Director David Gray’s short film, Surgical Treatment, which he also wrote, delivers a funny satirical take on “treatments,” those glossy pdfs directors are required to submit during the bidding process. The film observes what it might be like if another industry had to go through the process to create something that rehashes many hours’ worth of work, reads like a thesis, and looks like a graphic novel. Never mind the tight deadline.
Gray settled on emergency medicine as the other industry after being inspired by a conversation with a neurosurgeon at a dinner party. “He was asking me about the latest thing I was working on,” Gray recalled. “It’s funny, people outside of our business are very curious about it. I explained that I was working on a treatment for a project that I was pitching on and outlined the process. He was amazed by the energy and effort that goes into it, and how different it is from his world. That was the impetus. I immediately thought, ‘What if he had to go through the process that we all go through as directors, producers, creatives, and clients on every project?’ So I started writing.”
Working with long-time casting agent Stacy Gallo, Gray cast top New York comedic actors Ryan Woodle (who portrayed Ryan Anderson), Molly Lloyd (Molly Anderson) and Aaron Serotsky (Dr. Ethan Gray). Ashley Macdonald (Ashley Anderson) was cast in her first role as the voice of reason.
“David humorously observes the advertising industry’s process with the ‘creative treatment’ and presents a family who seems less concerned with their son’s critical health, than they are with the post mortem ‘ad based treatment’ that proves that the doctor’s work was worthy,” said Tim Case, executive producer of Supply&Demand, the company that produced the short and which represents Gray for commercials. “The film hits home and pokes a little fun at our business, while not denying the value of the exercise in proving to agencies who the best director for the job is.”
Gray drew from years of experience directing acclaimed comedic campaigns for brands such as Jeep, Southwest Airlines, VW, Jeep and Verizon, to note only a few. “Comedy is a great way to engage and relate with people,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to connect with people than telling them a story that makes them laugh or leaves them smiling. We could use a little more of that these days.”
