Ryan Heffington lord of the dance Music & Sound Design hitting the right notes Australia & New Zealand disruptive thinking down under
madrid barcelona lisboa
“When you’re meant to catch Colin from accounts as he falls backwards, blindfolded, into his colleagues’ arms from a not insignificant height you’ll know that a decent majority of people secretly want Colin to land on his arse because he never o ers to make tea for anyone else.”
Teamwork can be overrated. If you’ve ever attended a team-building course at which developing trust and building sta morale is the goal, then you’ll understand. When you’re meant to catch Colin from accounts as he falls backwards, blindfolded, into his colleagues’ arms from a not insignificant height, you’ll know that a decent majority of people secretly want Colin to land on his arse because he never o ers to make tea for anyone else.
And when you’re orienteering on the Welsh coast, you’ll be well aware that you aren’t the only one inwardly hoping that Helen from IT (who’s forever leaving plughole-blocking lunch debris in the sink) will need the coastguard to be scrambled as she clings forlornly to a treacherous cli . Some people just aren’t meant to be part of a team.
But some are. And this issue we’re introducing a new feature in which we’ll be talking to some of the advertising world’s most creative partnerships and asking how they began, what makes them tick and why two heads - or three, or more - are better than just one. You can read about the first creatively connected pair, adam&eveDDB’s Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch, from page 28.
We also speak to someone else whose creative collaborations have spawned some of the most talked about creative – and cultural – events of the past few years. Ryan He ngton is a choreographer-cum-director whose work has seen him partner with Sir Paul McCartney and, most famously, Australian singer-songwriter Sia, for whom his beautiful choreography in the videos for Chandelier and Elastic Heart caused celebration and, at least with regards to the latter video, online outrage [page 18].
And there’s more Antipodean creativity in our Australia and New
Zealand special, where we speak to a selection of creatives and directors about the advertising landscape Down Under [from page 42]. Elsewhere we also have our music and sound design focus [from page 62], which examines, among other things, the continuing rise in musicians looking to sync their music to advertising, plus we speak to the winners of the 2015 shots Awards sound categories.
Finally there’s our cover star, Dave Dye. Or Herr Dye. Or Diddly Eye Dye, depending on who you talk to. Though the name may be inconsistent, the work most certainly is not. The current head of art and design at JWT London is recognised as one of the most respected and influential creatives in the business and he talks to our features editor, Selena Schleh, about big breaks, successful blogs and why there’s no such thing as the golden age of advertising [page 80].
Danny Edwards Editor @shotsmag_dan
Above shots editor Danny Edwards, as seen through the eyes of Simon Dovar, who illustrated our feature on sound design, page 62
1 Legendary art director and current head of art at JWT London, Dave Dye, page 80
2 Y&R Auckland’s associate creative director, Tom Paine, page 54
shots 163 / front cover
gracing this issue’s front cover is Dave Dye, head of art and design at JWT, shot by Joe giacomet. Find out the way he sees things by turning to page 80
163
shots 163 contributors
words: Carine Buncsi, Carol Cooper, Tim Cumming, David Knight, Joe Lancaster illustration & photography: Steve Boniface, andy Bridge, Bubba Carr, Dean Chalkley, Fraser Clements, Simon Dovar, max eicke, Joe giacomet, Jordan graham, Hass Hassan, gavin Johns, ian Kirby, Lo and Behold, Chris madden, Karen mcBride, James Wendelborn, Liadh Young
shots 164 / July 2016
Can it really be? The next issue of shots is our annual cannes special in which we’ll be chatting to a host of the festival’s jury presidents and attempting to foresee some of this year’s winning work. also, ringan ledwidge and rich orrick talk about their working relationship, we get under the creative skin of london’s advertising community plus we examine the ever-evolving advertising landscape, where the agency and production company lines are continuing to blur.
A shots subscription a subscription to shots provides you with all the creative connections you need: online, in print and on DVD. For more information and to subscribe turn to page 6.
08 new work
Including a sensory mash-up for Pepsi MAX, cheery chums from the non-real world and Massive Attack’s mesmerizing ball
14 going global
Intra-planetary cool stuff
16 the source
Parv Thind, CD and partner at Wave Studios is moved by Hans Zimmer and Arsenal
42 australia & new ZealanD
Exploring larrikin larks in the Aussie ad scene and quirky Kiwi innovations… with Cam Blackley of BMF, Brigid Alkema of Clemenger
BBDO Wellington, Tom Paine of Y&R NZ, Mark Albiston at The Sweet Shop and Fiona McGee from Goodoil Films Sydney
18 creative Profile
How dancer Ryan Heffington moved beautifully from choreography to directing
23 creative Profile
Danielle Stewart on the new age of the agency producer
28 creative connections
The productive pairing of Matt Fitch and Mark Lewis
Key to symbols
shots icons indicate whether the work written about in the magazine is either on shots.net, the shots DVD or both.
79 favourite tech
Rick Grundy of Techdept loves food tech, wine tech and opening his front door with the internet
60 going native with Adrian Shapiro from Sydney production company Scoundrel
80 the way i see it
JWT’s Dave Dye ponders the point of paperweights 87 new Directors
Glenn Paton, Craig Ainsley, Karol Kolodzinski
Special Focus
62 Music & sounD Design
That syncing feeling –the vital role of sound in advertising
68 sounD Design
Adventures in silence and sushi with sound designer
Jim Griffin of Jungle Studios
72 shots awarDs chaMPs
Soundtree on the music for Sport England’s This Girl
Can and Factory on the sound of Honda’s Ignition
76 creative Profile
Gas Music – compositions from a modern family
Pictures
34 PhotograPhy
Ron Hewit finds hidden stories in carparks and documents the marks of fading family traditions
90 snaPshots
James Rickard of KWP! Advertising captures aspects of Adelaide 42
shots 163
May 2016
News | Insight | Inspiration shots.net
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Editorial material for consideration to be submitted to spots@shots.net
Many thanks to those companies that submitted material for consideration on shots 163. If your work didn’t make it this time, please do not be discouraged from sending work in again. If you feel that your company has produced anything that would complement the Creative Showcase please let us know.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted, either by conventional means or electronically, without written permission of the publisher.
All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of facts and figures, which to the best of our knowledge were correct at time of going to press. shots accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to material submitted for publication.
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The Wybo Pathbreaker app, for Polish vodka Wyborowa, challenges users to explore their surroundings without ever retracing their steps, to win a trip to Las Vegas, billed as the ultimate playground.
Aiming to encourage adventure and inject spontaneity into everyday life, the location-based platform stores and tracks routes taken by the player and if the same path is crossed, it’s game over.
The promo video for the Perfect Fools Stockholm-created campaign enlists the charm and energy of LA-based vlogger/ Vine star, Jon Paul Piques, whom we see pulling in favours from pals and strangers to help navigate his unique route to glory.
All goes well for Piques until, after three days of high jinks-filled roaming, he has to reverse a few metres to retrieve his dropped baseball cap. Game over.
“Wyborowa wanted a way to engage people and build meaningful connections,” says Philip Arvidson, art director at Perfect Fools. “Pathbreaker brings to life the brand’s ‘dare to explore’ attitude and Jon Paul Piques is the perfect fit to combine the physical and digital elements of the campaign.”
