shots Asia Pacific Focus 2024

March 2024

shots

Andrew Holmes

LIFE IS SUITE

Yuriko Minami

THE DRIVE TO CONNECT

Zika Liu

FASHIONING THE FUTURE

Kyra Bartley

MAKING MAGIC FINCH

From amazing animation and dazzling direction to spectacular sound and exquisite editing, the creativity on show at the 2023 shots Awards Asia Pacific was something that both we - and the jury members who graciously agreed to judge the work – were blown away by.

Standing out from the crowd is ever-more important - and ever more di cult – as the battle for our attention is fought across a multitude of platforms. But the work which came in from agencies, production companies, post, edit and audio houses across the Asia Pacific region showed why creative advertising has the power to stop viewers in their doom-scrolling tracks.

Since the inception of shots, more than three decades ago, we have been exposed to work that has been at the forefront of creativity. Work that has excited us, entertained us, made us think, or laugh, or occasionally cry, and much of that work has originated in the Asia Pacific region.

We have been celebrating that region and the work, companies

and people it produces ever since, and across the pages of this magazine we are lucky enough to speak to some of the most recent shots Awards winners, those who have proved to be at the cutting edge of Asia Pacific creativity.

The 2024 edition of the shots Awards Asia Pacific is now open for entries and, in a bid to find out what made last year’s winners stand out, we asked our Contributing Editor, Tim Cumming, to speak to some of them. We hear about their journeys into the industry, their thoughts and opinions on creativity, and the challenges both they and advertising at large face in the months and years ahead.

Congratulations to each of the 2023 winners, a list of which can be found starting on page 14, and good luck to all of 2024’s entrants. We look forward to speaking to some of you on next year’s pages…

Danny Edwards & Jamie Madge Co-Editors Leader

Above: Heckler’s Andrew Holmes. Cover photography by Simon Harsent

Above: Rob Galluzzo and Kyra Bartley. Cover design by FINCH

shots Asia Pacific

06

THE DRIVE TO CONNECT

Joint winner of the New Director of the Year award, Yuriko Minami talks about the power of connection and communication in her work, and what inspires and drives her.

10

LIFE IS SUITE

Andrew Holmes, multiaward-winning editor at Heckler, cuts to the chase about the pleasures, pitfalls and latent powers to be found in the editing suite, the heart of every film project.

14

TAKING HOME GOLD

An in-depth look at the winning work from shots Awards Asia Pacific 2023.

MAKING MAGIC 26

Rob

Zika Liu talks fashion, creativity, how aesthetics play into culture, and why leaving space for imagination is crucial.

FASHIONING THE FUTURE 22

Kyra Bartley, acclaimed director at FINCH, discusses her journey as a storyteller and the process of moving from concept to reality.

Galluzzo discusses his rise from despatch boy to Founder and CEO of leading production company, FINCH.

THE DRIVE TO CONNECT

Joint New Director of the Year winner Yuriko Minami talks about the power of connection and communication in her work, and what inspires and drives her.

Yuriko Minami | New Director of the Year 07

New Director of the Year, Yuriko Minami

Oneof AdFest 2023’s Fabulous Five directors, a platform which aims to kickstart up-and-coming careers, and joint New Director of the Year winner at last years’ shots Awards Asia Pacific, Yuriko Minami hadn’t initially planned to be a director at all. She had studied law at university in Osaka before then deciding to concentrate on graphic design and photography. After graduation she joined Japanese production company TYO and, only a year later, was one of their assistant directors.

“Since I was a child, I loved to draw things and fantasise,” she says, “but I thought that only special people could be creators. I became interested in filmmaking and made short films with my friends, then joined TYO in 2018.”

Working as an assistant director, Minami helmed her first spot, Be Yourself, for eyewear company JINS. “In November 2019, a ‘glasses are forbidden’ tweet had gone viral in Japan,” she says. “Some companies and stores were forcing female employees to remove their glasses while on the job because it ‘made their expressions look cold’.” Protests were posted on the internet and the client wanted to respond to this issue.

“Glasses are like make-up, and wearing them makes you unique,” she says, “So I created a plot in which women who have been banned from wearing glasses sing languidly in the first half of the song, and in the second half, they regain their identity and motivation by wearing glasses.”

She cites Kazuyoshi Hayakawa, the current chairman of TYO, as one of her inspirations for becoming a director, as well as Erika Konno, whose 2016 AdFest-winning film Brushing Up inspired her to aim to become one of AdFest’s Fabulous Five last year.

Here she talks about her short film Escape Lockers, for which she was crowned joint winner of shots’ New Director of the Year category in its Asia Pacific Awards. She also discusses the impact of winning the trophy, and some of her favourite work from the region.

myself.

As we grow older, we become more and more concerned about rules and the eyes of society, and we tend to be unable to say what we want to say, or to adapt to those around us. Especially in Japan, the idea that it is safe if everyone is looking in the same direction is imprinted in our minds, even if we are not consciously aware of it, and we feel di culty in living if we deviate from the same direction. I’ve felt this way sometimes

The stronger the repression, the greater the potential for leaping out of their own shell. I wanted to depict a moment when the main characters show their true minds to each other and grow up.

