Chelsea Pictures has signed director Andrew Walton for exclusive commercial representation. Prior to joining Chelsea, Walton was simultaneously repped for commercials by Avalon Films, Farmington, Mich. and Setterholm Productions, Minneapolis.
Walton said he also had conversations with bicoastal Epoch Films and Omaha Pictures, and New York-based Nocturnal Commercials. "In the end it just came down to making a gut decision," explained Walton, who said he was attracted to Chelsea’s mission to support directors who tell stories that move audiences.
Moving audiences is what Walton is all about. While every spot on his reel is beautifully shot, each one has a story to tell. A :60 PSA he directed via Setterholm entitled "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" via Minneapolis-based Initio Advertising feels like a mini-documentary featuring children who are victims of the disease relating what it’s like to live with their disabilities. Walton spent a month getting to know the children and their parents before the shoot. "It was a spot that nobody wanted to touch but I learned so much about storytelling from it," said Walton.
While Walton has been interested in filmmaking since he was a young child brandishing a Super 8 camera, he supported his directing habit for six years as an agency producer at Michigan agencies like W.B. Doner & Company and Campbell-Ewald, among others. He later freelance produced at Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis.
At Campbell-Ewald, executive producer/director of broadcast services Dennis Plansker handed Walton his first directing gig with two nationally aired commercials for Chevrolet, "Faces" and "Earth Day." But Walton’s day of reckoning came when J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, producer Jane Stewart offered Walton the opportunity to bid on a three-spot campaign for United Way. "It was sort of an acid test for directing for a ‘real’ client because I no longer had the safety net of being at the agency where the stuff was handed to me," recalled Walton, who had already left Campbell-Ewald at that point to build his reel. "I had to go through the whole process of preparing a huge presentation and really proving myself to the client," he added. Walton won the bid and the three spots, "Waiting Room," "Layoffs" and "Gangs," were produced through Detroit-based Pask Productions.
Shortly after the United Way campaign, Walton directed "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome," which eventually led to a signing with Setterholm where he continued to shoot ads for United Way including "Wishing Well" via Peterson Milla Hooks, Minneapolis. During this time, he also signed with Avalon Films where he directed "Happy" for The Wellness Plan via Stone August Medrich and "Heart Attack" for McLaren through Biggs Gilmore, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Walton will no longer have affiliations with either Avalon or Setterholm, but he plans to remain based in Minneapolis, although a move to New York is not out of the question.
Walton joins Chelsea Pictures directors Nicholas Barker, Simon Blake, Simon Cheek, David Gaddie, Matthew Harris, Christine Jeffs, Janusz Kaminski, Johan Kramer, Mehdi Norowzian and Steve Rogers. Chelsea is represented in the East by in-house rep Lisa Mehling, in the Midwest by independent rep firm Juliusson/Ratcliffe and on the West Coast by indie Mary Vandamme.