Wyborowa’s competition runs until the end of May and the app can be downloaded from the brand’s site. RW
Campaigning for Project No-Fear
While fear is something that we all experience from time to time, phobias have the power to stop some people from living a normal life. Cheil Worldwide decided to tackle this issue head-on by creating Samsung’s new #BeFearless campaign, recruiting 27 candidates to take part in a four-week immersive training programme in South Korea, using Samsung Gear VR. Throughout the programme, the headsets helped the participants explore their fears, while their heart rates, eye movements and anxiety levels were regularly monitored to see how their responses changed.
There’s a lot of disorientation, dizziness and diversions to be inspired by this issue, as urban explorers follow new routes, competitive sisters push each other down new paths and pioneering promo stars OK Go don’t know which way is upside down
Then it was time to put the candidates’ training to the test. Those who had been afraid of heights were strapped onto a zip line, which whizzed through the city at great speed and great height; those afraid of public speaking had to address a live audience in an auditorium-sized room – intimidating situations even if you don’t have a phobia.
Fortunately, the campaign helped to reduce the majority of the group’s anxiety levels and, according to Cheil CCO Wain Choi, proved that technology can help us all reach our full potential. OA
BRANDED CONTENT
Nike Margot vs Lily Nike.com/betterforit
Nike has always been known for its positive campaigns, laced with an overarching fitness theme, to promote its running and sports gear, but at the start of the year the company made the leap into branded content, elevating the storytelling aspect of its game to a whole other level with an eight-part online film series, Margot vs Lily, under the tagline ‘#BetterForIt’.
Starring Brigette Lundy-Paine as underachieving Margot and Samantha Marie Ware as successful but lonely Lily, the series begins with a New Year’s Eve bet being made by the sisters. As part of the deal, Margot aims to up her fitness credentials and start her own fitness channel and Lily’s goal is to bag herself some proper friends.
The series was produced for the brand by Wieden+Kennedy Portland. RW
Taking the weight off music promo production
American alt-rock band OK Go are known as much for their eye-catchingly entertaining promos as they are for their upbeat and catchy tunes. Often featuring meticulous choreography and colourful settings, the band’s videos always push the boundaries of what’s possible. For their latest promo, Upside Down & Inside Out, they’ve really reached for the stars – or at least a simulation of them. Shot in a zero-g environment, of the sort used to train astronauts, the promo sees the band performing a gravity-defying routine in an aeroplane hurtling towards the ground. To find out how the video was made, shots talked to the director Trish Sie, long-time collaborator and sister of lead singer, Damian Kulash.
Where and when did the idea for this video first originate?
Damian and I first hatched the idea when we flew on NASA’s ‘Vomit Comet’ back in November 2012. This is the plane that flies parabolic manoeuvres, giving you 25- to 30-second stretches of simulated weightlessness.
Is it genuinely all in-camera, zero-gravity footage?
Yes! It really, truly is all in-camera, zero-g footage! True weightlessness is like nothing else. You couldn’t quite get this effect with wires or green screen or animation. There’s a unique quality to zero-g that just can’t be manufactured.
How did you and the band rehearse for this, with the zerogravity moves obviously not being easy to replicate?
Planning and rehearsal was the biggest challenge here. We divided the production into three stages: Play Time and Testing, Roadmap Creation and Rehearsal and Shoot. For the first stage,
Play Time, we went to Russia and spent a week flying in zero-gravity, gathering information about what was possible and what was out of the question.
For the Roadmap stage, we got together in a dance studio here in LA and assembled a rough sketch of what we imagined was going to be a well-shaped dance that could keep people’s attention.
For the last stage, we returned to Russia and spent a week rehearsing and refining our roadmap in zero-gravity conditions up in the sky.
It all looks like it’s shot in one take, as is the usual OK Go approach. Is that the case here too and, if so, were there added difficulties because of the environment?
We shot the dance in a single take. We absolutely did not want a montage of cool things people could do in weightlessness. We were going for the OK Go brand of meticulousness and the unfolding shape that their videos achieve so well. Each take took about 45 minutes – eight parabolas per take.
“Yes! It really, truly is all in-camera, zero-g footage! True weightlessness is like nothing else, you couldn’t quite get this effect with wires or green screen or animation.”
How long did you/the band spend in a zero-gravity environment, and how did you cope with it during and after the shoot?
We figured that we spent about 160 or 170 minutes in weightlessness over the course of this entire project. There’s a lot of vomit up there. And we had quite a few crew members give up and walk off the project as it was just too uncomfortable. Motion-sickness patches were our best friends.
OK Go’s back catalogue of promos is fantastic. Does that put more pressure on each video to surprise, excite and resonate?
I think the band feels some pressure to top themselves with each new video, sure. But we also look at each video as its own creation, a stand-alone thing. Most people want to do new things. To improve the things they do, to take on new challenges or visit new places creatively. So this is no different. When it’s time to make something new, it’s time to make something new. DE
The full version of this interview can be found on shots.net
Feeling the flavour of a cherry abyss
EXPERIENTIAL
Pepsi MAX Cherry Taste Revolution
Synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon where the senses blend together, is clearly this year’s creative thing. Hot on the heels of Coca-Cola’s ‘Taste The Feeling’ strapline, launched in January, Pepsi MAX Cherry’s latest campaign depicted the taste of a fizzy drink as eye-popping augmented art.
Part of the Taste Revolution campaign conceived by AMV BBDO and fronted by British pop star Charlie XCX, the interactive public installation was created by London-based street artist INSA – best known for pioneering a unique fusion of graffiti and GIFs (‘GIF-iti’). It followed the launch of a special Pepsi MAX Snapchat lens, which allowed users to add ‘bursting cherry’ effects to selfies. Inspiration for the artwork was provided by the brand’s social media followers, including Charlie XCX, who submitted personal interpretations of the drink’s flavour, with INSA selecting “the first majestic kiss”; “a chilled cherry abyss”; and “roaring through icy glaciers with pink cherry lips and glittery diamond eyes”, which all sounds like one hell of a sugar high. Over two weeks, these descriptions were turned into 72 multi-layered paintings, with a 360-degree camera rig capturing every angle of the art simultaneously. Using a dedicated GIF-iti app, visitors could then watch the installation come to life via their mobile phones.
INSA had previously partnered with Nike and Ballantine’s, creating a supersized
Space GIF-iti for the latter’s Stay True series, but says this project broke new ground for him. “I wanted to try something that hasn’t been done before. Painting a piece over seven different surfaces that only line up in one fixed viewing spot was challenging in itself, and then painting that piece 24 times to bring it to life was even more of a challenge,” he says. “I really like the fact we are bridging the gap between art and technology.”
1/2 Pepsi MAX Cherry, Taste Revolution
3/4/5/6/7 V&A Museum Of Childhood, The Imaginary Friends Collection
“[Imaginary friends] are talked about all the time and often become part of the family. But when the child gets older, these marvellous creations fade away. This project aims to immortalise them.”
Curious beasties turned into besties
EXHIBITION
V&A Museum Of Childhood The Imaginary Friends Collection
Recalling our childhoods, we fondly remember the magic that absorbed us during playtime. Hours spent huddled over toys, lost in our own worlds, avidly exploring the landscapes of our imaginations. While we may feel nostalgic thinking about our childlike wanderings, spare a thought for the kids who spend their childhoods creating imaginary friends. Parents often misunderstand the reason for their existence and can worry that their offspring are not integrating properly with their peers and making real-world friends. AMV BBDO, however, chooses to see the invention of a mate as a sign of true creativity.
The agency chose to celebrate the wondrous world of fantasy chums with an exhibition titled The Imaginary Friends Collection which was held at London’s V&A Museum Of Childhood in February.
