SHOOT’s spring season ensemble of up-and-coming filmmaking talent includes an ad agency creative director who made a major splash with a poignant and topical PSA he both wrote and directed.
Also in the up-and-coming directors mix are: twin brothers whose spec work has been adopted by clients and become part of their branding/marketing efforts: a feature documentary directing trio who rebranded itself for the ad sector, connecting with an independent feature production house which recently formed a shop dedicated to the creation and production of original branded content and spots; and a five-person collective who after establishing itself in the Detroit market is now poised to extend its reach nationally with its first formal production company affiliation.
Here’s our spring collection of some promising directors to watch.
Peter Moore Smith
A familiar name and well respected in ad industry circles, Peter Moore Smith, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi New York, is by contrast not all that widely known as a director. But the industry veteran–who made a major creative splash during his early days at BBDO New York (with celebrated campaigns for Pepsi, Visa, GE and FedEx)–is now looking to take on select directorial assignments for Saatchi clients, an aspiration that has been buoyed by his recent emotionally poignant and thought provoking PSA titled “The Talk” which he wrote and directed for the Brotherhood/Sister Sol, a NY-based youth development organization.
The spot depicts several discussions between African-American parents and their sons about how to avoid potentially dangerous encounters with the police. This is a common dialogue dubbed “the talk” in black households. In sharp contrast, the piece next shows a white father telling his teenage son that the police are there to help and to seek out an officer if there’s trouble. Then the question is ultimately asked, “Do we want one America–or two?”
Smith related that he was “passionate about the project and jumped at the chance to direct it. After learning about this painful discussion taking place in African-American homes, I felt it was important that, first of all, everyone knows that it’s happening, and secondly, that we start to examine the reasons why. It’s our hope–and it’s my personal belief–that positive, constructive conversation about ‘the talk’ can bring about positive change.”
While police shootings resulting in the deaths of unarmed black men in New York, Bridgeton, NJ, and Ferguson, Missouri, have made those communities controversial flashpoints, generating divisive arguments and in some cases rioting, Smith felt that “The Talk” and the problems it represents can help those on different sides of the issue find some common ground. “The feedback I’ve personally received has been gratifying. I’ve had African-American families tell me that the PSA captured their experience of trying to prepare their children. And white people have told me that the spot opened their eyes that these kind of conversations were happening in black family households. I think there’s agreement that we want one America when it comes to this issue and how people are treated.”
“The Talk” represented Smith’s coming out party as a director. He had directed some under the radar work over the years, including what he described as “little bits and pieces when we couldn’t afford a director” and “some personal art films that no one should ever see. But I’ve been groomed to become more active as a director. I have spent so much time as an agency creative working with so many good directors that you can’t help but learn. It’s pretty easy to steal from the best,” he quipped.
Noting that Saatchi will always collaborate with world class directors at production companies, Smith said, though, that there have been and continue to be occasions where in-house directorial opportunities arise on budget-challenged projects. He hopes to direct some of those jobs. “I particularly like actor and dialogue-driven work. If I have ability as a director, it would be drawing out authentic performances from people. I prefer work that’s about people at their most human.”
Smith shared that “over the past couple of years, I realized the part of the job I love most is being on set. It’s the fun part of advertising. I thought I’d like to try directing. I’m a full-time employee of Saatchi. When the job is right and the creative team is for it, I’d like to be considered for directing to help a Saatchi client. I’m keen to explore directing when the circumstances are right.
As a creative, Smith’s penchant for dialogue and visual narrative, from the emotional to the comedic, has garnered a number of ad industry awards, including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, Effies and Clios. He is also a novelist and a screenwriter. Smith has published two books (“Raveling” and “Los Angeles,” both from Little Brown) and has written an independent movie (Forgetting the Girl directed by Nate Taylor), which was awarded the audience prize at the 2012 Soho Film Festival. Smith’s short stories have been widely published and his writing has been recognized with assorted literary awards and honors, including the Pushcart Prize, an Edgar Award nomination, and inclusion in the annual Best American Mystery Stories anthology.
