Director Mike Warzin has joined the roster of Cap Gun Collective for U.S representation.
A film graduate from Columbia College Chicago, Warzin began his career as a commercial editor in Chicago. In 2008, he landed a position as art director and writer for Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore., a post he held until joining Anomaly New York in 2012 as a senior creative. There, his contributions to campaigns for Budweiser, Carhartt and Dick’s Sporting Goods often involved directing–and one Dick’s Sporting Goods spot, “Focus/Explode,” was awarded the Gold Cannes Lion in the highly competitive Film Craft category.
“Working in advertising on the agency side has been the perfect second film school for me,” Warzin said. “It essentially allowed me to collaborate with and learn from A-list directors, DPs and editors on projects huge and small, domestic and global.”
“When Mike was with W+K, we did a Nike music video together with Andreas Nilsson, starring NBA stars Kevin Durant, Mo Williams and Andre Iguodala,” recalled Cap Gun exec producer Jason Botkin. “I was really impressed with the concept and his understanding of the directing process. I’ve continued to follow his work and feel that ‘Focus/Explode’ for Dick’s Sporting Goods is one of the best sports spots I’ve ever seen. I’m thrilled to begin this new relationship with him.”
Warzin related that Cap Gun will pursue opportunities for him not only in ads but also long form, music videos and other disciplines. He joins a Cap Gun Collective directorial lineup which includes Abteen Bagheri, Daniel Benmayor, Alex Fendrich, Ivan Grbovic, Tom Haines, Tomas Mankovsky, Matt Miller, Jeppe Rønde and Spooner/Bonde. For commercial and branded content assignments, Cap Gun, which maintains offices in L.A., Chicago and London, is represented on the East Coast by The Family, on the West Coast by Novick & Associates, and in the Midwest by Them Reps. Lark Creative represents the roster for music videos.
