Cock-a-doodle-doooooo! Spring is in the air as the sun rises over the barn. Ma is in the kitchen cooking up some bacon and eggs, while Pa’s out tilling the fields for spring planting. But in the chicken coop there’s a rumble. Is it aliens? Farmer Bob goes out to see what the dang hill’s goin’ on. "Golly!" he exclaims. "There’s about a half dozen cracked open eggs with little people popping out, waving cameras!" It was the strangest day on the farm ever (except for that incident with the cow, Cousin Ned and the circus dwarves from the next town over). Seven commercial directors were hatched. And here they are in our rundown of promising up-and-comers.
Roenberg
Last August, when the Norwegian directing team Roenberg—a.k.a. Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg—stepped off the plane in Los Angeles, a producer said to them, "’Here, you either make it in six months or six years.’" In Roenberg’s case, six months was all it took.
Since joining Public Works, Santa Monica, a satellite of bicoastal HKM Productions, Roenberg has directed Budweiser’s "Rex" via DDB Chicago, which aired during the Super Bowl and was later chosen as the number one spot on USA Today’s poll of Big Game ads. Since then, the directing team has been busy shooting for both the European and U.S. markets.
It all started for Roenberg 16 years ago in a little town south of Oslo called Sandefjord, where the duo shot its first short film with a camcorder owned by Sandberg’s father. A mutual friend of their families had a small video production company, where they were allowed to edit their films in the evening. After spending most of their adolescence shooting music videos and short films to show their friends, Roenning and Sandberg hitched their names together and launched Roenberg Entertainment Ltd. "The reason we started that was to appear more serious trying to get money for our short films," explains Roenberg.
In ’92, they put their newfound enterprise on hold to attend Stockholm Film School. After graduating in ’94, they entered the required military service with the Royal Norwegian Army. There were only two positions open in the army for filmmakers at the time; Roenning and Sandberg were each given a post. "While the others were having NATO exercises, we got to shoot amazing shots of tanks going over the snow from a helicopter," says Roenberg with a slight hint of satisfaction.
When they left the army, Roenberg began producing and directing music videos and spots under the Roenberg Entertainment banner. After consistently outbidding their competitors, Roenberg was contacted and signed by Reel Image, Oslo. Roenberg directed several commercials through that company, including the Telecon Telenor ad "Phone Code" out of Bates, Oslo. The spot shows how two lovers devise a long distance way of communicating without running up their phone bill. Roenberg also helmed "Ski Jump" for Solo Orange out of DMB&B, Oslo; Color Air’s "Wrong Flight" through Ogilvy & Mather, Oslo; and "Jacuzzi" for BBS Direct Deposit through Leo Burnett Co., Oslo.
Roenberg left Reel Image last year and joined Moland Film Company, Jar, Norway, for representation in Norway and Denmark, and also signed with Tsunami Films, London, for representation in all of Europe except Germany, where they have a spot deal with Markenfilm, Wedel, Germany. Through Tsunami, Roenberg recently helmed "Do Nothing" for Capital One out of DMB&B, London. At Moland Films the team has continued to helm spots for Solo Orange, and recently directed Menthol’s "Driver" through Bates, Oslo.
When asked if they are surprised by how quickly everything is happening, Roenberg states, "When you are in the middle of it—like we are right now—it all seems perfectly natural."
Risa Mickenberg
Risa Mickenberg loves Thomas Jefferson. "I don’t mean to be old-fashioned, but what made him so great was that he was a really well-rounded guy. I just think you’re here for a limited time, so why not try everything?" she says, articulating a wisdom she lives by daily.
Mickenberg, 33, is the author of Taxi Driver Wisdom, a collection of cab-driver witticisms; and was a copywriter/creative director at Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, New York, an actress, a playwright, and associate editor at Core: The Dirty Magazine for Smart People. As if that isn’t enough, she has now signed with X-Ray Productions, bicoastal and Chicago, as a commercial director. (X-Ray is a satellite of Crossroads Films.)
"As a director, if you’re not good or you don’t care about every single aspect of what you’re doing—the style, music, photography, acting, the story—part of it is going to suck." Mickenberg believes it is her responsibility to be knowledgeable in all these areas.