After having thought about the theme, I noticed there is a coin-operated locker in Shibuya station, and a scene of a high school girl hiding photos in the locker came to mind. From this imaginary scene, I started to develop the story.

What was the inspiration for Escape Lockers?

During filming, there were many scenes that did not allow for many takes – such as the photo shoot at the Shibuya scramble crossing and the scattering of photos in front of the coin lockers – but eventually the shoot went very well thanks to the hard work of the actors and sta , despite the di cult shooting conditions.

How important is the theme of ‘connection’ to you? Do cameras make connections that people can’t?

I always want to connect with the people who watch my work, and I’d be happy if people can sympathise with what I’m thinking and feeling through my work.

I believe that people can make connections with others through the camera. I think that a camera can leave behind a form of feeling, and memories of the moment. Through photographs and images, someone can resonate with the memories and sensations of one’s past.

I believe that such connections can be made.

Is there a philosophy in the way you shoot and edit?

When writing a storyboard, I first draw a ‘big visual’ of the work and then gradually consider the whole scene. During filming and editing, I am conscious of making this big visual impressive.

However, I do not try to control everything, but rather focus on what I feel at that moment during shooting and editing. For example, I may change the direction slightly depending on the weather or the mood of the actors during shooting. In editing, I aim to give the audience something they can feel rather than just words.

What has been the impact of jointly winning the New Director of the Year award?

First of all, I was very happy to receive feedback on my work directly from various people. It was a trigger that led me to my next job, and also to other jobs in addition to advertisement work.

What’s your take on the spots and film work coming out of Asia Pacific?

I think a lot of the work is very energetic. The Thai and Indian ads in particular are almost too hot and overdone, but they are interesting and addictive.

As a new director, is it a di cult industry to break in to?

Nowadays, anyone can shoot and edit video as they like, and video has become more accessible, so I think anyone can become a director if they want to.

However, I don’t think it is easy to keep

working in this industry. The easier it is to enter, the more competitors there are, so if we can’t express our own colour, we will be buried in the crowd.

Which directors and recent spots from the Asia Pacific region would you highlight?

14 in February, by Victoria Singh-Thompson. The scenes in which we can imagine the feelings of the main character from the landscape and objects are very beautiful and memorable. And, since the main character is a girl with hearing loss, the use of sound is very careful, and I learned the importance of sound design again from this work. s

1-4: Images from Minami’s winning film, Escape Lockers

5: 14 in February, directed by Victoria Singh-Thompson

LIFE IS SUITE

Andrew Holmes cuts to the chase as he reveals the pleasures, pitfalls and latent powers to be found in the editing suite - at the heart of every film project.

Heckler’s Andrew Holmes is a widely awarded editor with more than two decades’ experience in honing high-end spots, shorts, documentaries and music videos. As winner of Editor of the Year at shots Asia Pacific Awards 2023 (on top of bagging two golds for Best Editing) he talks about that most pivotal of roles in a film’s journey from conception to screen.

How does it feel to be named Editor of the Year?

I am so excited, humbled, but mostly incredibly proud. It’s testament to the amazing collaborations myself and Heckler have had over the past 12-15 months. It’s always nice to be recognised for your craft, but what truly fuels me is the next opportunity.

What was your entry into the industry?

At school, our art department had one of the first Mac computers, which had Photoshop. This was my introduction to digital design and I loved it. I studied graphic design at university and it was there I discovered a passion for editing and film.

I was in the right place at the right time; we were part of the first wave transitioning from analogue to digital, which provided greater flexibility and experimentation and allowed for more creativity and exploration. For the first time, we could instantly preview, cut, copy and rearrange scenes that revolutionised the creative workflow. While at uni, I was heavily involved in the New Zealand music scene, directing and editing videos, designing posters, album covers, websites and directing short films. This gave me a really broad skill set and helped me build a strong portfolio of work, which played an integral role in helping me to land my first job in the creative industry.

Do you have a style or signature as an editor?

While structuring a compelling visual narrative is critical, I like to experiment with sound. Being a musician has always helped me as an editor. Music and sound design are so important. They help me to build out the structure, to explore rhythm, pace, shape, emotion and mood.

All the beats of the story can be mapped, theoretically, with music. Alternatively, there are times, when editing narrative work, where I work purely with visuals and no sound. Visuals, music and soundscapes are all tools that guide me to the destination, but ultimately the final visual narrative has to be strong enough to work on its own.

What impact has tech innovation had on editing?

A lot of editors are using the cloud and dabbling with AI. It’s like having an assistant; auto-transcription, face recognition and colour grading. The downside? The learning curve gets steeper with every new update. The upside is that tech waves have transformed the editing suite into a digital playground. We’re faster, fancier, and collaborating like never before

Are there trends that come and go – and how do you respond to them?

It’s an ever-evolving world, especially with social media trends and shorter attention spans. Brands recognise the need to capture viewers’ attention quickly, so commercial editing has adapted to shorter, more dynamic formats. Emotional storytelling and character development have become more common, with brands looking to create a deeper connection with viewers.