The Freise Brothers
At press time, The Freise Brothers (Adam and Nathan)–who direct via Biscuit Filmworks–were about to embark on a 90-second narrative promo for the Newport Beach Film Festival. The project is the helming duo’s first full fledged ad assignment yet they’ve already made an impact in the commercialmaking marketplace through spec work that has been embraced by clients. Among those spec pieces catching SHOOT’s eye was “Making It Home,” a Biscuit-produced :45 for Southern California-based homeless assistance agency PATH. The spot was adopted by PATH which is now running the message online to raise awareness for its permanent housing developments and other services within the homeless community.
“Making It Home” features narration describing the emotional importance of a permanent home, and striking visual juxtapositions between gritty urban streets–which serve as “homes” for the homeless–and warm, inviting houses. The Freise Brothers directed and shot the spot, in addition to handling all visual effects. They shot desolate downtown L.A. streets in the middle of the night, created each house using 3D modeling software, and composited the homes and streets together during postproduction.
“We thought if we were going to do a spec piece, we didn’t want it to be a free commercial for people who didn’t need it,” explained Nathan Freise. “There are so many worthy causes and groups that don’t have the money to do a commercial easily on their own. So we came up with this [‘Making It Home’] and sent it out to a handful of homeless agencies. PATH responded and was the best fit. Their mission fit our slogan. The power was more in the visual but adding to it was live narration from someone who understood homelessness so the final project would feel real and not scripted.”
PATH is a family of social service agencies working together to end homelessness for individuals, families and communities. PATH does this by building housing and providing supportive services in 22 locations from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, Calif. Since 2013, PATH has helped more than 3,800 people make it home.
The home building-themed PSA is most apropos for the Freise Brothers in that the twins originally aspired to be architects. “As kids we were interested in drawing, drafting, anything creative,” said Nathan Freise. “Both Adam and I wanted to be animators when we were young. Our parents put us on a more practical route to make a living. Architecture seemed like a good idea.”
Born and raised in Union, Missouri, Nathan and Adam Freise received degrees in architecture and naturally gravitated toward 3D design, working out of Chicago where they turned out animation and 3D renderings for architects. Yearning for a more creative path, Nathan and Adam pursued short films and side projects in their spare time, leveraging their design prowess for successful experimentation with animation and visual effects. Both brothers went back to school in New York–Nathan attending the School of Visual Arts to study animation while Adam went to the school of architecture at Columbia.
However, Adam spent so much time collaborating with Nathan on his thesis film that he became what amounted to being an honorary member of the School of Visual Arts. The art thesis film they teamed on, a visionary sci-fi piece titled The Machine Stops, was well received on the festival circuit, gaining exposure at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival and the Sitges International Film Festival.
Needing to make money to pay off loans and make a living, the brothers started turning out animation for architects during the day while reserving down time during the week and weekends to work on side projects, building a filmmaking portfolio. Looking for more inspiration creatively and wanting to block out more time for their film pursuits, Nathan and Adam Freise moved to New Mexico. “We spent three months in New Mexico, brainstorming for the first month and then diving into production over the next two months on a two-minute experimental animation identity piece to show what we’re about creatively and what we could do from a technical standpoint,” recalled Nathan Freise.
Titled Four Ton Dream, that piece gave the Freise Brothers the impetus to move to L.A. “Going back to New York to live in a shoebox apartment wasn’t that inviting. We heard great things about L.A. and went there with our short film, hoping that it would open some doors,” related Adam Freise. “We connected with Resource LA [an independent representation firm] and got some valuable guidance and advice.”
The Freise Brothers sent out their reel to a handful of production companies. “We had what was supposed to be a meet and greet with Biscuit Filmworks,” recollected Nathan Freise. “Halfway through the meeting, the tone kind of changed. They seemed pretty interested in us and the meeting went much longer than we thought. They asked us to come back and meet Noam [Biscuit partner and noted director Murro]. A week later we got together with Noam and really hit it off. He had a background similar to us in animation and design and ultimately he said that he liked our stuff and wanted us to join the company.
Their approach was to help us build a reel. They asked us to write as many specs as we could.”
That weekend, which happened to be Memorial Day weekend, Adam and Nathan Freise wrote 12 specs and came back to Biscuit with full concept art, animatic tests and storyboards. “They seemed overwhelmed by our enthusiasm and the amount of work we generated,” said Adam Freise.