“Children create many amazing things,” say Arvid Härnqvist and Amar Marwaha, the AMV BBDO creatives who were behind the initiative. “Take their imaginary friends for instance. They are talked about all the time and often become part of the family. But when the child gets older, these marvellous creations fade away. This project aims to immortalise them.”
The idea for the exhibition was sparked by a workshop, back in September of last year, in which 60 children were asked to describe and make detailed drawings of their fictional companions, many of which did not take human form. A selection of the most interesting – including a very tall dinosaur, a bespectacled fox, a four-legged monster, and Chloe, a three-eyed girl accompanied by her pet cloud – were then turned into 3D models by top designers from leading animation production companies such as Psyop, Blinkink, Aardman Animations and Picasso Pictures. The resulting model figures bringing the fanciful friends to life were then photographed, alongside the gleeful children who conceived them, by none other than Rankin.
The early drawings were displayed next to the final portraits and the exhibition was supported by a press and poster campaign featuring the illustrations of Mario Kerkstra. OA
Gone girl central to a massive attack
MUSIC VIDEO
Massive Attack feat. Young Fathers Voodoo In My Blood
Last month Massive Attack feat. Young Fathers released a new track, Voodoo In My Blood, which came accompanied by a striking new promo directed by Rattling Stick’s Ringan Ledwidge and starring actor Rosamund Pike. The video features a mesmerising performance from Pike as she is seemingly possessed by a shiny, metal sphere. Here, Ledwidge reveals the inspirations behind the idea, why he wanted to direct it and why Pike was the woman for the job.
How did your working on the video come about?
Massive Attack and I have known of each other for a while. Previously the stars had never aligned, so when the track came in I was determined this time they would.
You’ve not worked on many music promos and the last one was a while ago; what attracted you to this one?
I’ve always loved making music videos but I guess as my commercial career developed it became trickier to find the time to do them. It also feels like there is a hunger again for music videos to challenge the way we look at things.
“There’s something about someone who has real poise and presence losing it and being possessed that is incredibly captivating. It’s disturbing and somehow sexy at the same time.”
What attracted me to it? Massive Attack! It’s a no brainer. Everything they do oozes class and integrity. As soon as I heard the track was coming my way I wanted in.
Why was Rosamund Pike the right actor for the story? Rosamund, from the get-go, was who I wanted. I’d obviously seen her in Gone Girl and thought she was incredibly impressive. It was a role that I don’t think previously you would associate with her and she nailed it. There’s something about someone who has real poise and presence losing it and being possessed that is incredibly captivating. It’s disturbing and somehow sexy at the same time.
How did you pitch the idea to her and what do you think attracted her to the project?
I did a video pitch as she was on a shoot when I approached her. It’s the first time I’ve done that but it just felt like the right
way to go. The idea is very simple but the nuance is quite hard to explain in writing as so much of what’s in the video isn’t tangible, it’s emotive.
I know from speaking to Rosamund that she liked the simplicity and clarity of the idea and the vision of what I wanted the finished piece to be. I also think that, as an actor, she liked the challenge of the part. It’s something different. And I think for anyone creative the opportunity to do work that’s a little out there is rare.
What was the hardest part about the production process?
Ellie Fry, who did a brilliant job producing, probably had the hardest part. Our budget was very limited so we had to pull in a lot of favours to make it work. As well as Ellie I have to say a big shout-out to the Electric Theatre Collective who did the special effects. They surpassed what I thought was possible. DE
The full version of this interview can be found on shots.net
GOING GLOBAL
DENMARK
A licence to interior design
WEB FILM
BoConcept
The Fight
Last year the Danish interior design and manufacturing company BoConcept released two films starring Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. The Call was a short film which saw the actor striving for perfection, no matter what the cost, while The Guest featured Mikkelsen inviting a friend over to stay and proudly showing off his furniture, while the friend in question seemed more enamoured of the seemingly random bevvy of models swanning around Mikkelsen’s swanky gaff.
This year, BoConcept and agency & Co. Copenhagen have released The Fight, a more physical film which sees Mikkelsen fighting himself while workers from BoConcept redesign his apartment around him.
The film, directed by Dejan Cukic (who plays the aforementioned friend in The Guest), is a clever, stylish three-minute story, with Mikkelsen giving a bravura performance as he punches, kicks and wrestles his way around his home as the perplexed BoConcept staff look on. It’s as if Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre is fighting an unseen Bond as tables buckle, walls are crashed into and glassware is smashed, but at the end of the film, we find out that Mikkelsen is actually rehearsing for a role. “When I read the script with those cool stunts and I saw the professional team I would be working with it was easy to say yes to a third BoConcept film,” says Mikkelsen. “I have thoroughly enjoyed doing these films and I am of course also happy and excited to see that BoConcept has been very successful through our collaboration.” DE
Setting a more equal example
WEB FILM
Ariel
#ShareTheLoad
The race to be the most genderempowering brand continues with this smart and emotional film from BBDO India, directed by Shimit Amin through Red Ice Films Mumbai. The two-minute spot features a voiceover by a proud father reflecting on the achievements of his daughter, while he watches her struggle to cope with the demands of a household in which her husband doesn’t lift a finger to help. The father blames himself for not setting a good example when they were both younger and vows to do better, and apologises on behalf of all fathers, as the emotional message plays out. “My first encounter with the script was appropriately audio, says director Amin. “Hemant Shringy, the writer, called me for my opinion and started reading the script over the phone. As he read, I was increasingly moved and incredibly exhilarated at the prospect of being part of this work.”
And how important was the voiceover in the film? “Casting is everything in any film with actors. There were several [voices] we tried during the different phases of post. The main characteristic I was after was someone who had an unapologetic tone, with a robust and earthy voice; ethnic and powerful, not emotional. The moment I heard Sanjay Mishra’s voice, I knew we had found what we were looking for.” DE
NETHERLANDS/SWEDEN
Seven degrees of revelation
TV & CINEMA / ONLINE
Samsung Unpacking
“I was after someone who had an unapologetic tone, with a robust and earthy voice; ethnic and powerful, not emotional.”
For those of you who haven’t yet heard –where have you been? – Samsung has launched a new phone. News of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge launch seemed to fly around the globe, fuelled by the fact that the new phone and its accompanying ad, Unpacking, created by 72andSunny Amsterdam, were unveiled at the opening of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
But it was the build-up campaign, Seven Days Of Unboxing, created by DDB Stockholm that caught the world’s attention first. Over the course of a week, various volunteers, from a pastry chef to an ice sculptor and, of course, a llama, were invited to covertly unpack the new Samsung model and use their skills to recreate the device’s functions and design. The llama used his talent for painting to give his impressions. While the ads were certainly entertaining, little was actually revealed about what improvements had been made to the phone… until day seven.
The final clip in the series contained an hour-long live stream from the MWC and released the phone’s ad. Directed by 1stAveMachine’s Asif Mian and Bob Partington, the spot celebrates the evolution of the brand – from its initial release of the SH-100 mobile phone in 1988 to its first MP3 phone and the first 3G call made from the top of Everest. OA
Shock tactics for road safety
TV & CINEMA
Sécurité Routière
#AllAffected
When the French government decided at the start of 2016 that the statistics on road safety were not satisfactory for the second consecutive year, and saw that the number of deaths from crashes had risen by 2.4 per cent, they decided to do something about it. “The tally of deaths can no longer be the sole frame of reference for the Road Safety Board,” said the government office. “Those who die on the road are not the only victims.”