The spots that stand the test of time are the ones that tell a compelling story and grab the viewer visually, regardless of the format or stylistic trends. Good spots will always find a connection.

How important is the spirit of collaboration to the filmmaking process?

People who bring passion and energy into a project can help drive creative thinking and produce a stronger outcome. There’s always going to be creative differences in filmmaking – that’s where your communication skills become really important. You need to listen and understand the big picture – the vision and the process the director and the creatives have already gone through. By doing this, I’m able to understand the limitations we have to work within but also what creative opportunities we can explore. Communication is key.

Andrew Holmes | Editor of the Year 11

AND REW HOL MES

Heckler editor, and shots Asia Pacific Awards’ Editor of the Year, Andrew Holmes

Photograph by Simon Harsent

12 Editor of the Year | Andrew Holmes

Does your approach to editing spots, music videos and longform di er?

30-second spots need precision and impact. You’re throwing punches with every cut, making sure it’s a knockout. With videos, you’re not just telling a story, you’re choreographing it to the beat. It’s a visual jam session. Long-form documentaries are more like a marathon, not a sprint. Story arcs, character development, emotional roller coasters – you’re building a narrative skyscraper. Patience is key. It’s about the slow burn, the subtle nuances and letting the story breathe.

Can a good edit save a flawed film, and can a bad edit ruin a good one?

Can a good edit rescue a hot mess of a film? Absolutely! You trim the fat, fix pacing issues, smooth out awkward scenes, and suddenly it’s not a disaster anymore. Conversely, can a bad edit ruin a masterpiece? 100 per cent! Strange cuts, awkward transitions, the wrong pacing. Your epic blockbuster feels like a low-budget student film.

Some might say we’re the unsung heroes, the architects, the puppet masters behind the scenes. We shape the narrative, dial in the emotions, and make sure the story hits the right tone and feel. Ultimately though, it’s a team e ort. Directors, cinematographers, sound designers — we’re like the maestros of the symphony, conducting the flow, but everyone’s got their instrument to play.

What’s your take on work coming out of APAC in the past year?

It has been seriously amazing. It’s all about diversity, that’s the real heartbeat of the place. Loads of fresh cultural stories are popping up, and they’re hitting a chord worldwide. There’s a lot of experimentation, a willingness to push the boundaries of conventional storytelling. The accessibility of advanced filmmaking tools has made it easier for emerging talents to get their stories out, while emerging technologies like virtual production and AI-driven enhancements are pushing the boundaries of what’s visually achievable.

Filmmakers are embracing authenticity and portraying nuanced perspectives, which contributes to a more inclusive representation of the Asia Pacific region in global cinema.

Are there areas where things could improve? Creating more spaces and online communities for collaboration would lead to more innovative and diverse narratives. I love seeing new talent come through every year, and while progress has been made, there’s an ongoing need to ensure that under-represented voices are not only heard but actively included. This inclusivity contributes not only to a more authentic representation of narratives but also to a richer creative landscape. s

1: Heaven and Hell

2: Vodafone The Smart Network

3 & 4: Toyota Metalmorphosis

2

14 shots Awards APAC winners 2023

With the shots Awards Asia Pacific 2024 now open for entries, we take an in-depth look at the creative work which took home gold at last year's awards, with full credits, powered by Source.

AD OF THE YEAR: ANIMATION (2D)

Brewed For Your Fire Tiger (Singapore)

Agency: BBH Singapore

Casting Agency: Flavia Cocozza

Production Company: Stink Films Sao Paulo

Production Designer: Pedro Catellan

Director: Youth

Cinematographer: Yuri Maranhão

Sound Design: Satelite

Editors: Danilo Abraham, João Machado

Editing Company: Colossal Sao Paulo

Post Production: Colossal Sao Paulo

Animation: Colossal

Copywriter: Luke Somasundram

Creatives: Sascha Kuntze, Gaston Soto, Grace Wong, Wendi Chong, Chunyi Kwek, David Anson, Angel Fadila

AD OF THE YEAR: ANIMATION (3D)

Come and Say G’day

Tourism Australia (Australia)

Agency: M&C Saatchi Sydney

Casting Agency: Citizen Jane

Production Company: FINCH Sydney

Production Designer: Loretta Cosgrove

Director: Michael Gracey

Cinematographer: Matt Toll

Sound Design: Stare Crazy

Editor: Ryan Boucher

Editing Company: The Editors Sydney

Post Production Company: Platige Warsaw

Animation Company: Platige

Animation Director: Brian Estanislao

Brewed For Your Fire Tiger

Come and Say G’day Tourism Australia

AD OF THE YEAR: CASTING

Through My Eyes

Waka Kotahi (New Zealand)

Agency: FCB Auckland

Casting Agency: Yvette Reid

Production Company: Ruskin Auckland

Production Designer: Joseph Leary

Director: Nathan Price

Cinematographer: Ziga Zupancic

Editor: Tim Mauger

Editing Company: Independent Auckland

AD OF THE YEAR: CHARITY

Correct the Internet

Correct the Internet (New Zealand)

Agency: DDB Group Aotearoa Auckland

Casting Agencies: Catch Casting; FINCH

Production Company: FINCH Auckland

Director: Lex Hodge

Cinematographer: Gin Loane

Editor: Jack Hutchings

Editing Company: Atticus Auckland

AD OF THE YEAR: CINEMATOGRAPHY

Those That Follow

Apple iPhone 13 Pro (Thailand)

Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab Singapore

Production Company: Hub Ho Hin Bangkok

Production Designer: Akadech Kaewkot

Director: Parkpoom Wongpoom

Cinematographer: Naruphol Chokanapitak

Sound Design: One Cool Sound Studio Co.