The “Making It Home” PSA wasn’t the only spec to take on a real-world life of its own. The Freise Brothers’ “Breaking Barriers” concept in which a runner is shown breaking the sound barrier got attached midway through the development process to the Swiss brand On Shoes. “We wrote it as a spec, put together a treatment and concept art as Biscuit contacted shoe companies,” said Nathan Freise. “On Shoes, with clouds at the bottom of its shoes, liked what we had and the brand bought into what we were doing.”
Both Nathan and Adam Freise are gratified that Biscuit has bought into their careers, citing the company’s commitment, support and expertise. The Freise Brothers also maintain their working relationship with Resource LA, which handles Biscuit on the West Coast.
Clubhouse
Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley came together to form the directorial team Guagua Productions, first establishing themselves in features with Ballplayer: Pelotero, a hard-hitting documentary about Major League Baseball’s relentless and often ruthless pursuit of young baseball players in the Dominican Republic. The film follows two teenagers as they go through the recruitment process and try to realize their big league dreams, facing fierce competition and corruption. The film was well received on the festival circuit, garnered a nationwide theatrical release, has been shown on Fusion and HBO Latino, and is available on Netflix.
Guagua is currently in post on the sequel, The Miguel Sano Story, chronicling the career of Sano, a top baseball prospect from the Dominican who is now looking to make it to the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins. The Sano documentary is slated to debut in theaters later this year.
Guagua has a track record of insightful sports documentaries. In 2013, their Schooled: The Price of College Sports premiered on the Epix television channel. The film explored the NCAA’s treatment of student athletes through the lens of human rights and economics. Schooled fueled several national news stories and was featured on the front webpages of ESPN, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated.
The Guagua Productions moniker stemmed from Finkel, Martin and Paley’s tenure living in the Dominican Republic, spending much time on what the locals refer to as private buses or guaguas in Spanish.
While Finkel, Martin and Paley retain the Guagua nameplate for their feature endeavors, the directorial trio has separately branded itself as Clubhouse for commercials and branded content, joining Process last October for representation in that arena. An independent feature production company with credits that include Last Chance Harvey (Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson), World’s Greatest Dad (Robin Williams) and A.C.O.D. (Adam Scott, Amy Poehler and Jessica Alba), Process last year launched a shop dedicated to the creation and production of original branded content and commercials.
Paley explained, “We felt we needed to brand ourselves for commercials and branded content, going with an English language name with an easier pronunciation–carrying some appeal to the advertising world while retaining our sports theme.”
Prior to joining Process, Clubhouse demonstrated its ability in shorter form fare through a collaborative relationship with Goodwill Industries International that began in 2010. The directing trio turned out a couple of Goodwill shorts, including one documenting how Devin Williams rebuilt his life after incarceration, connecting with Goodwill to gain employment at the Western Virginia Water Authority, enabling him to support his family. The inspiring second chance story about a young man taking accountability for his adversity and then proactively looking to advance himself with the help of Goodwill showcases Clubhouse’s docu-journalist sensibilities.
Recently under the Process banner, Clubhouse directed No Brown M&M’s, a web series of 30-second videos that features the things celebrities place on their contract riders, an often-humorous list of items stars demand to have in their dressing rooms before they agree to perform. The four initial episodes highlight the requests of Britney Spears, Frank Sinatra, Lou Reed, and Van Halen. The latter’s infamous “no brown M&M’s” request inspired the project. The simple stylized shots contrasted on a clean white background amplify the bizarre demands. The list of succinctly narrated items includes Britney Spears’ framed photo of Princess Diana, Frank Sinatra’s old Hollywood fare of booze and cigarettes, and Lou Reed’s surprising selection of fresh fruit and vegetables.
This project was a welcomed departure for the trio, as they were able to create lighthearted pieces of short content that juxtapose the serious long-form documentaries for which they have become known.
Furthermore, Clubhouse is on track to direct three short documentaries for ESPN via Process.
Martin explained the appeal of commercials, branded content and shorts. “With feature documentaries, there’s a lengthy window of time that goes into producing, shooting, editing and ultimately releasing your film. We’re excited about doing work with a shorter turnaround time, that keeps us busy, giving us the opportunity to work on a lot of different types of projects and presenting a change of pace. We want to challenge ourselves with new material.”
