Welcome to the Special Spring 2016 Edition of SHOOT’s Directors Series. Our profiles include three of this year’s DGA Award winners: Alejandro G. Iรฑรกrritu who earned the feature film honor for The Revenant; Matthew Heineman who earned best documentary distinction for Cartel Land; and Andreas Nilsson of Biscuit Filmworks who topped the commercials competition with “Emily’s Oz” for Comcast/Xfinity, “Dad Song” for Old Spice, and “Time Upon A Once” for GE.
Also in the mix are a pair of directors who made a major splash with ambitious longer form branded content: Sophie Muller of Wondros, and Tricia Brock of Hey Wonderful, a new entry in the RSA family of companies. Muller helmed a four-minute live music video/spot for Target which aired during February’s Grammy Awards telecast on CBS. Brock directed the eight-episode Nike online series Margot v. Lily.
Rounding out our roster of profiles are two duos who have made their mark in features and spots: Daniels of production house PRETTYBIRD; and Anthony and Joe Russo, aka the Russo brothers, who are partnered in their own commercials/branded content production company Bullitt.
Consisting of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Daniels recently won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival for Swiss Army Man, their feature filmmaking debut. Anthony and Joe Russo’s recent endeavors include a couple of Super Bowl commercials as well as the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, looming as another potential Marvel/Disney blockbuster.
Meanwhile our lineup of promising, up-and-coming directorial talent includes: a London ad agency creative director who recently made his directing debut with a short film; a production designer/art director whose first feature as a director recently made its world premiere at the SXSW Festival; a Paris-based duo whose experimental work has opened up doors in the ad sector, as well as a new commercial/branded content production house affiliation in the U.S.; a feature filmmaker who just forayed for the first time into commercials with a campaign that broke on the Super Bowl telecast; and a Portland, Ore.-based creative director who’s successfully diversified into directing and is looking to further broaden his spotmaking/branded entertainment reach.
And then in our Cinematographers & Cameras Series, we me three DPs: a three-time Oscar winner; the recent recipient of his first ASC Award; and a three-time Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Cinematography.
So read on and enjoy. As always, we welcome your feedback.
Director's Profiles:
Matthew Heineman
Alejandro G. Iรฑรกrritu
Tricia Brock
Daniels
Sophie Muller
Andreas Nilsson
Anthony & Joe Russo
Features:
Cinematographers & Cameras: Focused Perspectives
Up-and-Coming Directors: The Spring Collection