Editing: Hub Ho Hin Bangkok

Post Production Companies: Ultraviolet Post Production; thequietlab Bangkok & Singapore

AD OF THE YEAR: CONCEPT ABOVE TWO

MINUTES

Un-Australian

Meat & Livestock Australia (Australia)

Agency:

The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song

Sydney

Casting Agency: Citizen Jane

Production Company: MOFA Sydney

Production Designer: Sam Lukins

Director: Yianni Warnock

Cinematographer: Lachlan Milne

Editor: Phoebe Taylor

Editing & Post Production Company:

Arc Edit Sydney

Copywriter: Seamus McLeary

The First Digital Nation

The Government of Tuvalu (Australia)

Agency:

The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song

Sydney

Production/Post Production Company:

Collider Sydney

Director/Cinematographer/Editor/

Production Designer: Glenn Stewart

Sound Design: MassiveMusic

Copywriter: Jake Ausburn

AD

The Last Performance Partners Life (New Zealand)

Agency: Special Auckland

Casting Agency: Annabel Lomas Casting

Production Company:

South Pacific Pictures Auckland

Director: Mike Smith

Cinematographer: Marty Smith

Sound Design: Images & Sound

Editor: Kerri Roggio

Editing/Post Production Company:

Images & Sound

Copywriter: Jonathan McMahon

shots Awards APAC winners 2023 15

AD OF THE YEAR: COPYWRITING

The Reluctant Shanty UNHCR (Australia)

Agency: BMF Sydney

Casting Agency: Byrne Creative

Production Company: FINCH Sydney

Production Designer: Janai Anselmi

Director: Kyra Bartley

Cinematographer: James Brown

Sound Design: Rumble Studios

Editor: Delaney Murphy

Editing/Post Production Company:

Atticus Sydney

Copywriter: Robert Boddington

AD

Weather Anything

Macpac (Australia)

Agency: The Monkeys, Part of Accenture Song Melbourne

Casting Agencies: Still Vision Casting Queenstown; Reel World Casting Auckland

Production Company:

The Sweetshop Melbourne

Production Designer: John Allan

Director: Damien Shatford

Cinematographer: James Brown

Sound Design: Squeak E Clean Studios

16 shots Awards APAC winners 2023

AD OF THE YEAR: DIRECTION FROM 61 SECONDS TO THREE MINUTES INC

The Reluctant Shanty UNHCR (Australia)

For the credits see Copywriting

AD OF THE YEAR: DIRECTION ABOVE THREE MINUTES

Those That Follow Apple iPhone 13 Pro (Thailand)

For the credits see Cinematography

AD OF THE YEAR: EDITING

Heaven + Hell Heaven + Hell (New Zealand)

Production Company: Simon & Paul

Director: Anthony Capristo

Executive Producer: Simon Fessler

Editor: Andrew Holmes

Colour: Studio Feather

Colourist: Ana Escorse

Post Production: Jorn Schumann

VFX: Henning Himmelreich

Music/Sound Design: Seiji Champollion

The

The Smart Network Is Here Vodafone (New Zealand)

Agency: DDB Aotearoa Auckland

Production Company: FINCH Auckland

Director: Kyra Bartley

Cinematographer: Maria Ines Manchego

Music Company: Lennert Busch

Sound Design: Lennert Busch

Editor: Andrew Holmes

Editing Company: Heckler Sydney

Copywriter: Gaelyn Churchill

AD OF THE YEAR:

PRODUCTION & STYLING

Metalmorphosis

Toyota Corolla (Australia)

Agency: HERO Sydney

Production Company: Scoundrel Sydney

Production Designer: Jackson Dickie

Director: Toby Pike

Cinematographer: Stefan Duscio

Sound Design: Squeak E Clean Studios

Editor: Andrew Holmes

Editing Company: Heckler Sydney

AD OF THE YEAR: USE OF MUSIC Duel NRMA (Australia)

Agency: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire Sydney

Production Company: Revolver Sydney

Director: Steve Rodgers

Music Company: Rumble Studios

Sound Design: Tone Aston

AD OF THE YEAR: VFX

The First Digital Nation

The Government of Tuvalu (Australia)

For the credits see Concept (Above two minutes)

shots Awards APAC winners 2023 17

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Crime Fiction

Absolute Purity (China)

