’s back in his darkened home. A super reads, “Over one million Canadians can’t afford both electricity and rent,” followed by an end tag for Habitat For Humanity. A second PSA had a woman opening up a can of food. As the top comes off, so too does the roof of her house as we see a dark forboding sky overhead. The unenviable choice for this woman is food or shelter.
    “Electricity or Rent” was honored with Gold at Canadian industry competition the Bessies. The PSA was produced by Zibert’s former Canadian production house roost, Steam. His first job upon joining Sons and Daughters had him loaned out to an affiliate house in Halifax for a Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia campaign via Halifax ad agency Extreme Group. One of the spots in that package, “Nail,” earned a Bronze Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.
    Next came notable Canadian spot directing assignments for McDonald’s (the “Mini Goalie” spot which won Bessie Gold), a commercial to promote awareness of Parkinson’s Disease which depicts a man fighting against himself in a struggle just to answer the phone, an action performance car ad for Ford, and an elegant Infiniti spot promoting its sponsorship of Cirque du Soleil (via TBWA oronto). At this year’s Bessie ceremony, Zibert additionally won The Don Award signifying the year’s best new director.
    This summer Zibert picked up stateside representation, coming aboard the roster of bicoastal Sleeper Films. While he’s yet to direct his first Sleeper project, Zibert is no stranger to the American ad market, having earlier helmed a BMX spot for BBDO San Francisco.
    “I don’t like to be pigeonholed,” said Zibert. “I approach commercials like I do my print work–I adapt my style and approach to the subject matter. The concept is huge. Everything I do is based on the creative.”

Maro Chermayeff    An accomplished documentary filmmaker, Maro Chermayeff recently came aboard Workhorse Media, Santa Monica, for commercials.
    Chermayeff’s work includes lauded series for PBS. She directed all 10 episodes of Carrier, the show about life aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which premiered on PBS this year. In addition, she was co-creator and co-executive producer of the series, in partnership with Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions.  The program was honored last month with an Emmy for outstanding cinematography in reality programming.
    Chermayeff was also one of the producer/directors of the PBS series Frontier House in which three modern families homesteaded in the American West as recreated circa 1883.
    Additionally Chermayeff has collaborated closely with noted journalist and interviewer Charlie Rose, having produced and edited many of his one-hour specials.  She was also director of documentary programming at A&E for two years, and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the series Biography. In addition to PBS and A&E, her work has appeared on HBO, TLC, Bravo, Discovery, Channel 4 in the UK and France 2.
    Currently working on a new multi-part series for PBS that will premiere in 2010, Chermayeff also has a commitment to produce and direct feature documentaries for HBO and Turner’s truTV cable channel, the latter an international co-production with France 2.  In addition, she recently founded and serves as chairman for the School of Visual Arts MFA program in Social Documentary, which is slated to launch next year.
    Workhorse Media’s executive producer/principal Pola Brown first heard about Chermayeff from friends on the agency side, who were aware of her ability to get deep inside subjects and capture their stories in visually exciting ways. Brown’s long association with documentary director Peter Gilbert (Hoop Dreams), who also directs commercials through Workhorse Media, helped her see just how Chermayeff’s background and skills fit into the current ad scene. Brown said she was drawn to Chermayeff’s “combination of narrative skills with a great eye.”
    For Chermayeff, the ability to hold an audience’s attention is one of the great appeals of working in the documentary space, and the unscripted nature of the work fascinates her.  “One of the things I do best is find really interesting characters in each setting and then let them tell the story,” she explains.  “It’s about immersing oneself in an environment and becoming intimately familiar with it.  My best analogy is that it’s not just like learning a foreign language, but actually being able to speak it fluently.”
    She sees parallels between her films and the ongoing trend towards reality-based content, both in television and on the web.  “We’ve always striven to capture a heightened sense of reality in our work, one that drives a storyline, and that process can accomplish several things–it can entertain and inform, like we did for the audiences of Carrier over ten hours of programming, or it can drive you to a brand in a thirty second format.”
    Chermayeff is no stranger to the world of advertising and branding, as she’s the daughter of famed graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff of Chermayeff & Geismar.  “I’ve been around ads, brands and corporate identity all my life,” she noted, although her first real love was filmmaking.  After graduating with a film degree from the University of Colorado, she got her start in the industry working on feature promotion at The Kanew Company, R/Greenberg Associates and Balsmeyer & Everett, where she cut trailers and helped produce movie ads.
    She credits her experience as a network executive at A&E with helping to expand her collaborative abilities, and said that this has obvious applications for working in advertising. “I was in a position to bring in new points of view and new talent to the network, and help develop ideas for programs and specials.
    “Moving from being a filmmaker to the executive side of production was a real life lesson for me,” she continued. “As a director, you’re often totally focused on your vision for the film you’re shooting. The A&E job called on me to step outside of that viewpoint and focus on creating accessible programming that clicked with audiences.  I think that’s what advertisers are looking for today, as well as agency creatives.  They’re looking to connect with consumers, which is becoming increasingly more difficult to do via traditional channels.”
   
