Bicoastal production house Honor Society has signed director Jonathan Yi for U.S. commercial representation. Yi is an accomplished documentary filmmaker whose new film Mad Tiger will launch in select cities on March 20. The feature-length documentary follows two band mates, Yellow (Kengo Hioki) and Red (Kotaro Tsukada), best friends who have been touring the U.S. as part of the performance-art punk band called Peelander-Z for the last 15 years. Yi also served as exec producer and DP on the feature documentary Goodnight Brooklyn: The Story of Death By Audio, which is making its world premiere at this month’s SXSW Festival.
Yi, who was formerly handled for spots by Greenpoint Pictures, has meshed his real people acumen with visual storytelling in spots for such brands as American Express, Intel, Skype, Mattel and Wells Fargo. He recently wrapped his first production with Honor Society, shooting Entyvio for BBDO.
Yi’s HBO documentary series East of Main Street has run for five seasons, the most recent starring Daniel Dae Kim and Lucy Liu. Originally entering the advertising space as a cinematographer, Yi has assembled a commercial directing reel that exemplifies his knack for telling authentic stories for documentary pieces and scripted spots alike. He has taught several years of Advanced Cinematography at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has also shot music videos for such top artists as Paul McCartney, Twisted Sister, Poison, Daniel Johnson and Mates of State. His grasp on the craft from a technical perspective is vast, having consulted for Canon USA on the groundbreaking development of the Canon EOS C300, Canon’s first camera initially geared towards the documentary market. His promotional video for the camera went viral, helping to successfully launch the EOS C300.
Honor Society EP Megan Kelly said of the newest addition to the company’s directorial roster, “Jon brings a strong visual storytelling eye to real stories in both his documentary and commercial work. He is truly able to make all of his subjects at ease and really get to the core of the authentic narrative.”