Agency: Fred & Farid Shanghai

Production Company: FF Production

Shanghai

Production Designer: Majima

Director: DJ Furth

Cinematographer: Goopi

Commissioner: Absolute Purity

Music Company: Taihe Maitian

Editor: Matt Osbornei

Post Production Company: PXA Shanghai

NEW DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Zika Liu, Hamlet

Yuriko Minami, Field Management Expand

AGENCY OF THE YEAR

The Monkeys, Australia (part of Accenture Song)

AUDIO COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Rumble Studios Sydney

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Kyra Bartley, FINCH

EDITING HOUSE OF THE YEAR

ARC Edit

EDITOR OF THE YEAR

Andrew Holmes, Heckler

PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR

FINCH Australia

VFX COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Atticus

To see all of the silver and bronze winners, and to view all the work in full, scan the QR code or to learn more about the awards go to shotsawards.com/asiapacific

Duel NRMA

Metalmorphosis

Toyota Corolla

FASHIONING THE FUTURE

shots Awards Asia Pacific’s New Director of the Year, Zika Liu

ZIKA LIU

Zika Liu talks about how working in the fashion world informs his creativity as a director, helping mold his artistic expression.

Dividing his time between London and Shanghai, the joint winner of shots Asia Pacific New Director of the Year award, Zika Liu, recently signed with global production company Hamlet, representing him in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Asia Pacific region. It was his first spot with Hamlet, BMW The Icon, that won him his shots New Director award, as well a gold for Best Sound Design, a bronze in Music, a bronze in Editing and another bronze in Cinematography.

Liu grew up in Shanghai before moving to the UK to study at the London College of Fashion, going on to work as a buyer. “I’ve always seen fashion, in its finest form, as a kind of applied art,” he says, “a space where creativity meets commercial viability. Getting to spend time with some of the top names in the industry and understanding their creative process was a real privilege. I’ve always been really into art and the whole idea of aesthetics, especially how they play into culture. For me, fashion is another form of artistic expression, a way to tell stories and share ideas.” »

Capton

It was Liu’s time in London which sparked his impetus to become a director, subsequently making his name with fashion films for brands ranging from Burberry and Dior to Calvin Klein and Lancôme, before branching out into high-end car brands BMW and Mercedes, as well as BEATS and Adidas Originals.

His directional career began with three things: a mirrorless camera, a gimbal and a drone. His first piece of work followed a dancer friend, Tanya Ferguson, through her creative process and what it meant for her to be a dancer. “I’ve had the privilege of working with some truly inspiring people,” says Liu, “each bringing unique qualities that transcend fields. From fellow buyers I gleaned invaluable insights into the art of communication. The designers we carried I had so much to learn from – their unwavering dedication, meticulous attention to detail, and their ingenious approach to striking a balance between commercial viability and artistic integrity.”

When it comes to working with fashion brands, his initial focus is not just “about what’s visible; it’s about what it inspires us to be. This holds true for shoots too – we aim to paint a world and a story without pinning down everything too precisely,” Liu says “Leaving space for imagination is crucial for a successful fashion campaign. That said, it’s vital to really get to know a brand’s identity and grasp the core message they want to convey in their new campaign. With that understanding, I can use my vision and skills to turn it into reality.”

With one foot in London and one in Shanghai, how does he juggle the influences and energies of the two world cities? “I guess the key that ties me to both cities is freedom,” he says. “The freedom of Shanghai comes from the fact that it is moving so fast, so e ciently, and you can get things done almost in an instant, There are always new spots popping up around the city, and you can feel the energy of those who wish to push the boundary.

“Whereas in London, the freedom is more about creative expression. There’s this rich history and culture that you can tap into, and it’s a place where di erent ideas and perspectives come together. It’s inspiring to be surrounded by such a diverse mix of art, music and fashion. This blend of tradition and innovation in London really opens up spaces for creative thinking and

experimenting in a way that’s unique to the city.”

Given that BMW The Icon won Liu that shelf of shots APAC awards, it’s no surprise to hear him recall the challenges it posed. “We found ourselves inundated with content,” he remembers, “so much so that we had to run two parallel filming sessions throughout, stretching resources and demanding exceptional coordination.” To keep it together, and on track, Lui found himself “oscillating between two active sets, ensuring a seamless transition of my vision, and collaborating with two di erent directors of photography. Making sure that, despite the physical distance and concurrent shoots, there was no deviation from the storyboard or compromise on the envisioned quality. It was exhausting,” he concludes, “yet deeply rewarding.”

Liu points to footwear company Salomon’s Raid Wind spot by Thibaut Grevet, with its mysterious black-clad figures, extraordinary landscapes and cosmic music, and to Albert Moya’s otherworldly Spacewalkers spot for luggage brand Rimowa as two of his favourite campaigns. “It’s amazing how they each bring their own distinct personal style, yet still align perfectly with the brand’s ethos,” he says. But, reflecting on what is currently his main field of play, the Chinese market, he says: “2023 has been a tough year post-Covid, with more conservative approaches and tighter budgets. And, like everywhere else, creatives here have also started leaning into AI tools – but that’s a whole di erent story.”

As for his take on recent work from the wider APAC region, he says: “I sense that people here aren’t as proud of their work as they could be. With so much going on in the market, there’s a temptation to focus on quantity rather than quality.” He also points to the lack of a real representation system for directors or DPs. “Everyone just hops from one production house to another, depending on the project, which can get complicated and frustrating at times,” he says.