Perhaps the most informed experience she brings to directing is her many years on the agency side. After studying advertising and creative writing at Boston University, Mickenberg went to work as a copywriter at Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston. From there she moved to New York and landed a job at Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners. During her six-year tenure, Mickenberg helped put Snapple on the map with the "Wendy from Snapple" campaign. She also created ads for clients such as Keds, Kenneth Cole, Charivari and Bamboo Lingerie, among others.
In ’97, Mickenberg left the agency and started studying acting at HB Studio, New York. "I went from being this big creative director at Kirshenbaum to working on an independent film where I had to run into the street and get hit by a cab," she laughs.
Nevertheless, the acting experience gave her the bug to write a play, which turned into a screenplay called Breathe. "All the directors that I wanted for my movie idea were writer/director types. I thought they wouldn’t want to do someone else’s work, so I thought, ‘I should just learn how to direct this myself.’"
Before joining X-Ray, Mickenberg honed her directing skills on a documentary series pilot for HBO called Neighbors. Although the show never aired, it exposed her to all the aspects of shooting. "I was the producer, director, location scout, art director. I learned the whole process."
A year and a half ago, Mickenberg shot two commercials for Union Bay out of Toth Design & Advertising, New York and Concord, Mass., with production support from Mambo Films, Los Angeles. Playing with Union Bay’s initials, "UB," Mickenberg created two fun spots—"Unemployed Babysitter" and "Unsafe Beverage"—that spoke to the high school demographic. In the first spot, a girl gets fired from a babysitting gig after having a huge party at her employer’s house. In the second, a teen places a cup of hot coffee precariously between his legs while driving.
Based on that work, Mickenberg signed with X-Ray a year ago. She has since shot two more Union Bay spots, "Unpaid Bill," and "Unhooked Bra," also out of Toth; and Web Fluff, a short film for Tommy Hilfiger’s Web site, through Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners. She hopes to shoot Breathe this summer, and was still working out the details at press time. Mickenberg does not see directing commercials as the final destination in her career, but rather another stop on the long road to becoming a well-rounded person.
Barbara
McDonough
When Barbara McDonough was a kid, she sold tickets at a movie theater and watched the films. When she went to college, she studied still photography. And when she graduated she started working at MTV because she loved music. At each stage, she had no idea that she would become a director, but it all makes sense to her now. "I am in love with narrative, performance, music and photography. Directing seems to bring all those things together," she says.
McDonough’s sense of narrative and performance is what caught the eye of bicoastal/international Partizan, where she is now signed. Last fall, as a director/producer at MTV On-Air Promotions, New York, McDonough helmed an image campaign for the MTV Video Music Awards called "The Sounds Of." The package consisted of four promos illustrating how youth and music are inextricably linked. In "The Sounds of Higher Education," a misfit successfully ignores the social hierarchy of high school simply by turning up the volume on his Walkman. In "The Sounds of First Love," a young man makes a mix tape for a lover who has left him. There is no dialogue in any of the promos, yet the sense of what each character is feeling resonates as strongly as the music that accompanies them.
The promos prompted a call from Partizan president/executive producer Steve Dickstein—a phone call McDonough never expected. "I liked [the promos] but didn’t see the complete link right away [to commercials], so when he called I was like, ‘You want to talk to me?’" she recalls.
One of the strengths of McDonough’s reel is her keen sense of casting. "I look for people who have that atypical sort of thing going on; yet I’m always trying to find people who other people can recognize."
She had her share of directing "real" people while at MTV. The first promo she ever shot was in ’96 for the network’s sister station, M2. The idea was that M2 was like the original, but different, so McDonough went to an Elvis convention in Las Vegas and cast 24 Elvis impersonators to bring the point home. McDonough also pitched the idea of filming recording artists such as Joni Mitchell and Jon Spencer talking about their musical influences in a campaign she appropriately called "Influences."