And so this new road safety spot, from La Chose Paris and director Bruno Aveillan through Quad Production Paris, aims to educate French road users that the driver or passengers of a car involved in a collision are not the only people who are affected. The 80-second spot is a beautifully constructed but extremely powerful film, which highlights not only the terrible effects car collisions can have on the drivers and passengers of the vehicles, but on the families of those people too.
The spot opens with the image of two cars driving along a dark road towards each other, and a voiceover stating that “Nicolas is about to have an accident. He will die in a few minutes… Sophie is meeting her boyfriend. She will wake up in a hospital bed, but her legs won’t.” We then witness a head-on collision as the VO continues to articulate the lengthy list of people not actually in the car but still affected by the crash, showing them physically appearing as victims of the accident. DE US
Running your way back to life
TV & CINEMA
Brooks Running The Rundead
It’s true that running can make you feel more alive, and in Leo Burnett Chicago’s spot for Brooks Running the notion is taken one step further with a cast of flesh-eating zombies threatening a zombie apocalypse in small-town America. But the undead angle of the company’s first TV spot has paid off: the three-minute commercial is a winner in terms of entertainment value and highlighting the perks of the product.
In the compelling cinematic spot, zombies roam free across a town, terrorising the local community. But as they encounter Brooks running shoes in an abandoned sports store, things begin to change. Stumbles become strides, bleary eyes become focussed and the transformative power of running becomes evident as the herd of half-dead monsters kicks into life with newfound optimism.
The global campaign focusses on communicating how running can impact not just a moment or a day, but an entire lifetime to encourage consumers out of a rut and ‘#RunHappy’. Special effects come courtesy of make-up artist and Academy Award winner, Dominie Till, and the ad includes a special appearance by Brooks CEO James M. Weber as a zombie.
Furlined’s Björn Rühmann directed the spot, which debuted during the Olympic marathon trials broadcast in February. This work is the first creative from Leo Burnett Chicago for this client. RW
The world seems to be trying to set a good example, at least when it comes to ads. Global spots show us how to choose great furniture, share chores more equally, drive more carefully and run our way back to a healthier, happier life
froM gooners to groovers
What is the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen in the last few months?
I thought the Amazon Thought It. Bought It campaign by Lucky Generals was really funny. Not only did I think the end line was excellent but Andy McLeod also directed the films brilliantly, as he always does, with just the right amount of humour.
What’s your favourite website?
I’m always looking out for posts from Dave Dye’s website, davedye.com, as well as his Pinterest account. his blogs are fascinating. he interviews some interesting people and chooses really creative content. [see more from Dave Dye on page 80.]
What website do you use most regularly? honestly, probably Arsenal.com
Mac or PC?
Mac.
What product could you not live without?
It would be quite tough to do my job without a decent set of sound monitors. exigy makes the set in my studio and the quality is above and beyond.
Creative
director/partner at Wave Studios and animated Arsenal nut Parv Thind gets inspiration from Summer In The City (the Quincy Jones track) and summer in the city (of Barcelona). He loves Thought It. Bought It but can’t think who would buy speakers for £120k.
Apparently, he’s as Humble & Epic as Spike Jonze and Evel Knievel
What product hasn’t been invented yet that would make your life/job better?
hindsight before the fact would be pretty useful.
What track/artist do you listen to for inspiration?
that’s a really tough question as I have to listen to everything as part of my job.
Quincy Jones’ Summer In The City is one of my all-time favourites, I hear something new in that track with every listen.
What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?
It’s a while back now but I really enjoyed Interstellar. I was blown away by hans Zimmer’s score even on the first listen, but there’s still so much to find out about it. I read somewhere that he chose the organ because the airiness of the sound through the pipes replicates the spacesuited astronauts’ experience, where every breath is precious – which is also why the human choir exhales.
If you could live in one city, where would it be?
I do love London, but for me Barcelona has everything. the sun, the city, the arts, just the culture – it’s great there.
What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?
I was quite chuffed recently at being included in [director] Ben Gregor’s Humble & Epic exhibition at the herrick Gallery. couldn’t believe that my name was up there alongside the likes of spike Jonze, Dave Waters, Johnny Vegas, even evel Knievel. Also light art gallery Lights of soho is worth a trip.
“I’m always looking out for posts from Dave Dye’s website, as well as his Pinterest account. His blogs are fascinating. He interviews some interesting people and chooses really creative content.”
Which fictitious character do you most relate to?
I wouldn’t want to insult anyone, fictional or not – I’m probably animated enough, to be honest…
What’s your favourite magazine?
Most of the creative content I read is online. other than Stuff magazine – I’m still trying to work out who can afford to put £120k worth of hi-fi speakers in their living room. The Sunday Times is great too.
Who’s your favourite photographer?
It’s difficult to say because there are so many, but AMVBBDo’s tim riley’s Instagram feed is pretty good. @timreally
Who’s your favourite designer? currently it’s B3. they just redesigned my room and I love everything about it. the mantelpiece even has room for (some of) my vinyl collection. b3designers.co.uk
If you could have been in any band, what band would you choose?
A tough call between the J.B.’s, the Beastie Boys or run DMc. Maybe I could be the engineer for all three instead.
Ryan Heffington has transformed the music video landscape, bringing conceptual, wonderfully expressive choreography to a mainstream audience, and making unlikely dance heroes out of reality TV stars and mainstream movie actors. David Knight follows his career moves from rad cabaret artiste to McCartney’s promo director
Ryan HeffingTon
Two years ago, a precocious 11-year-old whirlwind in a flesh-coloured leotard, named Maddie Ziegler, smashed her way into the public consciousness and the viral video charts via her performance in the promo for camera-shy Australian singer Sia’s smash track Chandelier. Though Ziegler’s talents, and those of director Daniel Askill (Sia herself co-directed), are undeniable, the real star of the spot was Ryan He ngton’s incredibly expressive choreography. Post-Chandelier, He ngton’s unique style has been much in demand both for videos and commercials. He has transformed leading Hollywood actors Andrew Garfield and Shia LaBeouf into dance performers in music promos, and he’s even directed his first major video for none other than Paul McCartney. What’s more, he has brought a conceptual, dramatic form of choreography to a mainstream audience for the first time. A style of contemporary dance, hitherto regarded as too esoteric for music videos, is now seen in promos for all kinds of artists; the latest step in choreography’s rising influence on the success of music videos in the internet age. Not that He ngton is interested in that. “It’s what people tell me, but I have no perspective when it comes to these things,” he says, on the phone from LA. “It’s more important to other people than myself.”
The fact is, He ngton’s recent mainstream triumphs follow years of struggle, hard work, dedication and considerable success as a dancer, teacher and choreographer for dance studios and live performance. He was something of a local LA legend even before his
narrative style of choreography finally reached a mass audience. For a man renowned for making people move, he’s adept at keeping his feet on the ground. When he’s not on a film set, you will invariably find him teaching class at his own dance studio, The Sweat Spot, to all comers. “I still teach,” he confirms. “I think it’s important for me to be able to create and portray what I want with non-professional dancers – very important.”
trained, we gave a great show in terms of choreography and dance technique.” It was also, he says, the first time he felt like a proper choreographer.
After years creating compelling (and often very funny) dance performances in small venues, He ngton was starting to get more prestigious commissions. In 2010 he was given a three-month residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where he gave dance classes and created performances. His finale was Heavy Metal Parking Lot: The Musical – based on a Judas Priest documentary. It became a major hit for the museum. “We closed down a street and 2,000 people showed up. A lot of people still talk about it when I meet them.”