Brett Wagner
    Hail to the Chief! In this case Chief is a 21-minute film directed and written by Honolulu-based Brett Wagner. The short has scored numerous accolades. The year kicked off with Chief becoming the first Hawaii-made short to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. And among the latest kudos is Chief winning the Best Dramatic Short Award at this summer’s Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.
    The L.A. Shortsfest is an Academy Award-accredited film festival with its winners eligible to be nominated for an Oscar in the short film categories. Thirty of the fest’s past winners have garnered nominations and nine have won Oscars. Chief was among thousands of shorts submitted for consideration by judges at the annual L.A. Shortsfest competition.
    Wagner, whose filmmaking pedigree includes commercials which he continues to direct as a freelancer, noted that “winning L.A. Shortsfest and getting our Academy qualification is huge for us, and a victory for the dozens of Hawaii-based cast, crew and supporters who contributed their talent and resources to this film.”
    Filmed in the jungles, waters and urban nightscapes of Oahu, Chief tells the story of a highly ranked tribal chieftain from Samoa who flees his village after the drowning death of his young daughter, and winds up a taxi driver in Honolulu.
    Chief has additionally been recognized with a certificate of excellence from the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA).  The film, which also won best dramatic short honors at the Maui Film Festival, made its formal Oahu debut this month during the Hawaii International Film Festival.
    Wagner began his career in commercial production in the New York market, writing and directing for such clients as Deloitte, CS First Boston and AIG Insurance.
    Eventually spot work drew him way west to Honolulu where he has directed for McDonald’s, Starwood Resorts, AT&T Wireless, KFC, Bank of America and Hawaiian Airlines, among others.
    Over the past five years, Wagner’s ad industry endeavors have scored a dozen regional ADDY Awards, including 2007 Best of Show recognition for Detour, a 10-minute branded entertainment film for Starwood Resorts.
    Wagner also has diversified into long-form with his first feature film, Five Years, which was an official selection of 25 film festivals internationally, earning honors at the Victoria Independent Film Festival and the Avignon Film Fest.

Andrew van der Westhuyzen    Australian native Andrew van der Westhuyzen is co-founder of Sydney design boutique Collider. Over the past several years, he has earned both recognition and critical acclaim for his commercial animation direction, and web, print and title design for BMW, Red Bull, Target, Toyota, MTV Australia and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.  Van der Westhuyzen has recently completed his first book, Cabal, a graphic novel and the culmination of four years work featuring 60 original illustrations. He is a frequent contributor to exhibitions, conferences and publications in his field.
    Van der Westhuyzen has been directing spots for a little less than two years. He made arguably his most dramatic directorial impact with last year’s BMW “Hydrogen” commercial out of agency GSD&M’s Idea City in Austin, Texas.
    The spot shows liquid coming together to form an automobile, the BMW Hydrogen 7. A voiceover explains that instead of producing carbon-dioxide, this vehicle emits water, at which point we see the car dissolve as it turns into H2O. The voiceover relates, “A car that will leave its mark by not leaving a mark.”
    Fuel International, Sydney, was the visual effects house on “Hydrogen” with van der Westhuyzen helming the job via Collider. Earlier this year “Hydrogen” earned a Visual Effects Society (VES) Award nomination for outstanding VFX in a commercial.
    Though technically challenging, the 25 seconds of CG animation appear simple and elegant, attesting to van der Westhuyzen’s directorial and design acumen.
    GDD&M recently returned to van der Westhuyzen for another commercial, “Clay,” in which a large lump of clay gets shaped and molded right before our eyes from the classic BMW to the design of the brand new BMW X6, which is innovative yet has its roots in the time-honored tradition of BMW style.
    The Texas agency gravitated to van der Westhuyzen based initially on an abstract minute-long sequence on film that he designed and directed, showcasing an evolving architecture for the earlier alluded to Royal Australian Institute of Architects.  GSD&M came across the ’03 piece and found it of the same look and creative spirit that the ad shop aspired to for “Hydrogen.”
    Now van der Westhuyzen begins a new chapter in his commercialmaking career, securing stateside representation via bicoastal Believe Media. He has a comfort level with Believe in that Collider director Joel Pront has been repped in the U.S. by that company for several years.
    “I’m looking forward to exploring opportunities in American advertising,” said van der Westhuyzen. “I believe that Believe is the ideal place to help me in that exploration.”

MySHOOT Profiles