Nevertheless, he adds, “There are so many incredible directors out there, each with their own unique vision and way of doing things in their films. No matter the genre, there’s always something in their work that sparks inspiration in me.”

Even as he embarks on new projects with Hamlet, “playing around with a lot of fancy gear and trying out various filming and post production techniques for di erent projects”, having one hand dipped in London’s creative maelstrom, and the other in the constantly renewing, changing, adapting city of Shanghai ensures he stays global, but grounded. “In the end,” he says, “I always find myself drawn back to the basics.” s

1-4: BMW The Icon 5 & 6: Rimowa Spacewalker

“To say it was unexpected is an understatement,” says Kyra Bartley of winning Director of the Year at the shots Awards Asia Pacific. “I’m amazed at how much love my work from last year has picked up, and it makes it so much more meaningful when it’s pieces you love the most that are getting recognition.”

Those pieces include The Reluctant Shanty for UNHCR and Vodafone Smart Network. For the former, she says, “The process of making it was the most humbling, rewarding, and challenging experience of my career so far. All of our talent were actual refugees, and one had never sung in front of another person before. Yet, here she was, determined to speak up and share her story. The way that the air left the set when she started singing, real tears rolling down her cheeks as memories surfaced, will stay with me forever.”

Vodafone, meanwhile, “was the job that reignited my love of post and helped me understand how I could integrate it in my work in ways that felt interesting and creative and true to my style, rather than needing it to be big, high-end, shiny VFX.”

Featuring the voice of Stephen Hawking, a blizzard of visual cut-up imagery and touching on what David Tennant’s Doctor Who called “wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stu ”, it’s a striking visual and conceptual head-twister. “That’s a testament to the support from BBDO Aotearoa,” she says, “and Matty Burton (BBDO’s ECD), who pushed me to make it weirder, and then backed me fully when it came to selling the client on that weirdness. It’s that level of trust that’s now the standard to which I try to hold all my creative partnerships.”

Her entry into advertising began with enrolling onto the wrong college course – video art. “I ended up spending my time working on various film sets instead of going to uni, so they kicked me out.” Which was good, because she’d already started a production company, making broadcast packages for high-level horse sports. “I produced and directed, plus hired teams of shooters and editors; it was chaos and I lost money

on every job, but I loved learning on my feet and jumping into the deep end,” she remembers. To save on budget, she learnt basic animation and motion graphics, which was handy when she took a job at post house Heckler, working as an animator in hand-drawn and stop-motion styles. “The combination of art, design and tech really tickled my brain,” she says. “There’s something addictive about starting with a blank canvas and then creating this tiny kernel of life from nothing.”

Her first commercial directing job was a stop-motion spot for Ginseng Wine, made while living in Cambodia and setting up an animation studio there – the country’s first. “It involved a guy getting squashed by a giant bottlecap,” she recalls, “and I hope it doesn’t still exist online because it was so, so hilariously bad.” She was learning on the job, and fast, and as she says: “The industry itself was my film school, so it took me a while to start to feel the edges of who I might be as a director.” A decade, to be precise. “I fell in love with the process,” she says, “and got swept up in that world for a solid ten years.”

Then, in 2017, her film Love is Love (featuring no less than 120 artists celebrating l’amour in all its permutations) got her shortlisted for Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors’ Showcase at Cannes. “It was an opportunity to properly engage with all of the best work in the world for that year,” she says. “And it was like the blinkers fell away from my eyes, and I had a pretty

MAKING MAGIC

Kyra

Director

FINCH’s Kyra Bartley, shots Awards Asia Pacifc’s Director of the Year

Director of the Year |

intense realisation that live-action was the only way forward for me. As much as I loved animation, it wasn’t – at least in the commercial world –going to give me the depth and storytelling possibilities that I craved. So I started planning my move to live-action, which took the form of a move to FINCH.”

She joined its roster via a mentorship run by the Australian Director’s Guild and got to spend time on set with other directors. “Such an incredible resource,” she says now, “given how rarely we get to see our peers in action.” Directors such as Chris Nelius, Nick Ball and Alex Roberts helped her brainstorm and prep her first jobs at FINCH. “Having an extra set of ears and a creative sounding board when I was starting out was so valuable in building confidence and understanding the game,” she says. It’s something she endeavours to pass on to new directors today. “In such a competitive industry it can be tempting to feel protective of hardearned knowledge but I believe in an open spirit when it comes to your creative community.”

Her first job came in her second week, a four-camera shoot with nonactors that had to be done in one take. “It was as far from the meticulous planning and incremental step-by-step of animation as is possible to get.” she exclaims, “and I loved it! It forced me to trust my instincts and adapt quickly in a way that post-led jobs never had.”

That was six years ago, and she credits FINCH’s nurturing environment as a key to her success. “They believed in me, supported me and pushed me to succeed while allowing me to fail – being given the freedom to make mistakes, and then watch yourself crash and burn because of them, is probably the greatest level of support a production company could give a director trying to find their voice.”

