Director Dan Appel has signed for exclusive commercial representation with Santa Monica-based Green Dot Films, the production house headed by executive producer Rick Fishbein. It is the first spot roost for Appel, who has been directing on a freelance basis for the past few years, mostly in the network promotion and image arena.
Appel has already wrapped his first assignment for Green Dot: a Norwalk furniture ad via Wyse Advertising, Cleveland. The spot showcased the U.S. launch of a new collection.
"We’d been looking for someone very visual," said Fishbein. "When we got Dan’s reel, it was an exciting moment. We loved the variety and how clean, modern and architectural it was."
Appel’s other recent directing credits include Franklin Mutual’s "Future," a client-direct spot produced by Pyburn Films, New York; and "Fall Image" for CTV (Canadian Television) via Culver City, Calif.-headquartered Pittard Sullivan and produced by AXYZ, Toronto. The latter features a series of vignettes that appear to be connected by a giant ribbon flowing through the various scenes. Earlier this year, Appel helmed "Getting Lucky," an episode of the WB series Felicity.
Appel graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N.Y., in ’88, and began his career as an artist. He describes his work from that period as "mixed media and text, always straddling the line between fine art and advertising." His most successful creation was a line of baseball caps and T-shirts that featured a pharmaceutical drug such as Prozac, Valium or Lithium, paired with a fictional tag line (i.e. "Prozac, shelter from the storm").
By ’93, however, the solitary artist’s life began to wear on Appel and he asked a friend to get him a job in the film business. From an art director internship, he worked his way up to freelance art director and production designer for several music videos and commercials, including ads for Merrill Lynch, Toys ‘R’ Us and the New York Mets. During that time, he worked for directors such as Phelim Dolan, then of bicoastal Shelter Films. (Dolan is now with Zero 2 Sixty Productions, New York).
In ’95, Appel segued into cable TV, taking on the position of creative director/on-air promotions at VH1. While there, he served as producer on the ’96 VH1 Fashion Awards, and also made his directorial debut, helming several promos for the cable network. "Everything clicked," Appel recalled. "All the years of art and art direction and writing all seemed to come together. I really felt at home directing."
Upon leaving VH1 in ’96, Appel put together a reel and landed several assignments, such as a pair of client-direct spots for the Discovery Kids network, "Rappelling" and "Clone," which were produced by Nood Media, New York. Time Warner Cable’s "NY at its Best," a client-direct job Appel directed in ’99, won a Gold Promax Award. Appel’s work as a designer/art director has copped several Broadcast Design Association Awards.
Appel joins a Green Dot directors’ roster that also includes company founder Brent Thomas, Karsten, Mark Reber and Gary Sato. The company is repped nationally by in-house director of sales Alex Anderson. In addition, Moira Shevlin handles the West Coast and Texas. Green Dot is represented in Canada via an affiliation with Blink Pictures, Toronto.