The same year He ngton launched The Sweat Spot, in the LA suburb of Silver Lake, which began attracting a hip crowd and media interest. His charismatic teaching of the wonderfully-titled Sweaty Sunday classes became so popular among weekend wannabe dancers that The Hu ngton Post declared it “defines a Sunday afternoon in LA”.
“I still teach. I think it’s important for me to be able to create and portray what I want with nonprofessional dancers – very important.”
He ngton grew up in a small town in California in the 70s and 80s. He was an enthusiastic dancer from an early age, enrolling in dance class at six and gaining a thorough education in various traditional dance forms.
After the conservative environment of his childhood, when he moved to LA on graduating from high school, he was a young gay man ready to let loose. “For the next five years it was about developing who I was,” he says. “I grew my hair down to my ass, which didn’t do me any favours in terms of getting any jobs. But it was more important to me at that point to find out who I was than work as a dancer.”
Attracted to the avant-garde, he found a soulmate in fellow dancer Bubba Carr, who was already creating wild and outrageous satirical dance shows in nightclubs. Together, He ngton and Carr would go on to establish the iconoclastic Psycho Dance Sho, regaling 90s rock club audiences with garish shock-horror dramas and bizarre drag shows.
“We were fucking and murdering each other every show,” He ngton recalls.
“A lot of anger and angst came out in those pieces. Both Bubba and I grew up queer in small towns, and I think it was therapy for us. And, as we were highly
Perhaps the most pivotal move of his career came in 2013, when He ngton devised KTCHN, a partly crowdfunded performance installation at LA’s legendary Mack Sennett studios. Inspired by the paintings of New York artist Nolan Hendrickson, the event combined theatrical performance, fashion show, drag night and art exhibition. “Sia showed up and had the time of her life,” He ngton recalls. The way He ngton talks about the singer being “very supportive” suggests her encouragement and
collaboration have been of great significance.
Yet, when it came to making the Chandelier video a few months after their meeting at KTCHN, He ngton wasn’t actually Sia’s first choice. “She wanted to have a British choreographer, but that didn’t work out. Then she asked if I’d like to do it.” He can’t resist adding: “And the rest is history.”
Having assumed a mantle of anonymity – facing away from the camera in press shots for her album campaign – Sia needed someone to represent her in the video. She initially considered having a 70 year old in the role. “Then in the middle of the night, Sia sent me lots of photographs of Maddie, saying: ‘This is the one, she’s incredible!’” They had found their star. Crucially, He ngton was then given freedom and time to make something unique for his performer. “I was pretty much left to create what I wanted,” he says. “I requested that we have at least three or four days before the shoot. I wanted to create it, I wanted to work with the director to edit the movement, and also have enough time at the location. I really wanted Maddie to feel like she was attached to it and had been for her lifetime.”
The choreographer initially created the piece with an assistant, then brought in Ziegler and translated the movement to her. “It was kind of a beautiful process. It gave me time to refine the piece, and Sia was very connected to what I was creating.” However pleased he was about the creative process, he had no inkling of the reaction it would provoke. “Maddie was stunning, the directing was great, the camerawork was great – but I don’t think you ever know.” What certainly helped, he says, was the timing.
“With all these shows on TV, people are keen to explore what dance is. It was the perfect time to release something like Chandelier.”
It was quickly followed by a video for Arcade Fire’s We Exist, directed by British director David Wilson and starring The Amazing Spider-Man’s Andrew Garfield as a character struggling with gender identity, set in the dangerous locale of a redneck bar. He ngton’s choreography reflects Garfield’s character’s emotional voyage, transforming violence and prejudice into a fantasy of triumphant, joyful self-expression and acceptance through dance.
“I’m fortunate that my work is narrative-driven and high concept, even if it’s just in the emotional realm of these subjects,” He ngton says. “I love creating a mood, a philosophy.”
That could be the reason that He ngton’s choreography seems the most important element of many of the projects he has worked on. From Hiro Murai’s video for Chet Faker’s Gold – where he created a memorable routine for three girls skating in the dead of a desert night; to Kahlil Joseph’s eerie, death row-themed video for FKA twigs’ Video Girl; to Vincent Haycock’s intense series of videos – shot over a couple of months last year in Mexico, LA, London and the Scottish Highlands –for Florence + the Machine.
His strange, intense and emotional choreography was certainly at the forefront of his next collaboration with Sia, on the promo for Elastic Heart, at the end of 2014. It was a reunion not only with the singer and
Machine videos in the Scottish Highlands last year. He started talking to executive producer Paul McKee – who also acts as Paul McCartney’s video commissioner. After a few days’ discussion about potential directors for the project – a new remix of Say Say Say, McCartney’s early 80s duet with Michael Jackson – and the brief for the video, which He ngton did not like, McKee asked the choreographer if he would be interested in directing the video himself. “Before thinking about it I said ‘Yes’,” he recalls. “I got nervous later.”
The result is an exuberant celebration of dance on the streets of Los Angeles, following a young man as he moves through the city having various encounters and adventures. He ngton reveals that the concept changed during the course of the production, and ultimately McCartney was willing to back him with an additional shoot day so that the final video is packed with dance from start to finish.
“It was kind of a beautiful process. It gave me time to refine the piece, and Sia was very connected to what I was creating.”
their young dancer muse Ziegler, but also with Hollywood-actor-turned-avant-garde-artist Shia LaBeouf. He ngton had worked with the star on the low-budget, Alma Har’el-directed video for Sigur Rós’s Fjögur Píanó a couple of years before. Then, their collaboration resulted in the video becoming the top result in a search for ‘Shia LaBeouf naked’; their work on Elastic Heart resulted in the perhaps preferable distinction of Best Choreography prize at last year’s UK Music Video Awards. It was a searing performance by LaBeouf, as he and Ziegler danced out their dysfunctional yet codependent relationship –considered controversial by some, considering their age disparity – in and around what looked like a huge bird cage. “Shia is game for anything in terms of movement and direction, and that is what makes him a brilliant actor,” says He ngton, adding that the film was a good example of narrative and role-playing in dance being in the eye of the beholder. “Sia had her concept of the characters, and we had di erent opinions at some points,” he says.
“But it still works. We’re allowed to have di erent opinions.”
This doesn’t mean He ngton isn’t an assertive presence both in casting and on set – he sees his work as much more than just the choreography.
“I don’t expect my team to figure it out in terms of angles and pace. I’m very loud in communicating why I choreographed a certain move, from where the camera is shooting it.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, this forthrightness has led to a move to directing. The opportunity came when He ngton was working on two Florence + the
He ngton says he learned a great deal from the experience. “My crash course was very quick, very informative, and I think I pulled it o .” But there is also no chance that he will now prioritise directing over choreography. “I’ve learned not to push for things. An opportunity will arise, like the McCartney thing, and I’ll take it. But I also love being the choreographer on set.”
And the projects just keep on coming, commercials as well as videos. After providing the movements for a dancing baby in Geremy & Georgie’s latest Evian commercial, he’s recently been working with Spike
Representation blocagency.com
Key work
1/2 sia Elastic Heart (choreographer)
3/4 Paul mccartney Say Say Say (director)
• Sia Chandelier (choreographer)
• Florence + the Machine What Kind of Man (choreographer)
• mara hoffman active wear Spring 2015 (director and choreographer)
Jonze on what he will only describe as a “groundbreaking” new ad. He also kicked o 2016 by choreographing the new Hiro Murai-directed video for Massive Attack’s Take It There – featuring actor John Hawkes stumbling through city streets at night, dancing with his own personal demons. Then there are the movie projects. At the end of last year he completed work on Christopher Guest’s new feature, Mascots, which he describes as “a dream job – I’m such a huge fan.” He ngton started 2016 working on the new film from Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz). All of a sudden, he’s back working in an area that has often featured in his live projects, but rarely on film so far: comedy.