As she eased into live-action, she focused on “embracing the rawness of real human interaction” in the hybrid landscape of doco-drama. One of the new skills she had to wrangle was getting the best out of talent. “I wanted to be a director who felt comfortable being in the trenches with the actors, able to speak their language and give them what they needed for good performances.”

So she jumped into the deep end and joined an acting workshop with New Zealand actor/teacher Miranda Harcourt. “It gave me a whole tool set to draw on to help ground actors in the moment and connect them to the space, which is integral to the naturalistic style of performance that I prefer. Good acting requires vulnerability and trust,” she adds, “so my first step is always to try and establish that as a priority.”

She describes the first rounds of casting as her “single favourite moment

of a project – it’s normally the first point at which someone totally outside my brain takes what’s written on paper and makes it human. That shift from concept to reality is genuinely magical to witness.”

Some directors live for the shoot, others for the edit, but Bartley has a fondness for the prep. “Each part of the process has its beauty,” she says, “but, generally, the ideation would have to be my favourite. It’s when everything is still a possibility and your collective dreams haven’t been crushed by the restraints of budget, practicality and the client’s previously unexpressed aversion to the colour green. It’s the feeling before all that, when all those hours of research suddenly click. As clichéd as it sounds, it absolutely feels like a light bulb turning on in my brain, and it never fails to thrill me. It’s the feeling I always come back to when the realities of production start squeezing in.”

In 2019, she helmed the documentary short Losing Lena, dissecting the tech world’s inbuilt values of misogyny and discrimination, buried deep in the matrix as the Playboy image of Lena, chosen by some coder guys in the early 1970s as a ‘test image’, that’s still a default test image in computer science today. “It’s a dive into the deep end of how images and narratives shape our understanding of the world,” she says, “especially in the context of gender and technology. It was an eye-opener to the pervasive issues in STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics], brought to light through the story of that single image.”

STEM and creativity may be divided in college courses, but not in the creative industries. One of the new innovations to enter the production process is AI. How far that intelligence will bore through the creative industries is yet to be known. For some, it’s a case of fear and loathing, but for Bartley, it’s a welcome new creative assistant. “AI is a playground for rapid experimentation and iteration,” she says. “It lets me take

ideas mentally catalogued from real life - from galleries, from films and online - then filter them through a chaos engine and let them take on wholly unexpected forms. It’s a di erent kind of conversation with my imagination, and while there are important conversations to be had around ownership and copyright, I welcome the way this tech will shake up how we perceive creativity.”

And creativity, she believes, remains firmly grounded on individual vision. “The most successful work presents itself with a strong perspective on the world, and that point of view necessarily comes from the director,” she says. “The ethos at the core of my work is a connection to humanity, so no matter the genre or tone of script, all of my decisions are likely to tap into that in some way. How that’s expressed - the visual style, the techniques, the performance - is the joy of the job.”

She sees the Asia Pacific region as a place where technical innovation is at the forefront, and a driver of the region’s “growing appetite to push

the boundaries of what clients have traditionally expected, and cultivate unique campaigns that appeal to a younger, more global audience whilst still retaining their local flavour”. And as a region of enormous cultural diversity, she welcomes what she calls “the palpable shift” towards diverse and inclusive narratives. “This isn’t just about representation,” she says. “It’s about tapping into a deeper level of authenticity that resonates with a global audience.”

At the same time as innovations such as AI redraw the boundaries between tech and individual creativity, Bartley sees them being wiped out altogether. “I think we’ll continue to see the boundaries between film, art, technology and advertising being blurred,” she says. “My hope is that it leads to really unexpected collaborations that bring together diverse skills and perspectives to create genuinely groundbreaking work.” s

1. UNHCR’s Reluctant Shanty, which helped Bartley pick up the Director of the Year award.

2. Bartley’s 2019 documentary short, Losing Lena

3. Bartley’s 2017 film, Love is Love

Kyra Bartley | Director of the Year 25 3

LEARNING TO

FLY

FLY

Founder and CEO of FINCH, Rob

Founder and CEO of FINCH, Rob Galluzzo, talks Tim Cumming through his rise from dispatch boy to heading up shots’ Production Company of the Year, and asks some hard questions of the industry in the face of some radical changes.

In a parallel universe Rob Galluzzo, Founder of production company FINCH, might be sorting your medical prescription rather than heading up 2023’s shots Awards Asia Pacific Production Company of the Year. The son of a pharmacist from the south Sydney suburbs, Galluzzo was destined to follow in Dad’s footsteps,

but a twist or two of fate intervened. “I dropped out of uni,” he says. “And talked my way into a job at Australian lingerie retailer Bras & Things.” He had a good job title there – National Visual Merchandising Manager. Then he set up a chain of music stores called Sanity, and started making good money. Then he made one of the most important swerves of his career, and got a job as dispatch boy at Young & Rubicam.

“I wanted to start at the very bottom,” he says. “That was my first job in advertising, in the mail room. I learnt everything there.” He’d deliver mail, newspapers and beer to creatives like Jonathan Kneebone. “You learn a lot when you’re delivering papers, pay slips and all that,” he says. “And no one stops talking in front of the despatch boy–you really learn what’s going on.”

