Taylor Steele, an American filmmaker best known for the award-winning surf documentaries Sipping Jetstream and Castles in the Sky, has joined Bully Pictures for exclusive representation for advertising projects. The director of more than 40 films as well as television spots for Corona, Aston Martin, Roxy and Pacifico, Steele has spent more than two decades traveling the globe, capturing spectacular imagery while working with the world’s best surfers, musicians and other talents.
In his first project for Bully, Steele has directed a new campaign for HP Computers and Los Angeles agency 180LA. Shot in South Africa, the spots feature pro surfer Ian Walsh on a quest to find and tame a monster wave.
“Taylor captures fresh, beautiful lifestyle photography, packed with a lot of adrenaline,” says Bully Pictures executive producer Jason Forest. “He is an extraordinarily talented filmmaker with an excellent pedigree and so many great things going for him. We see a lot of potential to build him out into new markets, and help him grow as a filmmaker and as a person.”
Steele gained international attention with the release of his first film, Momentum, when he was just seventeen. He formed the production company Poor Specimen and went onto make many more films about surfing, employing a cutting-edge approach meant to “evoke the feeling of a memory, yet have the sense that they’re happening right now.”
“I keep things very collaborative on the set,” Steele says. “I communicate with everyone, filter their feedback through my process and come up with the best solutions. I feel blessed and lucky to work in filmmaking and believe in keeping it fun.”
Steele’s films have earned numerous awards, including a coveted Beacon Award at the 2010 Maui Film Festival, and have been showcased by National Geographic. He has also directed music videos and art films. The latter have been featured in shows at New York’s Gagosian Gallery and the Venice Biennale. Steele was a creative director for Corona for Australia and created the company’s La Casa Artist Residency program on artistic collaborations.
Steele says that he had fun working with Bully Pictures for HP in South Africa and looks forward to a long association. “It was great to have access to Jason’s incredible knowledge on that shoot,” he says. “I like what Bully stands for, and who they are as people and as a company.”
Taylor is also repped in the Australian/New Zealand market through Rapid Films, www.rapidfilms.com, who have an affiliation with Bully Pictures stateside.
About Bully Pictures
Bully Pictures is a full-service commercial broadcast, web viral, branded content production company located in Santa Monica, California. The company’s roster includes Javier Aguilera, Dustin Lance Black, Fredrik Callinggard, Anne Fletcher, Gaute Hesthagen, Dave Klaiber, Nick Losq, Jonathan Nyquist, Luke Savage, Johan Stahl, Taylor Steele, Morten Tyldum and Tripp & Tyler. For more information, write info@bullypictures.com or visit www.bullypictures.com.
