Director Gavin Bowden, whose filmography spans commercials, music videos and long-form fare, has come aboard Culver City-based Bandito Brothers for exclusive U.S. spot representation. His ad credits include Chevrolet, Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Fanta, VH-1 and Nike.
Bowden got his start filming music videos in the 1990s, when, as he described it, “Bands were open to having experimental and challenging ideas in their videos and MTV was playing them based upon their creative merits.” His work includes videos for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Henry Rollins, and Matchbox 20, as well as the 1992 documentary Funky Monks, which is a revealing look at the recording of the Chili Peppers’ landmark album, “Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik.”
Bowden made the jump into advertising with Original Film when his video “Pepper” for the Butthole Surfers caught the attention of Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore., which recruited him to apply a similar style to spots for Nike. Bowden also directed spots through A Band Apart, Plum Pictures, Uncle and most recently Safehouse Pictures before joining Bandito Brothers.
His latest and best-known commercial work has been for car makers. For Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Bowden directed a campaign for Toyota’s launch of its redesigned RAV-4, and employed his trademark style of animation using stills. He wanted to explore and develop more unique ways of showcasing the cars in the spots rather than relying solely on running footage. Bowden has a track record in this regard, spanning such approaches as a CG rendering of the Chevrolet Sonic’s engine and a single-shot motion control exploration of the Nissan Rogue. His atypical automotive spot endeavors include Subaru’s “Peel Out” which entailed an animated rendition of the Subaru Impreza as it emerges from magazine pages. SWAY Studio was visual effects house on the job, which Bowden directed during his Plum Productions tenure. Bowden teamed with a graphic designer to personally create the scores of magazine pages featured in the commercial.
At Bandito, Bowden will be able to tap into the VFX talent and resources of Cantina Creative. Bandito partnered in Cantina’s launch, bringing VFX capabilities in-house.
Bowden rounds out a Bandito roster comprised of partners/directors Mike “Mouse” McCoy and Scott Waugh, directors Stewart Hendler, Sinuhe Xavier and Jacob Rosenberg, the helming duos of Gentlemen, and The Polish Brothers, and directors/cinematographers Shane Hurlbut, Mitchell Amundsen, Peter Rodger, Matt Goodman and Vic Huber. Hispanic division Los Banditos includes directors Igor Jadue, Flavio Labiano, Robert Maya, and Leonardo Ricagni.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More