Recently, several European commercial directors have signed with U.S. companies in an effort to break into or better establish themselves in the American ad market. A few of these helmers have already wrapped their first spots for their new U.S. roosts. Below is a look at six directors who are seeking to make their stateside mark in commercials. Two of them comprise a co-directing team. The helmers hail from a variety of locales, and are Sebastien Grousset, the directing duo GusGus, Patricia Murphy, Dominic Murphy, and Joakim Sandstrom. All of them plan to focus on developing a stateside body of work, while at the same time maintaining a presence in the European market. Enjoy this look at a few of the spot directors who will be racking up the frequent flyer miles as they work both here and in Europe.
Sebastien Grousset
Based on a referral from a freelance agency producer, bicoastal/international Propaganda Films recently added director Sebastien Grousset to its roster.
SHOOT caught up with Grousset on a shoot in Spain, where he was working on a project for Tesaro, Madrid and Barcelona. The director is still repped in Spain by that company, while Propaganda handles him in the U.S. and the rest of Europe. Grousset was formerly with bicoastal HKM Productions for stateside spot work, but feels the move to Propaganda is a better fit. "Propaganda has a view of the future which is both exciting and achievable," he says. "I look forward to being part of it."
Colin Hickson, VP of Propaganda Commercials, does not anticipate any problems in introducing Grousset to U.S. agencies. "The main selling point for a director who has made a reputation elsewhere is a freshness of approach he or she brings to a project," explains Hickson. "Agencies are always looking for new creative talent. We like to offer them the best from all markets.
Grousset just completed his first job out of Propaganda: a MasterCard spot called "Easy Rider" via McCann-Erickson, New York, that is set to break in the coming weeks. Most of Grousset’s other recent credits are from Spain, including Moviestar’s "Sportsman" and Via Digital’s "Passion For Football," both for Ruiz Nicoli, Madrid; and Retrovision’s "Front Tennis" through Tiempo BBDO Madrid.
Grousset sees the move to break into the U.S. as just another way to achieve his goal of finding interesting stories to tell. "I am committed to doing the most creative work available," he says, "and that includes work from the American market."
However, he prefers the European style of working. "The main difference [between directing in Europe and the U.S.] is that a director in Europe is typically contracted to deliver through a director’s cut so that he is also involved in the creative process through editorial, not just in delivering the film," explains Grousset. "The similarities are that both [Europe and America] involve collaboration, with a creative team involved. At the moment, I am more at home with the European style of filming because I am more familiar with it."
At present, Grousset plans to keep his home base in Madrid, but would relocate to the U.S. if circumstances dictated a move. "I’ve been working out of the European market for the past two years and would like the opportunity to work with American creative teams."
