Trying to enter the world of commercial directing as a new director is like trying to convince a parole board that you’re ready to take a chance on the outside. Sure, the board may believe that you have the best intentions in the world, but that still doesn’t ensure that you’ll behave as you’re supposed to once you’re given freedom.
Shortly after moving back home to Minnesota from Los Angeles three years ago, I decided I was going to put together some comedy spec spots and get my foot in the door of commercial filmmaking. Having done time as a production assistant in L.A. on national spots, I saw first hand what it was like to work on well-written, well-directed campaigns. They were funny, they had great actors and they had a lot of money.
So I set out to make funny, great-looking spots, like the ones I was a PA on, minus the budgets. Having worked in the Minnesota film and video industry, I knew some of the local crew who were "Minnesota nice" enough to lend their expertise to my quest. Casting help came from local agencies and the film board, another "Minnesota nice" benefit.
Since I served as the writer, producer, director, make-up artist, grip, gaffer, audio engineer and editor on some spots, I guess it’s fair to say things were stretched a little thin. I used my parents’ house for three different spots, never having a crew larger than four people. I cast one actor from Duluth (about two-and-a-half hours north of the Twin Cities), only to have him cancel on me the night before a shoot. I convinced a friend to let me hose down his mom’s dog on camera. I convinced another friend to let me shoot in her restaurant, promising that we wouldn’t break anything and we’d be out by serving time. (Yeah, right.) And I convinced two actors, over the phone mind you, that they would look great stripped down to their boxers, lathered in baby oil, wrestling in front of 20 strangers.
Doing time can be hard, but we somehow managed to get things done. The local camera house cut the DP I worked with serious deals, the crew worked just as hard as if they were actually getting paid, and the actors showed up eager to work.
I sent different reels out around Minneapolis at different times during the last three years to some well-known ad agencies. One response I received was, "It’s a really hard time in Minnesota. We have ten established directors lined up waiting to do PSAs for us—that’s how bad it is. Funny spots, but sorry."
No problem. There are more agencies. Another one told me, "If we’re going to do a spot, we’ll go to the East or West Coast to find a director. And if we have no money, then we’ll use an established director here who is dying to do anything. Good spots though." Hmm.
A third one told me, "Good spots, but they lacked some production value." No luck there either. Most local commercial production companies were slow and getting slower. This is a business of rejection. Keep doing your time, you’ll get there.
After finishing what I have said to be my final spec spot—no more begging, no more asking people for their talents for free, no more having my wife use a broom stick as a boom pole—I put together a DVD and I concentrated on L.A. I was able to speak directly with a couple of production companies there through friends I know, and those companies were very nice in explaining that it was a real hard time for new directors. I understand, I said. So I finally did the thing I said I would never do. I blindly sent out my reel to production companies in L.A. To date, I’ve received two "no, thank you" responses. I guess we won’t be moving to L.A. any time soon.
It’s a curious thing, trying to break into the commercial world. So many people have done it so many different ways. I remember the advice of a friend of mine who directs a lot of those national spots in L.A. He said, "There are hundreds of you here in L.A., so go back to Minnesota, where there are only a few of you, and establish yourself there." So I took a local job directing corporate videos. Some days I see my director’s reel, and I can’t believe how much energy and time I put into a thing that sits on my bookcase. But then there are those other days, when the sun is out and I’m feeling good, that I realize I’ve accomplished quite a task.
Times are tough for everyone. But if I can just hold on a little while longer, put my head down and do my time, I just may be given that shot I’ve been hoping for. Maybe. If not … heck, at least I’ve got a nice view here in Minnesota.
