This spring’s five directors picked by SHOOT as up and comers in the commercial world arrived from a number of different directions. Two came through MTV’s “college of production knowledge,” one was an agency creative, another started in the music video arena, and the fifth came from a fine arts background.
Whatever their similarities and differences, all five are promising commercial directors who are making their mark in the field.
THERESA WINGERT Theresa Wingert, who signed with bicoastal MacGuffin Films in 2004, brings an artist’s sensibility to commercial directing.
A fine arts graduate from Western Washington University, she was a printmaker for much of her 20s. It took her some time to get into filmmaking, but she sees similarities between the two disciplines.
The artist’s approach showed on “A Promise,” a recent spot for Bob Evans, a Midwest restaurant chain, done through Chicago Creative Partnership.
“We were on a farm outside of Columbus, Ohio,” she explains. “By studying and observing the farm and the details of this place and working with this really great actor, I was able to construct something that everyone really thought had a visceral appeal. It came from being able to absorb it, a simple farm landscape. I shot a lot of stuff outside the board and they were so patient and gracious about it. I think it over-delivered on many levels and everybody was impressed. It’s great when I can be inspired and the agency and client can be inspired also.”
The journey from artist to director began with loneliness. “I was in a studio by myself,” she says. “From there I went into commercial photography. I had big crews and big shoots in all crazy parts of the world. I mostly did retail stuff and catalog work. I started bringing cinematographers onto my shoots and became self-taught as far as filmmaking. I think it’s the thing that challenges my mind creatively the most.”
Before signing with MacGuffin, Wingert ran her own production company, Mineral, from her hometown of Seattle. “It was outside the agency and spot world,” she says. “I would pitch my own ideas. I was like a creative director and a director, doing things that were more like two-minute films that were branding pieces.”
At MacGuffin Wingert has compiled a reel of big, cinematic spots for clients such as Pfizer, Ford and Chrysler, and last year she completed Stray, a short film that has made the festival circuit.
Wingert acknowledges that the film is the opening gambit for a movie. “I’m a commercialmaker,” she says, “but I have aspirations to make a feature film as well. Stray is a nice example of where my work is headed. I’d love to do a subtle character piece that is essentially a love story. I’ve got some different pieces of material I’m working on.”
Her artistic style shows on spots like “Crossfire” for Chrysler and BBDO Detroit. “The creatives had a big vision for it and I think I brought a different approach. I love the spot because I think it has this beautiful texture and some beauty to it. I try to challenge myself, so I want to go after that kind of work, car work and stuff that is trickier to get,” she says.
“I’m most interested in commercials where there is a sensory experience involved. That can involve creative concepts where picture, sound and concept all completely interlock into one tight thing. That’s what I’m always striving to do. I would like to do more dialogue-driven and character-driven spots because when you work with really great actors, it brings another level to the piece. My work will always be beautiful and poetic because that’s what I’m really into. When you add a great actor to it, it makes it really supercharged.”
