Canadians are familiar with American imports. Twenty percent of all U.S. exports are shipped north of the border, to Americas largest trading partner. Automobiles, textiles and agricultural products are the most common goods. But lately, a new and uncommon import has been added to the list: spot directors.
While this recent flood of U.S.-based directors has neither prompted heated debates in Canadas House of Commons nor the passing of regulatory trade legisla-
tionaas have the onslaught of some other U.S. exports, despite the introduction of NAFTA a few years agoathese directors are undoubtedly making a pronounced impression on the Canadian commercial production scene.
Dozens of U.S. directors head north each year to work on Canadian spots, often through a Canadian partner company. Director Gary Johns of Hollywood-based Farmland Studios, for example, receives Canadian work through Imported Artists (IA), Toronto. Robin Willis of Santa Monicas Crash Films also directs through IA. Ray Dillman of bicoastal Gartner and Steve Eshelman of Crossroads Films (bicoastal, Chicago, Atlanta) work on Canadian projects out of Torontos Avion Films. Steve Chase of bicoastal Reactor Films directs Canadian spots out of Jolly Roger, a Toronto-based production company he launched in 1994. Bicoastal Nitro Films Tom DeCerchio works on Canadian projects through Torontos Radke Films, an alliance DeCerchio formed four years ago while at bicoastal HSI Productions.
Spot Trek
For the aforementioned directors, the incentive for trekking up to Canada is simple and straightforward: Canadian creatives produce outstanding storyboards.
Director Chase says creative is the only reason he accepts Canadian projects: If the creative is good, I do it. If its not good, I stay here and do work here. Considering the number of spots Chase has shot for Canadian clients in the past year, he has obviously had no difficulty landing great boards. Last year he shot a series of spotsaRaised By Beavers, Glass, Hanging Man, 24 Canadians, Monkeys, Blue Streaks, Rocket Ship and Long Weekendafor Molson Canadian beer out of MacLaren McCann, Toronto. Chase, who moved from Canada to the U.S. eight years ago to pursue a directing career after working as an art director for 11 years in various Toronto ad agencies, last year also shot Molson Exports Judith out of MacLaren McCann.
Johns, whose most recent Canadian spot is Street Car for Labatts via Ammirati Puris Lintas, Toronto, echoes Chases sentiments, stating simply, I just go whenever the job is good.
And, according to the directors SHOOT spoke with, more often than not the quality of Canadian storyboards is in fact, excellent.
I think that theres a lot of very fresh creative being done out of Canada, says DeCerchio, whose recent Canadian work includes Traffic Jam for Labatts out of Ammirati Puris Lintas, Toronto, and Shopping Cart and TV Dinner for Campbells Soup out of BBDO Toronto.
I think the creative is exceptional, enthuses Willis. The quality of the people is terrific on the agency side. They want your opinion on things, its much more open and the quality of the script is very high caliber.
Willis says when he travels to Canada to shoot, Its like one of those pinch-me jobs, like Awow, I get to do this and they pay me, too.
During the past year, Willis pinch-me jobs have included Guinea Pig, a spot for Reebok via Roche Macaulay & Partners, Toronto; The Ontario Lottery Corporations Clerks via Cossette Communications, Toronto; and a series of spotsaIts Flat Out Here, Blue Chair Trick, To Italy, U.S.A. Signs, Overseas Italy/Jamaica and Overseas UK/Germanyafor Bell Canada via Leo Burnett Co., Toronto.
Willis is not the only director who beams over the quality of Canadian storyboards. In late 1997, Eshelman shot Actor for mutual fund company AGF Funds out of Young & Rubicam, Toronto. The AGF spot to me was so witty that I would be hard pressed to say I would see a script that was that witty in the States, Eshelman says. It has a shrewd sense of parody and use of words and presentation. You dont see those spots that often.
In addition to the AGF spot, Eshelman also shot Road Trip for Petro-Canada via Cossette Communications. And even though he says Canadian winters can be insufferably cold, Eshelman will travel to Toronto this month to shoot Hot Tub, a spot for Imodium A-D out of MacLaren McCann.
Eshelmans American colleagues have observed not only that Canadian storyboards are superb but that the creative teams who produce the ideas work differently from their U.S. counterparts, an aspect many directors say makes a stint in Canada enjoyable.
Here in the States, the agency is very, very involved every step of the way. Sometimes it works out for the good. A lot of times it just makes it hard to get where you want to go, says Chase. In Canada, what happens is they hire you, you have the meetings, discuss what youre going to do, you go do it and they pretty much leave you alone unless youre straying big time from what you said and what they thought.
