Bicoastal RSA USA has added a different skew to its roster with the signing of directors Regan Cameron, Thomas Job and Carl Rinsch, and graphics director/designer Johnny Hardstaff. The moves mark the first U.S. commercial representation for all four.
RSA USA managing director Jules Daly related that the signings signal a new direction of sorts for the company, which has not been known for developing the careers of new or relatively unknown directors. "Obviously, with so many [established directors] here already, we can cruise along, be busy and get work," said Daly. "But [company owners/directors Ridley and Tony Scott] are really interested in fostering this talent. I think if we want to keep up with the Joneses, … we’ll all find it a lot more exciting to work with these types of directors than with an established director."
The New York-based Cameron is a well-known fashion photographer whose print work has appeared in domestic and international versions of such magazines as Vogue, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure and Jane. He continues to be represented by New York-based CLM for print assignments.
Daly pointed out that because Cameron’s photography has a more natural feel to it, RSA USA believes his work will translate well into film. "He’s got such a great personality and works so well with people," noted Daly. "He makes women look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen. And he fills a beauty niche which we don’t really have, since director Tom Dey moved out of doing that. As well, there’s a music video side to Regan that people have been interested in because he’s shot so much talent. Ma-donna [for instance] was interested in him [to direct] a music video, so we think he’ll straddle both music videos and commercials for us."
The U.K.-based Hardstaff was signed to RSA on the strength of a five-minute animated film he conceived and directed for Sony Playstation 2. Sony commissioned him to do the piece, which is airing on television and in theatres throughout Europe. The whimsical, low-tech-looking film consists of graphics created in PhotoShop and Illustrator, and was based loosely upon the idea of the history of gaming.
After graduating from London-based St Martin School of Art in 1994 with a B.A. in graphics, Hardstaff started out as a freelance graphics designer in the fashion world, working on campaigns for such English designers as Paul Smith. He then shifted into designing graphics for album covers. Through his work with recording artists, Hardstaff began creating motion graphics for music videos a year ago.
Having seen a video he’d done for an English band, The Freestylers, Sony hired Hardstaff to produce a short film for the Playstation 2 launch. "They gave me free rein and left me alone," Hardstaff reported. "It was a bit more than the history of gaming; I’m not a great computer game-player myself. It was about the cultural significance [of gaming] over the last 20 years … I tried to broaden it out a bit, which I hopefully achieved. The programs I used were ones that people don’t tend to use for animation. That was kind of the point: to make it look like it had been put together in your bedroom."
Sony recently commissioned Hardstaff to produce another piece featuring live-action and animation that he describes as completely different in terms of style from the first PlayStation job.
"Johnny [represents] a great area for us because we’ve never signed a graphics person," said Daly. "It’s a different world for us; it’ll be a learning experience in a good way."
Thomas Job, a native Austrian, maintains a number of affiliations in Europe, including Berlin-based Markenfilm in Germany, Milan-based BRW & Partners in Italy and Vienna-based Filmhaus in Austria. After starting out directing German documentaries and music videos, Job forayed into spot directing some three and a half years ago. Known for highly stylized visuals, he has helmed a number of European car commercials, including those for Nissan, Audi, BMW and Mercedes; his credits also include spots for German and Swiss Telecom and, recently, an ad for Zurec, a French insurance company.
Job told SHOOT that he signed with RSA in order to break into the American ad market; to that end, he related that he is moving to Los Angeles at the beginning of next year. "The market [in Europe] is difficult because the creativity is quite strange there," Job explained. "My main market, Germany, is falling apart … ideas are getting weaker. I’ve done lots of work in France and Spain, which is better, but still it’s hard. I’m going to move to L.A. because, creatively speaking, U.S. work is much better and much more in my style."
Noting that Job is well established in Europe, Daly said she believes the director will find a receptive audience among U.S. agencies. "He’s kind of filling a niche that we don’t have," Daly observed. "I don’t want to say he’s filling [former RSA USA director] Marcus [Nispel’s] place, but he’s extremely visual and his casting is also superior. But he’s got comedy stuff on his reel too, so he falls into a diverse group. And he’s a workhorse; he loves to work back-to-back."
Rinsch was signed on the strength of three spec spots—for Calvin Klein, Pepsi and Tampax—that he directed for his senior thesis project at Brown University, Providence, R.I., from which he graduated in June. Among the ads is Pepsi’s "Movie Theatre," in which a young man at a cinema discovers he’s missing his wallet; while retracing his steps, he makes an unexpected and startling discovery.
Explaining that he’s always wanted to be a filmmaker, Rinsch said he ended up conceptualizing and helming spec spots for his thesis partly because his budget wouldn’t permit him to make a short film. "And I knew the stylistic things I wanted to do wouldn’t lend themselves very well to a short film," he added. "I didn’t think I was going to end up making commercials professionally. But I wanted to make a commercial: storyboard it, write it, shoot it; I wanted to figure out all of the [techniques]."
After Rinsch returned to his native Los Angeles to put the finishing touches on the commercials, someone at a post house said his work had the makings of a good spec reel. Rinsch subsequently sent his reel to RSA, and shortly thereafter received a call from Daly.
"You watch his reel once and you want to meet him," said Daly of Rinsch. "For a 23-year-old, he has this odd understanding of advertising as far as what he chose to do for those spec spots."
Noted Rinsch. "I feel RSA is at a renaissance now, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that. The company is totally changing; all the executive staff is new and excited. Ridley has basically given everyone the opportunity to create something different, and to be part of that is exceptional."
RSA USA’s East Coast sales are handled by New York-based Andrea Marcucci and Michelle Thibault. Santa Monica-based Stacey & Annie reps the company on the West Coast, and Chicago-based Nikki Weiss & Co. handles the Midwest.
