Backyard Productions has reunited with live action director Nick Piper for U.S. representation. The U.K.-based filmmaker thus resumes what’s been a 15-year working relationship with the company. Prior to returning to Backyard, he was last repped in the American advertising market by production house Spears & Arrows. Most recently he had been in Europe and is now poised to tap into fresh U.S. commercial opportunities.
After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in applied mathematics, Piper found a passion for filmmaking which started when he took a year out to make ski films in the French Alps. He opened “Mogul Movies,” a one-man production company where he shot and edited promos and action sequences. Combining his love for film with natural instincts for problem-solving, Piper kick-started his career in the industry as a Flame Artist, where he worked as a VFX director at MPC in London before moving to Los Angeles.
Piper has a slew of industry awards and accolades, including a Gold Lion for his VFX work on a Super Bowl spot. His credits range from high-end Super Bowl commercials to music videos for artists including Madonna, Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson. Alongside this, Piper also appeared on a primetime NBC show to explain how he created the groundbreaking effects on a multi-award-winning Pepsi spot.
Having discovered that his true passion was directing live action, Piper first signed to Backyard in 2002, where he was introduced to a more humanist approach to storytelling. During his time with Backyard, Piper worked for brands such as Google, Goodyear, McDonald’s, Coors, Home Depot and Budweiser, and a fleet of automobiles, including Chevy, GMC, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, Cadillac and Toyota.
Keen to expand his creative horizons, Piper recently began directing new vehicle launch films for brands including Ford and Range Rover. His most recent work for the new Range Rover Sport features actor and TV presenter James Corden, in a lighthearted take on the actor’s Carpool Karaoke series. The 18-minute film, which was released globally, shows Corden chatting enthusiastically with Range Rover’s chief commercial officer about the vehicle’s impressive new features.
Further showcasing Piper’s portfolio in the automotive world is an action-packed spot for the new Ford Raptor which saw him launch the vehicle out of a military cargo plane for an epic global reveal.
Kris Mathur, VP/executive producer at Backyard, commented, “I’ve EP’d scores of jobs for Nick (also ardently known as Dr.P) over many years during his previous tour with Backyard. We stayed in touch while he was based in Paris, and I am thrilled that he is rejoining our team.”
Mathur added, “Nick has had the most repeat clients of any director I have worked with in my career as a producer. He treats each job like a surgical procedure, attending to each creative and technical detail with enthusiasm and passion. This exacting process begins when he first receives the agency deck, carries through the pitch and the shoot to the final color grade and mix of the campaign. It is truly a gift to have him back in the ‘Yard, and we couldn’t be happier about this ‘homecoming.’”
Kevin Allodi, CEO of Backyard, said, “Much has transpired during Nick’s Paris/UK-focused sabbatical, for both him and the company. Nick returns to a vastly different, diverse, and vibrantly retrofitted Backyard…one better equipped to support Nick in solving for the production challenges presented by today’s multi-platform agency/client asks.
“In turn," continued Allodi, "it’s clear that during his time away–particularly during the pandemic stretch–Nick pushed himself and his craft further than ever before; while his work was already superb, I was simply floored by the creativity and growth on display in his most recent films–they’re truly spectacular and fun. We look forward to building on the longstanding Piper/Backyard agency and client relationships, and are equally excited to introduce Nick to new opportunities based on his latest creative efforts.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More