Spot-Banging?
Some skeptics may roll their eyes at these gushing reviews and argue that American directors jump at the chance to shoot Canadian spots for more than just the creative challenge. Theres the chance to earn a few extra dollars, and obviously good concepts can help build or enhance even the most established directors reel.
I would hate to have anyone think that Ive gone up to Canada to do some spot-banging for the reel, says Willis.
Eshelman takes the middle ground, maintaining, I think youre always building your reel, but I would go anywhere to do something the quality of the AGF spot. I would go to Malaysia. And as for the issue of money, Eshelman calls it irrelevant, since with a director, the rates the rate.
Meanwhile, Dillman embraces what Canadian fare has done for his career. He acknowledges that he hooked up in 1995 with Avion Films executive producer Michael Schwartz in order to build an impressive reel to show American creatives, since hed had difficulties as a fledgling director landing quality storyboards in the U.S. (He had previously worked at Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, as a creative director and art director.)
I spent about three years building a reel there [in Canada], which allowed me to go somewhere like Gartner, says Dillman, whose recent Canadian work includes On The Porch and Baby Seat for Saturn via Cossette Communications and We The Children for Kelloggs via Leo Burnett Co., Toronto. Dillman also traveled to Toronto this month to work on a spot for Bell Canada via Cossette.
Good Vibes
Although there is a constant northward flow of U.S. directors, most say they have not encountered hostility from Canadian directors who feel Americans are threatening their livelihood.
Ive never been made to feel anything other than welcomed, says DeCerchio. I dont sense any kind of hostility. I think there is enough work for everybody.
The closest thing Ive ever come to hostility, says Dillman, is coming through [Canadian] immigration and occasionally an immigration officer will say, ASo what are you workin on there, eh? And Ill say Im working on a commercial for Bell [Canada]. ACan I ask you a personal question? theyll say, and Ill say sure. Theyll say, ACant they find a Canadian to do this?
Agency creatives maintain that a directors nationality is irrelevant; it is all about who can do the best job.
We never go out specifically to look for U.S. directors. I mean thats just ridiculous, says Roche Macaulay art director Bob Goulart, who worked with Willis on projects while at Ammirati Puris Lintas, Toronto. [Willis] had a very unique sensibility that we hadnt seen in directors before; it just so happened he was American.
Elspeth Lynn, an associate creative director at Ammirati Puris Lintas, who worked with DeCerchio on Labatts Traffic Jam, says, We had obviously started looking at Canadian directors, and then we just happened to get a bunch of reels from Radke, and when we saw [DeCerchios] reelafor us it had a bigness. Its almost like when people say you should hire a woman for the job because shes a woman. Well, you just hire the best person.
As for directing spots that have a strong sense of Canadian identity and national pride, Johns says he has no difficulty adapting to a different cultural sensibility: Im there to try to help them communicate a message in as good a fashion as possible, and if it takes becoming sensitive to Canadian concerns, thats fine and I have no problem with that.
Willis, who hails originally from Oregon, maintains, There are some built-in similarities between the Northwest and Canada, so my sense of humor and timing is actually very compatible with Canadian humor. I dont really consciously make a decision to think Canadian.
DeCerchio, who was raised in Michigan near the Canadian border, fancies himself an honorary Canuck. Ive had Canadian crews say, AYou are the most Canadian American weve ever worked with. Thats a code word for saying Im fairly polite.
Not only are Canadian crews accepting of their southern neighbors but they are also well-trained and versatile, another element of shooting in Canada that pleases American directors.
As far as the crews go, they are really fantastic, really fast, really zippy. Theres a New York kind of similarity, says Willis.
Although Dillman considers Canadas A-list as good as anywhere, he does find that the A-list is very short, that it drops off fairly severely once the talent gets busy.
Eshelman has found that Canadian crews have gone through a bit of a transformation in recent years. I remember when I first started going to Canada, the Canadian producers would say, ANow, youre from California and youre used to Hollywood standards; were not going to be that fast. And that isnt said anymore. I just think that rabid American producers have driven crews so hard that they turned them into a bunch of mercenary dogs like we are, he jokes.
Is there anything American spotmakers do not like about shooting in Canada? The weather.
Look, I live in California. I actually dont mind going up there for a week because I know Im getting out of it, says Eshelman.
The weather can kick your butt, Willis says. You gotta just be humble with the weather.^
