Ludwig + Preston–a directorial team consisting of long-time agency creatives Ross Ludwig and Shawn Preston–has come aboard bicoastal/international RSA Films for representation in the U.S.
Both Ludwig and Preston’s agency creative experience spans U.S. and international shops. The two met in London and began directing together in 2003 while continuing to freelance as agency creatives. They got their feet wet as helmers in the Eastern European market, frequently conceptualizing the work they directed. Shooting in Turkey, Serbia, Poland and other European centers provided an invaluable filmmaking education.
Their directorial assignments evolved and began to attain a higher profile over the years, including such credits as a live-action/visual effects promo shot in Prague for the NBC primetime TV series Medium; a Mountain Dew Amp ad, “Jump Start,” for BBDO New York, which went on debut during the 2008 Super Bowl telecast, earning “Top 10” distinction in that year’s Big Game rankings of commercials in Time Magazine and USA Today; and a recent spot, “Skinned,” for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in which a skinned alligator takes a woman to task for her alligator handbag, while a rabbit does the same to a guy wearing a rabbit fur jacket. (Visual effects/post on the PETA job was done at Riot/Method, Santa Monica.)
All three spots–for PETA, Amp and Medium–were not only directed and conceptualized by Ludwig and Preston but also share the bond of inventive, visually driven humor. “Though we love comedy, as directors we’re more visual storytellers than gag recorders,” said Ludwig. “That’s different from the kind of work that you see done typically by agency creatives who become directors.”
Both the PETA ad–which premiered in Paris during Fashion week, and features the voices of singer Pink as the alligator and comedian/performer Ricky Gervais as the bunny–and Amp’s “Jump Start” were produced via Food Chain Films, Portland, Ore., which was Ludwig and Preston’s domestic roost prior to RSA. Ludwig and Preston, who moved back to the U.S. in ’05, were initially working as a directorial duo known as Papa & Daddy. (Papa & Daddy were the directors of record on the Amp Super Bowl commercial.) But they recently changed that moniker to Ludwig + Preston because a Google search of Papa & Daddy would never lead to them but rather to a same sex parenting website and related topics. “We’re all for same sex parenting,” quipped Preston, but clearly as a career move a change in directorial branding was in order.
Ludwig’s agency writer/art director pedigree includes creative staff positions at The Ad Store, New York, followed by Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore and then London. He went on to freelance for London shops Mother and Fallon, Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore., New York and London, 180 in Amsterdam, TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles, BBDO New York, Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York, 72andSunny, El Segundo, Calif., and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
Preston’s background spans hybrid art director/writer staff roles at The Integer Group, Denver, followed by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland and Amsterdam, and BBH London. His subsequent freelance gigs span many of the same shops where Ludwig freelanced.
Among the duo’s other directorial credits are work for MTV Asia, MTV U.K. and Sony Ericsson. Both of the MTV campaigns were included in the British D&AD Annual. Ludwig and Preston’s directing endeavors have also gained recognition at such competitions as the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and The One Show.
Fully focused on their directing careers now that they’re at RSA, Messrs. Ludwig and Preston hope to garner spot assignments as well as the opportunity to helm other varied forms of branded content ranging from web films to longer form fare. When needed, they would like to contribute creatively and conceptually to projects they direct. “Having been on the agency side, we know about selling good ideas to clients, about making scripts better, about the need for directors to view and to work with the agency and client as collaborative partners,” said Preston. “We want to contribute in positive ways to those collaborations.”
In addition to its new relationship with RSA, the team of Ludwig + Preston continues to maintain several international production house ties, including with Irene in Paris and Trigger Happy in Berlin.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More