But no matter how many projects he has on the go, Ryan He ngton will no doubt still find time to help the wannabes down at The Sweat Spot. It’s in his DNA. “I love commercial work and I can share it with the world, but there’s something about the intimacy of performance that cannot be recreated to film, and I absolutely love that feeling.”
S
Ryan Heffington
Brothers and Sisters The agency behind Center Parcs Bears
as brands require increasingly complex marketing, the agency producer’s role grows ever more demanding. danielle Stewart, w+k’s head of integrated production and producer of such campaigns as honda’s The Other Side and the kaiser Chiefs’ bespoke album, agrees the job calls for exceptional skills – but as Carol Cooper discovers, there’s almost a touch of sorcery too, in creating and coaxing teams to achieve the incredible
the wizard of wieden + kennedy
Aproducer from an American production company once told Danielle Stewart she was “very disarming”. Perplexed, she asked him what he meant. “Well, you somehow get us to do stuff that we don’t necessarily want to do, yet you do it in such a way that we don’t even know how you’ve done it.” Stewart was concerned this made her sound cunning or manipulative. “No, no,” he said. “You’re not particularly British, you’re just very human and honest.’” Leaving aside his view of the British, I suggest the word he might have been seeking was sympatico. Stewart agrees that is the very quality her role requires – the ability to connect, which she believes defines the British/European way of doing business.
Chatting to her for two hours (which seemed like 20 minutes), I can see how someone might view her advanced communication skills as a kind of sorcery. In the second hour of our meeting we have to move from a huge, rather rococo W+K boardroom to a snug sound studio and share a sofa. She kicks off her shoes, tucks her feet under her and I chat away with this rather ageless 47 year old as if we’re old mates sharing a cuppa. Her relaxed warmth would make you want to collaborate fully, to do stuff that you hadn’t initially wanted to do just to please her, to maintain the amiable, fluffy team spirit vibe that she creates.
The most charming master of ceremonies
Possibly one of the (many) core skills for an agency producer is fostering team spirit between stakeholders who might all have slightly different agendas: “An agency producer is there to facilitate the creative idea on behalf of the agency and the brand – but without alienating their production counterparts,” she explains. “The production process should be based on a team mentality – I think that’s the only way to get a brilliant end product. Each person (producer) has to remain true to their own team’s wishes –whether that be the director’s team, the sound team, the post house, etc., but as long as everyone remains, open, honest and transparent throughout – you should be able to overcome all hurdles together.”
“An agency producer is there to facilitate the creative idea on behalf of the agency and the brand –but without alienating their production counterparts.”
I wonder what such an amenable soul might do if a solution can’t be found and she needs to get firm with a contributor. How does an agency producer go about pulling rank, so to speak? “Sometimes you may have to be straightforward and state what you need. At the end of the day, as the agency producer you hold the purse strings on behalf of the client and agency, [also, as agency producer] you are the guardian of the initial creative idea and a lot of work will have gone into getting to that idea, work that a production company, post company, sound house etc, won’t be party to. So if the production is going a bit ‘wobbly’ it’s your job to pull it back in line. Just remember to do this with good humour – you are the master of ceremonies really – and you should be the most charming master of ceremonies ever,” she smiles. Apart from being sympatico, the list of character attributes required of a good agency producer is staggering. They must be extrovert enough to network like crazy to build a huge contact pool of suppliers. They must be driven, with superhuman energy levels, but also relaxed – so both pumped and chilled at the same time. “The last thing you need is a nervous, hysterical producer,” agrees Stewart, “ because before you know it, everybody else will
have spiralled into unease. So you’ve got to be very controlled and calm, but at the same time… you’ve got to always push. A creative once said to me a producer should be like a swan; calm on the surface but frantically paddling away underneath.” So, you must be swanlike, plus sensitive enough to be creative, yet tough enough to be the unsung hero and work without ego and also possess great leadership qualities. I suggest such a blend of character traits is rare to find in one person. “I think a good agency producer has to be exceptional nowadays,” says Stewart. “You have to keep creative and craft in the front of your mind as you produce a job, but you must also keep an eye on time management, money management, people management, ego management. It’s an extraordinary role, but it’s fantastic.” Did she exhibit leadership qualities as a child? “Not at all. I was probably the least likely person anyone would expect to end up as a head of production,” she admits. “I’ve never pushed for recognition and have never been good at my own PR. I think you prove by doing. I hope the reason I have made it to where I am today is because of my unceasing desire to the best I can.’”
Caught between a Bauhaus and a hard throne
Though self-effacing, she is quietly confident of what she can contribute creatively. In fact, it was her creative sensibilities – more specifically, her aesthetic appreciation of chair design – that led her into the industry in the first place. A south Londoner born-and-bred, Stewart studied design at St Martin’s School of Art, specialising in film and photography in her final year. On graduating in 1989, she didn’t have a clear idea what she wanted to do but got two offers from her first two interviews for a summer temp job. One was at agency Yellowhammer, the other at music producers Stock Aitken Waterman. “I thought, ‘Oh God, which one do I want?’ They had lovely, black leather Bauhaus chairs at Yellowhammer and velvet faux-thrones at Stock Aitken Waterman,” she recalls. She plumped for Bauhaus, and moved swiftly from receptionist to assisting the head of creative services and the art buyer. She spent the next seven years as an art buyer, moving to WCRS and then Publicis. “It was still the heyday of art buying, where print was a big part of a campaign. It was great to find a career that nurtured my passion for photography.”
Despite being content, her forward-looking nature, along with her hunger for learning new stuff, inspired a change. “I hit a stage where I wondered if I wanted to be an art buyer forever. I loved film so thought it was time to make the move.” When a friend told her a post production company, Howard Guard Productions, was looking for a receptionist/production assistant, she took a massive pay cut, started off as receptionist, soon moving to assistant PA, then to production manager, learning everything about filmmaking on the job. “It was fantastic fun, but a steep learning curve, brutal at times.” When Howard Guard Productions wound up, she got a job as a PA, then broadcast producer at JWT. “That was my kind of girl-to-woman stage,” she says, “where I moved from a production assistant into being an agency producer.”
A special delivery from post-man Pat
After three years at JWT she had a stint as head of broadcast at Mustoe Merriman in 2000, she then had another of her ‘What else can I do?’ moments. Having always been a huge fan of special effects in film – she gets wide-eyed and excitable mentioning the post on Marvel films – she went to Pat Joseph, co-founder and CCO of The Mill, and told him she wanted to be a post production producer. “He laughed and said, ‘You won’t like it – a lot of agency people come into it, and they think it’s one thing but it isn’t,’” she remembers. “But I said, ‘No, no, no, you’re wrong Pat, I’ll love it,’ and bless him, he gave me a job.” There she learnt the art of post, working on commercials, promos and shorts, with such directors as Jonathan Glazer and the late Frank Budgen and, true to her word, she loved every moment of it. Her next move came about when Kirsty Burns (now Dye), then head of TV at Fallon, asked her if she’d like to join them as a freelance producer. Again utilising her focussed, practical way of thinking, Stewart realised it would
take a while before she could specialise and climb the VFX ladder to become a post production supervisor, and at 35 she wanted to progress her career. So she spent the next seven years doing just that as a freelance producer at Fallon, BBH, Y&R and others. “I started to really grow in confidence as a producer. I think because I’d gathered so much experience in other areas of production and post,” she says. “It was a time in production when technology had moved into work that agencies were making, and with this so much more was expected of producers.” Stewart loved the challenge of extra expectations and worked on such innovative projects as the interactive animations Gangsta/Ragga/Cowboy/Hippy for Sony Walkman, which won a Yellow Pencil in D&AD’s new category for 2004, Digital Crafts/Animation. Stewart feels that advertising really started to see an expansion into new platforms from then on. “Years ago, the emphasis was on amazing storytelling, via TV, print or radio, but suddenly the barriers were starting coming down, film could live online, anywhere, any time; you could create fun digital experiences and out of those experiences make your own shareable material. The knowledge required by producers grew and grew and grew.”