Dispatch boy he may have been but ECD Shaun Branagan kept an eye on him, and Branagan’s creative partner Peter Buckley gave him some enduring advice. “‘Think of yourself as a brand,’ he told me. He said, ‘All the decisions you make will impact your brand. So think really carefully. Don’t be reactive, but think about what your brand is and what do you want it to be.’ It was the most important advice that anyone could have given me. I don’t think about it a lot, but it probably changed my whole trajectory.”

He tested the waters of the creative pool before turning to production. “I didn’t have the constitution to be a creative, and I wasn’t that good at it,” he says now. Over eight years at Y&R, he became a producer, then Head of TV, before being headhunted by @radical.media as an EP, then MD, spending nine years there before founding FINCH

28 Production Company of the Year |

in 2011. Thirteen years later, and now home to 55 full time sta , plus directors and hundreds of freelancers, FINCH produces around 120 TV campaigns a year, with the likes of Vodafone Smart Network and Toyota Visitor helping to win FINCH’s Production Company of the Year award.

For Galluzzo, production extends far beyond the bounds of the screen. He and FINCH are behind some dynamic real-world initiatives such as Creatable, delivering a STEM-based professional development course, rolled out across 1,000 students in 10 schools and in 10 provinces in East Africa’s Burundi, the poorest country on Earth. “At scale, it has the best chance, out of anything we’ve done to date, of changing the face of the planet, by helping youth find their power,” he says. “We won Production Company of the Year based on our ads, our short-form ideas, which we love – but what we are as a company is way beyond that.” Production companies, he adds, can go on to produce interesting things beyond realising ideas and scripts for ad agencies.

Other real-world initiatives include investing in a popular Australian cat and dog festival, to forge new

relationships with new audiences. Because audiences, rather than industry awards, are the real prize. “We love premium film and storytelling, but like everyone else we have plausible deniability around the question, ‘does what we do work?’” says Galluzzo. “It’s easier for us to say, ‘we realised this script in a beautiful way and it’s stunning’ – but we don’t have the connection to an audience, and that’s the truth.” By investing in a target audience of animal lovers, FINCH aims to build lasting connections. “That’s a way into community and familiarity,” says Galluzzo. “We’re giving ourselves the chance to be familiar with animal lovers – a very interesting audience to be connected to.”

Then there’s FINCH’s tech lab, Nakatomi – by itself a winner of a D&AD Black Pencil and a Grand Prix at Cannes. “We saw that tech and marketing were going to play an important role early on,” says Galluzzo. Nakatomi has been transformed over the past 18 months, from tech lab to savvy investor in start-ups, and a creative partner with corporates. “It’s a wonderful pointed chisel – we’re good at accelerating ambitious organisations, and we can solve business problems with bold ideas,” says Galluzzo. “Nakatomi is solving business problems with creativity, and teaching creatives and makers the art of business. There are some incredible companies, and some beautiful outputs will soon be realised.”

It’s been handy to have an in-house tech resource to turn to when it comes to the threat and potential of AI, that brave new world of generative intelligence. “When it comes to content, AI o ers more for less. But we’re already experiencing content fatigue now, so ‘content at scale’ isn’t the way to cut through as a brand,” says Galluzzo.

Current headlines suggest AI will lay waste to entire industries – creative ones included. Galluzzo is unconvinced. “Humans generally love stories they can see and feel themselves in. Can AI storytelling become indistinguishable from human storytelling? Maybe. But I suspect authenticity is the most important factor in building genuine connection with an audience. And most people have a pretty strong aversion to the inauthentic – that is, something formulaic dressed up as a real.”

AI’s derivative, amalgamating nature touches a nerve for Galluzzo as he casts an eye over the current production, agency and creative landscape. “The whole industry’s in turmoil,” he says. “It’s about the business of the business of creativity. We all believe ‘creativity’ is valuable, but pretty much every advertising agency is setting up their own production company, and to me that says, how can we hold on to more revenue?”

If AI is a derivative intelligence, Galluzzo sees the same hand-me-down creativity being passed along the production chain. “Most things I’ve seen feel quite derivative,” he says, “and I’m sick of seeing it! Aren’t we brave enough to make something bad anymore? Where’s the risk? There’s seldom a lot of risk. Because, if you’re not brave enough to make something bad, you can’t make anything great. That’s the truth, and that’s where derivative work comes from. We know what works, we’ve seen it, it’s popular, and everyone will like it.”

Risk and authenticity of voice is where Galluzzo and FINCH direct their energies. “We don’t have a house style, but there’s giant encouragement for our directors to find their authentic voice. We’re happier to lose a job and present an authentic voice, because if those things hit it, you progress, directors progress, we are happier as a company, and it works better for a client. This is what we are – these are our foundational principles,” he continues. “To explore possibility, to enjoy the adventure and to do it with imagination and compassion. That’s what separates us from everyone else.” s

1. FINCH Founder Rob Galluzzo

2. Toyota The Visitor, one of 12 campaigns to win at the shots Awards Asia Pacific 2023

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