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    Spots Are A Go For Director Tim Hamilton

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1460 Views

    By Robert Goldrich

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    HOLLYWOOD—Director Tim Hamilton has joined bicoastal Go Film for exclusive commercial representation in the U.S. At press time, he was slated to embark on his first job under the Go banner, a project for an undisclosed client, out of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), San Francisco.

    Hamilton continues to be repped in Canada by Avion Film Productions, Toronto. He has been a mainstay helmer in the Canadian ad community, as underscored earlier this month during the Bessie Awards, which saw an AGF Mutual Funds spot he directed, "Surveyor" for TBWA, Toronto, win a gold award, and a craft honor for directing. Additionally, a Hamilton-helmed Dominion supermarkets commercial, "Fresh Fruit Manager," for agency Rethink, Vancouver, B.C., copped a gold, as did the overall Dominion campaign.

    Hamilton’s major ad credits have largely been in comedy and storytelling for the Canadian market. He had been repped stateside for a stretch by director Michael Bay’s Santa Monica shop, The Institute for Development of Advanced Perceptual Awareness, but didn’t land any spotwork there. Prior to that, he was at bicoastal Zooma Zooma, where his credits included some Ad Council PSAs, which took a humorous approach to encouraging kids to stay in school.

    Now at Go, Hamilton is committed to step up his U.S. ad activity. He became a hot commodity in the U.S. in 2000 with his short film, Truth in Advertising, a wildly popular spoof on the pretentious nature of the ad biz, which was created to open the ’00 Marketing Awards, an industry competition in Canada. The 12-minute film generated considerable buzz, fueled by it later becoming accessible for a time on the Internet. For example, upon being posted on the Zooma Zooma Web site, Truth in Advertising generated thousands upon thousands of hits during just the first few days. The film went on to be short-listed at the ’00 Cannes Film Festival.

    Then Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director Bob Isherwood asked Hamilton to create a second film in the Truth in Advertising tradition. Dubbed The Reel Truth, the film played in two parts, introducing and concluding the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase presentation at the ’01 Cannes International Advertising Festival.

    In addition to directing The Reel Truth and Truth in Advertising, Hamilton co-wrote both films with David Chiavegato, who at the time was a creative at Palmer Jarvis DDB, Toronto. (Chiavegato is now a partner/creative at Toronto agency Grip.)

    Hamilton related that he did not fully capitalize on Truth in Advertising and The Reel Truth in terms of the American ad market. At that point in his life, he wanted to stay close to home in Toronto to devote his time to family and to raising his newly born son.

    Gary Rose, a partner/executive producer at Go Film, is a long-time fan of Hamilton’s work, spanning Truth in Advertising and his Canadian spots. "His very subtle, dry approach to storytelling and comedy is evident in his commercials," said Rose of Hamilton. "It’s the kind of work I’m drawn to and why I’ve wanted to work with him for years. Now I’m finally getting that chance, and there’s validation in seeing many of my agency contacts respond immediately to his work." In addition to the earlier alluded to GS&P project, another U.S. ad assignment for Hamilton was pending as SHOOT went to press.

    Hamilton first established himself as a music video director (for such acts as Barenaked Ladies and Crash Test Dummies). One of his music clip roosts was Hoodoo Films, Toronto, which later became a division of Avion. This Avion connection led to his successfully diversifying into commercials.

    Over the years, Hamilton has helmed Canadian spots for such clients as Lexus, Levi’s, Toyota, Suzuki and Concerned Children’s Advertisers, an organization that promotes responsible advertising targeting children in Canada. The latter PSA, titled "House Hippo" for Publicis, Toronto, showcases in documentary fashion the habits of the house hippopotamus, a miniature hippo that lives in people’s homes. A voiceover then concludes the spot with "That looked so real, but you knew that couldn’t be true, didn’t you?" The PSA’s advice—question the truth of what you see on TV. "House Hippo" gained recognition in SHOOT‘s "The Best Work You May Never See" gallery (6/25/99, p. 17).

    Hamilton joins a Go directorial roster that consists of David Dobkin, Rene Eller, Caitlin Felton, Christopher Guest, Overall & McQuoid, Joel Pront, rad-ish, Michael Shapiro and Neil Tardio Jr.

    Category:News



    Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?

    Monday, November 25, 2024

    Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.

    "When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.

    And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.

    "Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.

    No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."

    At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.

    After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More

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