Directing collective Special Problems has joined The Sweet Shop for commercial and branded content work worldwide. Led by Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali, Special Problems made a major splash in the advertising world for the animated visuals behind the Cannes Lions-winning work for Yellow Chocolate.
Special Problems, whose work combines live-action, motion graphics and animation, first started working in the commercial realm with established brands and agencies on projects such as HP with Alicia Keys, Vodafone, Burger King and Yellow Chocolate.
Kefali and Hooper’s aesthetic style evolved from a fine arts background where they developed their signature elements of graphic design, filmmaking and music, melding them into freshly innovative visuals.
“Moving into client work was very organic for us,” Kefali explained. “When HP did a spot with Alicia Keys it was natural to use a director who had high standards aesthetically and had done music videos.”
Hooper describes their working process as unconventional for a directing collective: “We don’t necessarily split up the work; we tend to work in segments and meet in the middle. Sometimes Joel will tackle the ending of a project, and I’ll start at the beginning. That way of working has always made sense for us; it fits our style.”
The Sweet Shop becomes the first commercial production company roost for Special Problems. The collective had done some music videos through Pulse Films. For their spotmaking endeavors, Special Problems maintains their own studio in New Zealand, through which they collaborate with agencies and now work via The Sweet Shop.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More