Director Mark Perez has signed with Perretti Productions, New York, for commercial representation. He joined in April, after helming clothing label Pacific Sunwear (aka PacSun)’s "Crashes," "Saturday Night," "Night Skating," "Pro Chick" and "Surfing vs. Girls" via Bates USA West, Irvine, Calif.—as a freelancer with Perretti. Perez comes from a longform background: His producing and directing credits include MTV’s Road Rules and the VH1 series Bands on the Run.
New York area native Perez studied marketing and communications at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Conn., graduating in 1990. He moved to New York in ’91 to work as a freelance production assistant at MTV News. There, he told SHOOT, "I was able to apply the small amount I learned [about production] at school and start writing, editing and shooting. … I worked in development, on game shows and on sketch comedy shows." Perez started directing for MTV almost immediately, and soon found himself working on the documentary adventure show Road Rules, which he described as "my first big entry into the current craze for unscripted, reality-based programs." This trend would shape his career: Perez has since directed and/or produced many reality-based shows, including the summer ’01 Disney Channel production Bug Juice and the NBC game show Fear Factor, which premieres in June. But he is reluctant to be labeled a reality show or real-people-only director: "Stylistically I’ve done everything," he pointed out. "If reality TV is what the market requires, I’m more than happy to do it, and I think I have a real talent for it."
The director also likes working on short-format projects and has helmed many promos for MTV over the years. However, Perez had never signed with a commercial production house, nor had he considered pursuing a formal affiliation, until meeting Sal Del Giudice, Perretti Productions’ executive producer. The two met on the Pacific Sunwear campaign, which featured a cast of real people. Perretti Productions had been hired to produce the spots, but no director was attached. Freelance producer Liz Corsini suggested hiring Perez, whom she’d known for years, and the agency and Del Giudice agreed. Despite the suddenness of the arrangement, the January shoot was a success and it became clear that Perez might be a good match for Perretti. For his part Perez pointed out, "I don’t necessarily know how to navigate those waters [to find commercial directing jobs]. So being with these guys [Del Giudice and company president/director Jim Perretti], who are just great to work with and who know the business—it’s a win-win situation for me."
In addition to Perez and Perretti, the company represents director/DP John Lindley and directors Michael Imperioli and Joe Scudiero.
The firm is handled on the East Coast and in Canada by in-house rep Jessica Genevieve; on the West Coast by Joanne Madden of Madden & Associates, San Francisco; and in all non-North American territories by Amsterdam-based Colleen Comastro.