The
evolution of the agency uber-producer
Danielle Stewart is inspired by…
What’s your favourite ever ad? Honda, Impossible Dream
What product could you not live without? Perfume. A little squirt of Kenzo D’Ete can make a day.
What are your thoughts on social media? Use sparingly and for fun.
How do you relieve stress during a shoot? Coffee, conversation and cigarettes.
“...the barriers were starting coming down, film could live online, any time, anywhere; you could create fun digital experiences and make shareable material.”
She feels it is very much the agency producer’s role to always be pushing for new ways to approach a campaign. “If you look at a production, how you’re going to make it work, don’t stick within the confines of your own particular business. Ask ‘What would a production company do with this?’ ‘What might a post house do?’ ‘How can we push this?’. Just think beyond the obvious.” In 2008, she moved to W+K as senior producer and began working on some seriously complicated interactive projects, such as the campaign for the Nokia Supernova mobile, Somebody Else’s Phone, the first episodic online piece of work that dealt in real-time storytelling; Honda, The Other Side, a dual-story video; and the launch of Kaiser Chiefs’ new album The Future Is Medieval (2011), in which a software platform was built to allow fans to create their own bespoke albums and sell them for a commission. The logistics involved in this would induce a migraine in many, but Stewart actively embraces such complications. “I love all that,” she enthuses. “I like to keep learning, and what the Kaiser Chiefs brought to the table was all the complexities of dealing with a band and their label. Then there was a digital build by brilliant tech teams. I loved keeping it all on track and seeing that we could actually do it – we delivered something that was unique for its time.”
So as brands require increasingly more complex, multi-stranded campaigns to get noticed, how does she see the role of agency producer evolving? “One thing that has been talked about is whether there will be a generalist ‘super-producer’, an ‘uber-producer’, somebody who will move seamlessly across all platforms of production, from interactive, to print, to events.” I suggest that surely that is what she has become, but of course, she has a more modest take on it. “Well, yes and no. I am a generalist producer, an overseeing exec producer – I bring people together to discuss how to make something. Do I expect there only to be one agency producer who can facilitate all of that? No. Because I believe the best solution for production now is a strong lead producer who produces certain aspects of a campaign
What’s the last film you watched and was it any good? The Big Short – superb, brilliantly acted, sharp, snappy, with wonderful to-camera idiot’s guides. Plus, Christian Bale for two hours on screen – what more could I want?
What was the last gig you went to? Happy Mondays – a bit of nostalgia. What film do you think everyone should have seen? La Haine, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.
Which fictitious character do you most relate to? Elizabeth Bennet.
If you weren’t doing the job you do now, what would you like to be? I would like to work for MI6. (I’ve always liked to travel.)
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know… I hate westerns.
but who will bring in the correct production specialists for each job – such as an events producer, interactive producer, or content producer – whichever skill set that lead does not have.” As head of integrated production, Stewart’s role is now to assign the right producer and production partners for each project. I ask how many campaigns she might be involved in at one time. “A lot! Probably about five to 10. I have a light touch on everything that goes out of the door,” she replies. I wonder if she ever feels frustrated she can’t be more deeply involved creatively with each project. “Oh definitely, of course.” she replies with customary candour, “but you have to weigh up the pros and cons and be fair to the production team you’re building up. I’m not the future of this business as a head of production at W+K; the producers here are the future. It’s our job to give them the freedom to keep learning by doing, to push them to do different types of work and be challenged, to let them thrive.”
It seems that the agency producer’s role is more pivotal now than it’s ever been. And for anyone with as much energy and enthusiasm for the shock of the new as Danielle Stewart, exciting times lie ahead.
1/2/3 Kaiser Chiefs, The Future Is Medieval album launch campaign
CREATIVELY
During their long partnership, creative not only developed lauded spots for The grown a ‘third brain’. The adam&eveDDB which of them came up with an idea and
CONNECTED
team Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch have Guardian, Axe and KFC, they’ve even duo tell Danny Edwards about forgetting shunning the labels that define their roles
The relationship between adam&eveDDB creative team, Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch, pre-dates their advertising partnership as the two have been friends since 1999 when they were at school together in East Finchley, London, and while this article’s interest lies in their current creative connection they admit that the edges of their partnership are hard to define. “Most peoples’ stories begin at 25 or so, when their careers start,” states Fitch, “but ours is more like a story of our life and this is just what we’re both doing now. Ten years ago we were doing something else, 20 years ago we were at school… you know?”
Initially, the pair took di erent paths after leaving school. Lewis headed to Japan to teach English, while Fitch, after a stint working at Framestore, went to America. The pair kept in touch and after a couple of years, in 2007, both returned to the UK and became flatmates in London. After being inspired by Saatchi & Saatchi at a careers fair, and spending a year in the post room at Grey, Lewis signed up to the prestigious advertising course at Watford, while Fitch began working at the Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Justice. “When I’d get home [from Watford],” explains Lewis, “I’d tell Matt about my day and ask for advice because he has an art background [Fitch attended London’s Central St Martin’s after leaving school, before doing a degree in animation at Southampton Solent University] and it sort of snowballed from there.”
“I always wanted to get into film,” Fitch says, “but I just ended up temping to pay the bills, and being a bit miserable with it all. Mark had started at Watford but I was going through my hippy phase and was, like, ‘that’s the devil’s work, you corporate whore!’ But then I started to see the reality of it and how creative and interesting it could be, and that it could utilise my talents, so, organically, we just started working together.”
And that work has seen the pair lauded for campaigns that have been both commercially and critically successful, including work for Axe (Surgeon and Soulmates), The Guardian (Paella and MegaGlove), KFC (Families) and, most famously, the epic, gold Lion-winning Three Little Pigs film, also for The Guardian newspaper.
The pair’s working relationship is, they think, di erent to many other creative teams’ approach because of the history they share, which means they have very similar frames of references for many things, plus that existing relationship means they don’t worry about o ending each other. “Having the same experiences, and sometimes the same memories, can be very beneficial,” says Fitch, “but then our lives are
“We have arguments all the time but then we’ve had arguments before that aren’t related to the job. We don’t need to tread lightly on each other’s emotions.”
also quite di erent now; I’m a dad and Mark’s not, for example, so we can bring di erent things too.”
“And we don’t have to skirt around the issue if either of us thinks an idea isn’t good enough,” adds Lewis. “We have arguments all the time but then we’ve had arguments before that aren’t related to the job. We don’t need to tread lightly on each other’s emotions.”
