Sussing out great ideas.
By Christine Champagne
Steve Rogers spent much of the 1990s operating a broadcast design and motion graphics company in his native Sydney, dividing his time between running the business and designing television program titles and television IDs. But while the business flourished, Rogers eventually realized that broadcast design wasn’t his true calling. “I’m not really cut out for the whole dark room, computer kind of thing,” he explains.
Rogers found his true calling when the U.K.’s Sky Television asked him to a direct a documentary on a new band being put together by former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and Islands Records founder Chris Blackwell. Rogers loved the experience of directing so much that he walked away from the broadcast design company he had founded, and in 1998 began a new venture, Sydney’s Revolver Films, through which he could pursue his passion for filmmaking, getting him out of dark rooms, away from computer screens, and out into the world.
Seven years later, Rogers is an in-demand director, represented in the U.S. by Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, and in the U.K. by Rose Hackney Barber, London, with a reel that takes one on a filmic thrill ride through a world that melds reality with fantasy.
There’s Toyota’s “Knives,” created by Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney. The spot is an adrenaline-fest that features a guy dodging knives–and apparently getting off on it–as they fall from the sky. There’s also Dunlop’s nerve-wracking “Climb” out of 180 Amsterdam, which finds a man daring to climb out of the cab of a truck as it speeds down a highway–all so he can get to the back of the rig to show off some tires. Then there is Nike’s energetic “Keep the Ball Alive” out of Publicis Mojo, Melbourne, a spot in which pedestrians turn into merciless athletes while engaging in a no-holds-barred rugby game on the streets of a city. Some of Rogers’ U.S. work includes “Jumper,” for Chef Boyardee out of Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. The spot features a little boy who can jump extraordinarily high–his skill was developed by jumping up to reach cans of Chef, which are high up on a pantry shelf.
In stark contrast to his fast-paced fare, Rogers’ work also includes a slow-paced Toyota spot called “Donkey” created by Sydney’s Saatchi. The clever spot follows a hobo as he journeys through the countryside, finding better and better means of transportation along the way: Initially, he stumbles upon a new pair of shoes, then a donkey, followed by a cart, a tractor, a vintage sports car and ultimately a Toyota Prius gas/electric hybrid.
As he often does with his spot work, Rogers got involved early on in the creative process for “Donkey.” “The relationship between myself and the agency worked really well in terms of a free exchange of ideas that ultimately led to the final shooting script,” Rogers relates, stressing his preference to be included in projects from the get-go. “I have always tried to get involved early on and hang around to a project’s completion–occasionally when not wanted. But I’ve always felt that a consistent point of view is both helpful and my job as a director.”
Careful Selection
Of course, any great spot starts with an idea, and Rogers clearly has a knack for sussing out the concepts that have potential. Does he have certain criteria when it comes to choosing jobs? “There aren’t any specific criteria that I look for in a script other than [it being] something that interests me at the time,” Rogers says, noting, “Perhaps it is the opportunity to work with people that I admire, the ability to push things around a little and perhaps learn something from the experience.”
Rogers points to the Toyota “Knives” spot as an example of a project that he chose in part because it offered him the opportunity to learn something knew. “The ‘Knives’ spot for Toyota came at a time when I had been frustrated by the limitations of postproduction in regards to motion-control and the overriding technical requirements removing much of the spontaneity of the creative process. I was determined to achieve a believable result without all the technical pain. It was fun for me and perhaps not so fun for the post production company [Sydney’s Animal Logic],” he cracks.
The director is a bit of a stickler for trying to capture as much action as he can in-camera as opposed to relying on extensive effects. For example, the guy climbing all over the speeding truck in the aforementioned Dunlop spot “Climb” really was climbing all over the speeding truck as it barreled down a section of freeway that was never completed outside of Rome. “There was some rigging and harnessing required, but the actor, who was wonderful, was very cooperative in putting himself in precarious situations and maintaining his sense of humor,” Rogers recalls.
Whether the actors in his spots are dodging knives or hanging off the backs of speeding trucks, Rogers makes every effort to ensure that they–as well as the crew–are enjoying themselves. “I do try very hard to keep the environment on-set relaxed and a pleasurable place to be. It is very easy for the shooting environment to lose its sense of fun and collaborative appeal,” Rogers says, pointing out that he generally surrounds himself with crew members–DPs, production designers and the like–that he has an established rapport with. “I’ve always found that people do their best work when they are enjoying themselves.”New York Film Fest Preview: “The Brutalist,” “Nickel Boys,” “April,” “All We Imagine as Light”
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