Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ), an L.A.-based production house, has launched a satellite shop, The Seven Ounce Man, for director Geoffrey Barish. The new venture will be based on the MJZ premises.
Barish comes over after recently departing bicoastal HSI Productions. The director, in fact, has done two tours of duty at HSI; the first lasted from ’93-’96. Barish then joined bicoastal Straw Dogs, where he remained for nearly a year. In fall ’97, he returned to HSI (SHOOT, 10/17/97, p.1), where his notable credits included a ’98 package of Budweiser spots out of DDB Needham Chicago, including "Desert Ride," "Dreams," "Open Road" and "Budface."
MJZ executive producer David Zander praised Barish’s filmmaking sensibilities, comparing his commercials to "mini-movies." Zander added that the director has made significant strides-particularly in the past year or so-in broadening his work from strictly visual to the dialogue and storytelling spots that now fortify his reel. "He’s a great storyteller and dialogue director," said Zander, "and he’s great at directing talent. That’s a rare combo."
Barish related he had been planning to move to a different production house for the past two months. He explained he found chemistry between himself and Zander, whom he’d known and talked with occasionally over the years. "It’s not so huge and corporate [at MJZ]," said Barish. "You get direct contact [with Zander]. We just had the same ideas."
Barish’s first production company affiliation was with now defunct O. Pictures, followed by bicoastal/international Satellite. From there, he went on to his first HSI stint.
Forming a satellite seemed "a part of growing up a little bit," related Barish, who added that The Seven Ounce Man moniker is taken from a short story he once read. "Once you’ve been through all these different [companies], you want to hang your hat in a place that feels right."
Barish started his career as still photographer, working regularly on fashion shoots for such magazines as Italian Vogue. In ’87 he segued into directing music videos for such artists as Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Chris Isaak, Lenny Kravitz and Don Henley.
"I kind of fell into it," said Barish. "I was working on trying to do documentaries and I met with someone, trying to get Ry Cooder to do the soundtrack. Somehow [Cooder] ended up giving me a tape and I did the video. Basically, [director] Matt Mahurin and I were like the ‘arty’ video guys of that time; it was the end of the ’80s, when spandex was in. It was a different time; you’d show them a photograph and you’d get a video. Now it’s more of a business."
When Barish moved into commercialmaking, his spots were marked by the distinctive visual sensibilities that had been in his music videos. It has been only in the past couple of years, during his last stay at HSI, that he has begun to garner storytelling/dialogue projects. "I want anything that’s good; that has a good idea," said Barish. "It’s got to hang on some emotional thread. It’s hard to want to go out and just take an image, and … shoot it in slow-motion. To have to go back and do the same thing again would kill me."
Other spots on his reel include "Feel Secure" for The Steel Alliance via GSD&M, Austin (see SHOOT Top Spot, 5/30/97, p. 13); Oracle’s "Job Interview," via THINK New Ideas, Los Angeles; MCI’s "Demonstration," via Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York; and "Use Your Head," a Campaign for Our Children PSA via RM&D Public Relations, Baltimore.
Barish cited the aforementioned Bud spot "Dreams" as one that tells a story and evokes emotion. It depicts a horse breaking away from a barn and racing to the fence at the edge of a field to wistfully watch the proud Clydesdale horses pulling a wagon. "I’d like to do something that has the emotion of that Budweiser spot, with people," said Barish. "Last year I made the breakthrough; now I’m just at the beginning of all this."
The Seven Ounce Man is repped by New York-based Chris Messiter, Chicago-based Richard Miller of Creative Management Partners, and by L.A.-based Shirley Schackmann.
