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    New Directors Showcase

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1232 Views
    Joe Leih

    Joe Leih

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    Joe Leih

    “marcandtom.com”

    DP: Brian O’Carroll

    Editorial: Earth 2 Mars, New York

    Editor: Justin Quagliata

    Affiliation: Sparks Productions, Toronto, for exclusive representation in Canada; currently in the market for US representation.

    How did you get into directing? After graduating from Columbia University’s MFA Film program in New York, I worked as an on-set production assistant as well as an office manager at a theater and film production company while I made several spec commercials on the side.

    Why do you want to direct commercials? It’s an amazing storytelling format. The brief time limit requires you to be so efficient and effective that you create stories unlike any other medium–it’s been said ad nauseam but it’s true. The brevity also means it’s possible to produce a lot of different projects in a reasonable amount of time. I could never be a novelist–I’d go insane if I had to spend three years working on a single book. 

    What’s your most recent spot project? The viral PSA “Marc and Tom” for copywriter Marc Guttesman and art director Tom Millar. There are a few possible spot projects in the near future. Keep your fingers crossed.

    Do you have plans to work in other areas–e.g. shorts films or features or TV? Have you ever done any of that in the past? I love commercials as a storytelling format, but I’d also love to branch out to broader canvases–music videos, TV, feature films. Every format has its own challenges and rewards. Because of new technologies like TiVo and television on demand, hopefully the advertising community will come up with even more diverse types of storytelling formats for the future. I’m excited to see what happens, and hopefully be a part of it. I directed a short film, Dead Battery that was broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel, Canal + (France), and TV Tokyo.

    What do you think is the best part about being a director? Getting all the credit.

    What’s the worst part? Getting all the blame.

    Who is (are) your mentor(s)? Janet Roach, screenwriter of Prizzi’s Honor, and one of my film professors at Columbia. She was the first one to encourage me to hone my craft for comedy. 

    Not counting your own work, what’s your favorite recent ad, and why? “Hello Tomorrow” for adidas, directed by Spike Jonze of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander for TBWA/180, San Francisco. Since I’m a comedy director, I probably should have named something overtly funny, but I absolutely love this spot. Not only is it beautifully crafted and wonderfully atmospheric, but I think it’s a sign of the mixed media/multi-discipline branded content to come. It’s not only an entertaining story with eye-popping special effects but a great launching pad for an amazing song by Squeak E. Clean and Karen O, and a great way to promote adidas’ products.

     

    Category:News



    Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance

    Saturday, November 23, 2024

    Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.

    The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.

    "This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."

    The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."

    And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.

    Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.

    Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.

    Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."

    It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More

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