Backyard Productions has signed commercial director Ed McCulloch for U.S. representation. McCulloch has helmed spots across the globe for brands including Google, Ford, KIA, Wrangler, Ikea, Hyundai and Oakley. His work has garnered assorted honors from the AICP, Ciclope, Shoot EPICA and YDA Cannes competitions. McCulloch also earned a slot in SHOOT’s 2015 New Directors Showcase.
After discovering a passion for print photography, the self-taught director was drawn to the world of advertising and went on to study art direction at Miami Ad School. After overcoming a number of challenges in his early life, which forced him to step away from photography, McCulloch reignited his love for the craft and uncovered striking narrative similarities between print photography and short form content. His keen eye and affinity for honest storytelling went on to aid his natural progression to a director.
McCulloch collaborated with acclaimed cinematographer Paul Meyers, and produced, shot, and edited 11 spec spots in less than a year, jump-starting his career as a commercial and long form director. Following this, McCulloch directed a three-minute web film for ProForm, which spotlights inspirational cyclist Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. The film follows the Ghanian athlete who, despite his disability, rode a bicycle 380 miles across Ghana in order to raise awareness about the plight of disabled people in the country.
Further demonstrating McCulloch’s ability to capture intimate and emotional stories, a standout career highlight for the director was a commercial for “all-American” clothing brand Wrangler. The empowering :60, “Long Live Cowboys,” tells the story of a young boy with a dream to become a bull rider, and all the trials and hard work that come with breaking into the rodeo sport. Cutting between home video footage, beautiful desert landscapes and dramatic scenes of bull riding, McCulloch captures the grit and determination needed by the young cowboy in order to achieve his dream.
Currently, McCulloch is out for financing on his directorial feature debut, entitled Little Hollywood, a family drama exploring the generational divide, which will be produced by Katy Drake Bettner and Morningstar Angeline.
McCulloch said of Backyard, “They have a great history of developing high level campaigns; markets have changed and work has changed but Backyard have been solid through it all, which is really impressive. And, most importantly, they’re a good group of people that are honest and hardworking and just want to do the best work possible. That’s exactly what I want to be doing–crafting amazing campaigns that we believe in and finding clients and creative teams that share our same passion for storytelling.
Rich Schafler, head of sales at Backyard, commented, “When I first Saw Ed McCulloch’s reel, as shared with me by our Midwest sales rep, Nathan Skillicorn, we were blown away by the quality, look and feel of his spots and content. Ed’s a true filmmaker, an artistic craftsman, with a supreme eye for detail in capturing the nuances of his subjects and environments in every frame. There’s a true consistency to his work, as this is evocative of a director who has a real vision and point of view. The great part is that Ed’s a pleasure to work with and truly collaborative in every way.”
