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.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More