On May 25, SHOOT unveiled its fourth annual New Directors Showcase reel. The 25 helmers–including three two-person teams–selected for the Showcase come from diverse backgrounds. However, the bond they share is great style, vision and commitment–whether it be reflected in comedy, visuals or storytelling. Helping fashion the Showcase lineup were entries from SHOOT‘s ongoing “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery, assorted submissions, and feedback from agency creatives and producers. Here’s a look at this year’s field:
Peter Martin (Peter Livolsi & Martin Dix)
No company affiliation
Herringbone’s “Tea Party”
Web.com’s “iPsycho”
How did you get into directing?
Peter recently graduated from the American Film Institute (AFI) and Martin came from an advertising background. We met because we happened to be sitting next to each other at a party. Our inability to mingle and general social awkwardness forced us to talk to each other and we found we were both passionate about the same kinds of movies and directors. Soon after that Peter Martin was born.
Why do you want to direct commercials?
Shooting makes us happy.
What is your most recent spot project?
Our most recent TV job were a pair of spots for Web.com. “eBeg” featured a homeless man who put his panhandling business online and “iPscyho” was about a psycho ex-girlfriend who used Web.com to share her revenge tactics. “iPsycho” was just accepted into this year’s One Show. We also just completed a series of virals for The World’s Shortest Short Film Festival, a showcase for two AFI thesis films.
Do you have plans to work in other areas–e.g., shorts, films,
features or TV? Have you ever done any of that in the past?
We’d love to make features down the road, but right now commercials give us the chance to make different little movies every time we go out. Whether it’s a traditional :30 or something long-form for the Web, we enjoy telling all sorts of stories. Peter’s graduate thesis short, Duncan Removed, was just nominated for a Student Academy Award.
What do you think is the best part about being a director?
Being on set and working on the day is a lot of fun, but we get a bigger kick out of prepping jobs down to the smallest detail because in the end that’s what makes the project really work. On set, we enjoy our collaboration with actors and helping them fine tune a performance, but we also enjoy working in the cutting room to help shape that performance into something new and unexpected.
What’s the worst part?
Last minute changes like losing a location or bad weather can
throw a wrench in things, but we’ve found that those near-disasters force you to roll with it and find a creative solution that is often better than your original intent.
