Bicoastal/international Station Film has signed directors Scott Corbett, Alex Grossman and Jorgen Loof. In addition to stateside representation, the directors will gain a U.K. market foothold through Station’s partnership with Academy Films, London.
Corbett comes to Station from Identity, New York. He continues to be repped in Canada via Holiday Films through which he has directed such notable comedic fare as Pillsbury Pizza Pops’ “Karate Chop,” one in a series of spots which garnered a Silver Lion at Cannes.
Corbett brings ad agency creative sensibilities to the director’s chair. Earlier in his career he had long-term freelance tours of duty as a copywriter at TBWAChiatDay and davidandgoliath, Los Angeles. He then made a successful transition to directing, spurred on in part by inspired spec work for Altoids and the Outdoor Life Network. On the strength of these efforts, including Altoids’ “Jockey,” Corbett earned inclusion into SHOOT‘s 2006 New Directors Showcase. “Jockey” introduces us to a man whose 12-foot tongue is tied to a wooden horse that’s been mounted by a jockey. To the vocal strains of Edith Piaf, the jockey unashamedly whips the man’s tongue while riding the inanimate horse. The dark, offbeat spot demonstrates how curiously strong those Altoids mints actually are.
Grossman
Director Grossman also sports an agency creative background, copywriting at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, Sausalito, Calif., before embarking on a directorial career. He continues to keep his hand in the agency arena, maintaining boutique shop Men in the Street. His agency endeavors over the years have scored on the awards show circuit with Pencils, Gold Lions and Clios. His first foray into directing was on the website Funnyordie.com and he later branched out into helming commercials.
Already via Station, Grossman has directed the Nissan “Model vs. Model” campaign for TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles, which pits a Nissan model, the Juke, against a swimsuit model.
In “Acceleration,” for example, viewers get an analytical study of the Juke racing against the swimsuit-clad Amber. Slow-motion shots of Amber sprinting alongside the Juke compact evoke retro-Baywatch entertainment. Ultimately the Juke races past her as she comes to a stop, effectively marketing the car and Nissan’s sponsorship of the Sports Illustrated 2011 swimsuit edition.
Loof
Swedish native Loof is a long-time still photographer and international director whose work spans such clients as IKEA, Volvo, Libero, SAS, Nokia and Ericsson. His reel is marked by what he describes as “feature realism,” an elevated form of realism dashed with subtle humor to help strike an emotional chord with viewers.
An example of this is “Time Donation,” a spot for Finnish healthcare products company Leiras in which Loof frames cinematic moments of heightened reality. The piece tells the tale of a worker too busy for life and human interaction, even with his family. He instead prioritizes efficiency and saving time. In one scene at the office, he picks up and hangs up the phone immediately, not even bothering to say hello, although it’s his mother on the other end. This then segues to years later when as an old man he’s seated at home next to a phone that never rings. Ironically, now he has nothing but time on his hand. The tagline: “Don’t save time. Share it.” We’re then informed that every third senior citizen is living in loneliness.
Loof continues to work via Stockholm production house Atmosfar through which he helms such noteworthy commercials as Preem gas station/convenience stores’ “Roadfood” from Stockholm agency Forsman & Bodenfors. To the accompaniment of the song “Hey Good Lookin'” (What You Got Cookin’?”), the spot follows a procession of svelte on-the-job truck drivers yanking up their baggy pants, underscoring that Preem’s 87 gas stations are now serving healthier food choices. “Roadfood” went on to earn Epica Gold recognition last November.
Loof said that now his focus is to attract emotionally themed work for the U.S. market and reasons that Station is the shop to help him realize that goal.
