Director Ra’uf Glasgow—who was briefly at Venice, Calif.-based Cucoloris—has signed with Dublin Productions, Hollywood, for exclusive spot representation. Glasgow’s reel consists of offbeat, humorous, visually driven spec ads which he fashioned in between gigs as a co-producer on such primetime series as Profiler and the short-lived Ryan Caulfield. The spec spots—for Airwalk, Segasoft and Apple computers—caught the eye of Dublin’s executive producer Jonathan Miller and company principal/director Rick Dublin.
Acknowledging that "a spec reel can be a tough road to hoe today" in terms of successfully breaking into the commercial market, Miller nonetheless expressed optimism over Glasgow’s prospects. "Spec work is a devalued currency unless it’s really good—and this is," assessed Miller, citing Glasgow’s combination of advertising sensibilities and his expertise in sophisticated visuals as well as special effects.
Miller conjectured that Glasgow’s visual sense was honed during his years as a postproduction supervisor on television (i.e.—the telefilm Plymouth) and theatrical features (The Rocketeer). "I was amazed at some of the shots on his reel, including an elevator shaft sequence in the Apple commercial," related Miller of Glasgow’s spec fare. "The reel shows a well-developed sense of advertising. Based on his experience in postproduction and producing, Ra’uf can come at a commercial from all angles. He doesn’t need to develop as a filmmaker. He just needs to be discovered by the advertising world."
Having regularly collaborated with network and studio executives in television, Glasgow expects the transition to advertising to be relatively smooth. "The agency is the creator," he observed. "While I’m always prepared to contribute ideas, I see myself not so much as a writer but as a visualist who can interpret the agency’s concept." However, Glasgow would like to be involved in commercial assignments through postproduction, noting that he can "add something positive" to the mix.
Glasgow is the product of two artistic parents: His mother is a floral designer, and his father was a ceramic sculptor whose work had been showcased at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Dublin Productions’ spot directorial roster consists of Dublin, Glasgow, Walter Pawluk, Peter Montgomery, Tom Megalis, Jeffrey Kimball, Randy Spear and feature director/cinematographer Peter Hyams. The shop is repped by John Naitove on the East Coast, Tim Harwood in the Midwest and Harvey Warren and John Dunnicliff on the West Coast.
