Madheart has signed director Joshua Traywick for exclusive national representation. The agreement marks Traywick’s first formal affiliation with a commercial production company. The director’s latest work, a Mother’s Day ad for Hallmark, breaks nationally this month.
Traywick, who received his training at USC Film School and worked in production at Anonymous Content, has directed projects for Reebok, Match.com and Hallmark. The latter was developed through Mofilm, which stages competitions for brands, eliciting spec work from filmmakers and in the process generating original content for TV, online and mobile. Traywick’s piece for Hallmark tells a simple but emotionally nuanced story of a working-class mother and daughter, shot in a documentary style.
“My concept was to have the character of the daughter read the card in the voiceover,” recalls Traywick. “The marketing team at Hallmark Cards loved the idea. I made a rough cut and it tested well across the board, especially with millennials. I saw the project through the editing process and Hallmark was thrilled with the result. It will be part of their national Mother’s Day campaign.”
Traywick has directed two spots for Reebok, both produced through Mofilm. One focuses on a paralyzed surfer who heads an organization that teaches people with spinal cord injuries to surf. The second spot features cancer survivors taking part in a 39-mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer event. “The piece has a slow emotional build,” explains Traywick. “It focuses, not on the big event, but rather on small, intimate stories. It was important to show the walkers’ emotional struggle to complete the journey as well as their triumph in crossing the finish line.”
Traywick considered offers from several production companies before selecting L.A.-based Madheart for its boutique structure and exec producer Lisa Phillips’ career-building strategy. “I respect the work of the other directors on the roster and I like Lisa’s ideas for helping me grow as a director,” he said. “The commercial market is changing, creating new opportunities for directors. At Madheart, I believe we will capture those opportunities while also exploring mainstream avenues.”