Since joining Partizan, McDonough has directed "Shine" for Gloss.com through Ground Zero, Marina del Rey, Calif. She recently wrapped four spots for Edwin Jeans via Yumika Advertising, Tokyo, starring Brad Pitt; and a Census 2000 commercial entitled "Jeter" through Young & Rubicam, New York, with the New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. So what’s her take on directing movie stars and athletes? "The thing with celebrities is to humanize them. Derek isn’t an actor, and Brad is. Somewhere in the middle, you find the best bits of both."
Marc Klasfeld
Bicoastal/international hungry man director Marc Klasfeld’s biggest influence isn’t a famous movie director. It’s disc jockey Howard Stern. "Howard Stern combines art, entertainment, sex, daily life, comedy, serious issues, anything you can think of, and he does it all in the simplest of ways—just by being himself," explains Klasfeld. In many ways, Klasfeld has approached his own work in the same way by recognizing that sometimes, life is dirty.
Klasfeld says his affinity for documenting real life comes from his upbringing. "I was a Jewish kid in a blue-collar part of New Jersey, [living] among a lot of Italian families who were involved with the mob. When you grow up in that kind of aesthetic, there are a lot of life experiences to draw from."
Klasfeld went to film school at New York University and began directing music videos shortly after graduating. "The thing that turned me on to music videos and commercials in a big way was when I saw David Fincher’s [of bicoastal Anonymous] and Mark Romanek’s [of bicoastal/international Satellite] reels. I was just blown away by them, because they were more interesting cinematically than anything that was going on in feature films."
Klasfeld struggled for the first couple of years, shooting videos for obscure artists that rarely saw any airtime. But by ’96, his career heated up, and he opened Rock Hard Films, New York. Working mostly with hip-hop artists, Klasfeld shot videos that were evocative and socially aware. A recent video he did for Juvenile’s "HA" caught the eye of hungry man. The video is a provocative, if not disturbing, piece that takes the viewer through the heart of the Magnolia Projects, a ghetto in New Orleans.
It left an impression on hungry man partner/director Hank Perlman, who remembered the video when he was introduced to Klasfeld by Stacy Wall, creative director at Wieden + Kennedy (W + K), New York. Soon after meeting Perlman, Klasfeld directed a promo out of W + K for ESPN’s 2000 ESPY Awards. Klasfeld shot "ESPYs" through hungry man and was simultaneously signed to the company’s roster.
Klasfeld has many theories about what makes a great director. "Good directors borrow and great directors steal, but you have to offer something of yourself into the equation," he says. "Life is all around you, and that’s what filmmaking is all about for me—relating something from life and putting it up there." His latest project is a script with the working title L.A. Riot Spectacular, which is supposed to be a Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles-type comedy that is a satire of the Los Angles riots.
Klasfeld will continue to direct music videos via Rock Hard Films while pursuing commercial work through hungry man. At press time, he was up for two more jobs through W + K, but could not disclose details. "Whether I’m directing a commercial, a video or a film, I just try to make the project engaging. That’s all anybody wants."
Steve Tsuchida
Steve Tsuchida came into directing the old-school way. He was an art director for three years at Deutsch, New York, and then spent a year at Tierney & Partners, Philadelphia. "For the first three and a half years I thought this was going to be my career, but somewhere around the fourth year I thought, ‘This is not what it’s all about,’" he recalls.
Determined to direct, Tsuchida left Tierney & Partners to attend the Art Center School of Design, Pasadena, Calif., "because I wanted to become a more complete filmmaker."
In the year leading up to school, and then in between semesters, Tsuchida was a freelance art director on jobs for J. Walter Thompson, New York, and Deutsch. "At that point I was trying to make money for school, so I was all over the place, taking any job that would pay," Tsuchida says.
His senior thesis was to build a commercial reel. Tsuchida shot four spec spots, including one for Dickies called "Friends?", which chronicles a young man’s angst after discovering the girl he’s been dating just wants to be "friends."
Tsuchida didn’t waste any time getting his spec reel out to production companies upon graduating. "At first I thought things were going well and I was going to get signed really fast because I had places like [bicoastal] HKM and [bicoastal/international] Satellite taking me out to lunch," he relates. But he quickly learned that a lunch doesn’t equal a contract, and after five months he pulled his spec reel out of circulation and shot a few more spots.
