RSA Films has signed filmmaker Jonny Mass for commercial representation in the U.S. and U.K. Mass–who had previously been with RadicalMedia–has directed campaigns for the likes of BMW, Toyota, Porsche and Ducati, putting him on the fast track as a sought-after car director.
“Jonny is an incredible talent whose work captured our attention immediately,” commented Luke Ricci president of RSA Films US. “His visual storytelling is visceral and fun, reflecting his passion for driving and the action genre. His technical approach to filmmaking never undermines the characters in his work, which is a very difficult line to walk.”
Mass shared, “It just took one meeting with Luke and [EP] Buddy Brakha to realize the special nature of what’s going on at RSA and I had to be part of it. There’s this intoxicating energy and excitement that fills the atmosphere with every interaction. If one didn’t already know the longstanding legacy of RSA, they’d think it was the hottest up and coming shop around. As a director, that’s the type of energy I want to be surrounded by!”
Mass–who's an alumnus of the 2019 SHOOT 17th Annual New Directors Showcase–noted that he grew up on “some of the greatest action-comedy movies of all time–and I’ll be honest, I’m a fiend for them. The bigger the stunts, the harder the laughs, the more horizontal the lens flare, it’s what gets my blood pumping. In my ‘Octane Symphony' commercial for Ducati, I designed a drone shot in collaboration with Aether Films that came down from a building, shot through a gap in the street, and landed in a motorcycle chase through traffic all without ever cutting. Many feature films have since replicated this very shot.”
Mass brings that same palpable energy to spots he’s directed for Facebook, Persol, Spotify and Michelin, along with doc-style shorts. Among them, The Underdog for Red Digital Cinema, about a fight club fighter and his alternative take on what it means to win, and The Legend of Solorzano, a Vimeo Staff Pick about a great off-road driver at the Baja 1000 whose unrivaled moves come from driving the streets of Tijuana. His latest short with Sony, Cowboy Currency, is inspired by the video game “Red Game Redemption” and delivers a take on the Wild West that’s comedic and self-aware.
Mass is a self-taught filmmaker who studied behind-the-scenes videos of his favorite films on YouTube, then researched what tools were used for specific shots. “The art of filmmaking is the ability to reverse engineer one’s subconscious understanding of storytelling through the medium of cinema,” he offered. “It’s about educating ourselves on how to break it down. Once we’ve learned how to do that, it’s just about the making.”