As for the division of labor among the Clubhouse members, Finkel described the team as “three heads on the same body on the direction side. We’re very collaborative, talking out ideas and approaches.” Still, there are some specialities with Finkel generally handling shooting, editing and various technical aspects of projects.
While focused on commercials and branded fare, Clubhouse is also working on a script for its first narrative feature film which it hopes to bring to fruition in the next couple of years.
The Work
For The Work, it’s all about the work. The five-person collective–consisting of Jesse Ford, Shane Ford, Christopher Gruse, Edward Knight and Jerome Wald–recently secured its first production company roost, signing with Native Pictures for representation globally. Prior to Native, The Work already had a reputation in their native Detroit, doing plenty of work in the Motor City market, a high-profile example being this year’s Ford Mustang “Speed Dating” viral, a hidden camera prank in which different guys think a gal they just met is taking them for a spin in her Mustang. Turns out she’s a professional precision driver and each gent individually gets a wild high speed ride he hadn’t bargained for. Conceived by agency Team Detroit, “Speed Dating” generated more than 10 million hits in its first week alone.
Among other project highlights from The Work are commercials and digital campaigns for Chevrolet Silverado, Lincoln Motor Company, Herman Miller and Corvette Stingray. For the latter out of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, The Work turned out a series of insightful films documenting the engineering, design and testing that went into the creation of the 2014 Stingray. The Work quintet encompasses skillsets which span such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing and design.
Before they became The Work, the collective’s members were just friends who were involved in Detroit’s music scene. They first teamed on a show for one member’s band at a 90-person music venue in a Detroit suburb. There they created and produced experiences and content around the music deploying video, photography and projections. “We then started to do more–a video for a coffee shop, a piece for a clothing store called Revive,” recalled Gruse. “Three months later Jeep contacted us about shooting a piece commemorating their 70th anniversary. We started in January 2011 and have been pretty much nonstop ever since.”
The Work’s music roots translated into their directing promo videos for such artists as Matt & Kim, Big Sean and The National. The Work also later teamed with Mikel Ellcessor to direct for Detroit public radio station WDET the indie film The Pleasure of Sound which captures two days with Jad Abumrad and Matthew Dear as they make music and explore the creativity that fuels their work.
One of The Work’s first agency projects was a multimedia campaign for Ford Fiesta that included the design of a giant mural. Meshing video, design, painting and music, The Work developed an aesthetic that piqued the interest of the Detroit agency community. The aforementioned Corvette job was The Work’s first bigger budgeted automotive endeavor. The collective went on to such projects as Chevrolet’s “What Do You Play For” and Team Chevy Racing’s “Lessons,” both out of Commonwealth/McCann, Detroit, Toyo Tires’ “Open Country” for Vitro Agency, San Diego, a William Clay Ford tribute film for Lowe Campbell Ewald, Detroit, and Lincoln for Hudson Rouge, Detroit. The Work has filmed across North America, throughout Europe, as well as the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
“We have been pretty self sufficient, never had a sales rep, never sought out work. We were always too busy based on word of mouth,” related Gruse. “We had talked the last year and a half or so about signing with a larger production company but the fit just wasn’t there. Susan [Rued Anderson, Native partner/exec producer] had been in touch with us. We kept in touch. Then we set up a Skype call with her and Tomer [DeVito, Native’s founding partner/EP]. They took the time, took a genuine interest, cared about the direction we wanted to go in. They weren’t putting on a full court press but we liked what we saw and heard.”
This later led to The Work coming out to L.A. to meet DeVito and Anderson. “We were pretty blown away by their experience, the relationships they had in the business, the whole team. It just felt so natural to connect with them to open up more opportunities nationally and internationally.”
At the time The Work recently joined Native Pictures (SHOOTonline, 2/24), Anderson stated, “Two years ago, Detroit recognized The Work as budding talent in their own backyard and gave them amazing opportunities. We can’t wait to introduce them to the rest of the advertising community.”
DeVito said of The Work, “They are visual, narrative and documentary storytellers, hidden camera directors and so much more.”