"I thought, you only get to be the new guy and have the brand new spec reel once. There comes a point where everyone has seen it, and if you’re not signed, people will start to wonder, ‘Why isn’t this guy signed?’" Then Tsuchida met Oil Factory, Hollywood, executive producer Billy Poveda. "I knew that Oil Factory was a company that I really liked and could revisit after I shot some more stuff," Tsuchida says.
He then directed two more spec pieces: "The Remote" for the World Wrestling Federation, where two twentysomethings, who are sitting on a couch, eye the remote control and end up wrestling for it; and "Headphones" for Virgin Megastore, which demonstrates the unusual power of music. A man places a pair of headphones on a tomato and the tomato grows. A woman picks up the headphones, puts them on, and her breasts grow.
At the end of a six-month shooting period, Tsuchida hooked up with Poveda again and was signed in October ’99. "I went with Oil Factory because it is one out of five places that had what I was ultimately looking for—a company with a cool, modern sensibility," says Tsuchida.
At press time, Tsuchida had just completed a two-spot package out of Crispin Porter + Bogusky Advertising, Miami, for Cookers Bar & Grille, a restaurant chain in the southern U.S. In "Wine & Ribs," a man sitting alone at a bar asks the waiter to deliver a glass of wine to the woman seated at the table behind him. She returns the favor by sending him an entire meal. Thinking he’s scored, he turns around to thank her. Though she smiles at him seductively, she has barbecue sauce smeared all over her face and down the front of her shirt.
"Throughout my experiences, the thing I discovered is that when you’re outside of it, directing seems like the magical mystery tour," Tsuchida says. "But when you get into advertising and you go on shoots, the whole thing becomes demystified—and that gave me the confidence to go out and do it."
Deb Hagan
After spending 10 years as an art director at various agencies, Deb Hagan says the biggest challenge in becoming a director was making the decision to cut the agency side loose. "When I was putting together my spec reel, the producer and I had this saying: ‘Go big or go home.’ Sticking to that theory and just hoping for the best is the hardest part," says Hagan, who signed with bicoastal Straw Dogs six months ago.
Hagan did have a solid advertising career in place. She went to the University of Delaware, Newark, where she studied advertising design. Her first job out of college was at Ammirati & Puris (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), New York, as an art director. After two years she went to Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, in the same capacity, and then relocated to the West Coast to art direct at TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, where she worked on Unocal 76, The Weather Channel and Sony PlayStation. Her last stop on the agency trail was BBDO West, Los Angeles.
Hagan left that agency in July ’99. "I had started putting together a spec reel when I was at TBWA/ Chiat/Day, and continued to build it when I went to BBDO," explains Hagan. "I eventually started to get a few jobs on my own. At some point it got to be too much to do both, so I committed to directing."
One of Hagan’s directing gigs while at BBDO was a spot for Holiday Inn Express out of Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, called "Clandestine Meeting." Hagan was a friend of Fallon McElligott creative director David Lubars, who had hired Hagan at BBDO West when he was CEO/chief creative officer there. In the spot, two men meet in an alleyway much like the way Bob Woodward would meet "Deep Throat" in All the President’s Men. One man asks for information, and the only clues the informant gives him is that he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the previous night. It was shot through Stiefel+ Company, Santa Monica.
Hagan shopped her reel around to "a ton of production companies" and eventually met Straw Dogs’ executive producer, Craig Rodgers, through a sales representative. "I’m lucky because they really believe in me and my work. Starting out and trying to make this transition, it was important to find a place where I wasn’t just director number twenty," Hagan says.
Since joining the company, her directing career is off to a good start. She has helmed a spot for AthletesDirect.com called "Refrigerator" out of WongDoody, Santa Monica, in which a man drops a refrigerator on his head in order to be in the same hospital where Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is visiting sick patients. The voiceover: "Now there is an easier way to get close to the athletes you love. AthletesDirect.com." She also shot a spot called "Employee of the Month" for Quizno’s Subs, a nationwide restaurant franchise, via Morey-Mahoney Advertising, Denver.
Hagan says, "There are so many creatives that want to direct, or talk about directing. My feeling has always been that if there’s something you want to do, the only thing standing in your way is you."c