Spidergrams and dead canaries
Lewis and Fitch ‘o cially’ became a team in early 2009 with their first placement being at MCBD. There were further placements at agencies, including VCCP, but their break and “first proper job” came when they went to BBH London. Their placement there, from early 2010, led to a full-time job by the end of that year and the work mentioned above all came about during their five-year stint at BBH. They moved to adam&eveDDB in August 2015.
When they started out, people suggested they should define their roles, because that’s just what employers expected, and though, nominally, Fitch is the art director and Lewis the copywriter, they say that they don’t like to label themselves. “I agree that it’s good to have one person who,
1 2 3
1 Axe, Soulmates
2 KFC, Families
3 The Guardian, Three Little Pigs
when the shit hits the fan, says ‘that’s my thing and I will deal with that’”, explains Fitch, “but Mark and I don’t really work that way. We’re both the art director and copywriter, who does what just depends on the day and the project.” “And if you’re doing this job every day,” adds Lewis, “wouldn’t you want to dabble in everything? I know you can’t be a jack-of-all-trades but who says you can’t have an artistic opinion if you’re a copywriter? I don’t like the term ‘creative’ to be honest. I don’t know what you’d call us; idea generators, problem solvers… whatever, but that’s the bit I like; Matt and I sitting in a room trying to come up with the solution to a problem.”
And is that what they do; sit in a room and talk it out? “We do just like to go to a quiet space in the o ce, or we’ll work from one of our homes, and then within that time we’ll have an hour or so by ourselves before we come back together and see what each of us has got,” says Fitch. “But once we’ve had that first hour or so apart, it is a joint process, with the two of us building and improving on the other’s idea to the point where you can’t remember who came up with it originally.” “The most important thing is that undisturbed time,” continues Lewis. “Not from each other, but from everybody else.”
One of the processes Lewis and Fitch subscribe to is the good, old fashioned spidergram. “When we’re knocking our heads against a brick wall,” says Lewis, “we just get a blank piece of paper, write a key word in the middle of the page and just create a spidergram. Spidergrams are the
“It is a joint process, with the two of us building and improving on the other’s idea to the point where you can’t remember who came up with it originally.”
Matt Fitch
best. It’s just a map of your brain and you can see what you’ve said. And a good brief can help you so much too; a line, or a little nugget. All we then have to do is interpret it in a di erent way and that’s it!” “There’s no magic formula though,” says Fitch. “If there was, I’d be teaching it.”
The key to a good working, creative relationship is both people pulling their weight, the pair thinks. At di erent points one or other of the pair might take on more weight, but they’re always pulling in the same direction. “You need to be a united front,” states Fitch. “You need to go in together, protect your idea and fight for it. In any room there are two of us versus one of whoever, be that a creative director, a director… Mark and I are always on each other’s side.”
Their close working relationship seems to have many career positives, but are there any drawbacks to working so closely together? “The only negative I can think of – though we’ve not experienced it yet – is that you’re so tied to each other that you need each other in ways other jobs don’t,” states Fitch. “For example, if I want to go and live in another country and Mark doesn’t, that’s a discussion to be had. If I want to quit because I hate my boss, that impacts on Mark so I can’t just storm out.” “But that’s also a positive,” inserts Lewis. “It means that you can talk about your career prospects and development with someone who really understands.”
But their advertising career prospects are not the only thing they work on together as the pair form part of the six-strong Dead Canary Comics
team, a group of ad industry artists, writers and comic enthusiasts who create and publish their own books. Is there such a thing as spending too much time together? “Well,” laughs Fitch, “it allows us to get away from our day job and think about something di erent. It allows our ‘third brain’ [the combination of Fitch and Lewis’s minds] to relax a bit. There are six of us in DCC but Mark and I are the only two to have that added relationship and we’ve found that working on DCC and advertising actually help each other.”
Being friends, the pair says, has some great advantages and they believe they’re very lucky to be able to do what they do; “we’ve definitely got a better job than our friends,” grins Fitch. “Not many people get paid to hang out with their mate and talk bollocks all day.” “But also,” adds Lewis, “I would say that just because we’re friends, that doesn’t make us a good team in and of itself. We’re both opinionated, we fight for ideas when we think they’re right and we back each other up. We work well together, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and, ultimately, we both want to make the best work we can, both for the brands we work on at adam&eveDDB and for, essentially our own brand, Lewis and Fitch.”
Lewis & Fitch are inspired by…
What’s your favourite ever ad?
MF Benson and Hedges Iguana ML Blackcurrant Tango St George
What product could you not live without? MF A notebook. ML A beard trimmer.
What are your thoughts on social media? MF I’m on Twitter and Instagram, but deleted my Facebook account years ago. Make of that what you will. ML To quote Stephen Fry; “Too many people have peed in the pool for you to want to swim there any more. The fun is over.”
How do you relieve stress during a shoot? MF I don’t find shoots stressful. My stress happens during the creation process and then again in post production… on set it’s me stressing out the director! ML The shoots are the best bit about the job. It’s even more fun when I put the producer’s capabilities to the test with ridiculous requests – one guy produced a tiger on set.
What’s the last film you watched and was it any good? MF Bone Tomahawk. A perfect blend of horror and western starring my ultimate hero Kurt Russell. ML Deadpool – #driveby.
What was the last gig you went to?
MF I can’t actually remember but the last gig I tried (and failed) to get tickets for was Richard Ashcroft. A legend returns. ML It’s not a gig, but I saw Hand to God recently, which features puppets having sex (if you’re into that).
What film should have everyone seen?
MF The unadulterated theatrical version of the original Star Wars (1977). ML Goodfellas.
What fictitious character do you most relate to? MF Frank Underwood [from TV series House Of Cards]. ML Joey from Friends.
If you weren’t doing the job you do now, what would you like to be?
MF A full-time writer of comics, films and TV shows. ML A full-time bum –with lots of money, obviously.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…
MF I’m paranoid that in a thousand years a future civilisation will discover my internet data and use it as the basis for a museum exhibition about the habits of 21stcentury man. Seriously. ML I won the [TV dating show] show Singled Out and got cussed by its host, Richard Blackwood.
Sponsored by
With grudging thanks to: Caroline Pay: BBH, Ben Liam Jones: Mustard, Richard Denney: Mullen Lowe, Jax Evans: Stink Digital, Dave Henderson: Mullen Lowe, Orlando Wood: Biscuit Filmworks, Elspeth Lynn: FCB Inferno, Mark Jenkinson: Rogue, Luke Jacobs: Friend, Danny Brooke-Taylor: Lucky Generals, Leo King: Stitch
the picture smith
Happiness, for Ron Hewit, is the careful creation of images that shed a new light on the mundane or hint at stories beneath the surface. For his latest project, he tells Tim Cumming, he’s returned to the Scottish scenes of his youth to document a poignant passing and capture the quality of slow-fading family memories
“You know how sub-editors scan noticeboards and things for typos and misplaced apostrophes? The itch to look for correct words is like the itch to look for the right photograph, the right frame.”
Shots is sitting with Ron Hewit in a Greek eatery called The Life Goddess in Bloomsbury, a semi-demolished plate of meze and a bottle of Greek red between us. Hewit alerts my attention to the window to a courtyard behind me, the blank exterior wall behind that, and the shadow cast by an unseen ladder, the accumulated layers of space and framing exactly the kind of chance assemblage that features in his work.
“Looking at the framing of that window,” he says, “even the shadow on the wall makes me happy.” Happiness, as well as beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and Hewit has an acute eye for beholding the image that expresses human stories – labyrinths of tyre tracks on a car park rooftop, or a pedestrian crossing sign stuck incongruously in the foreground of a mud-churned wilderness, with no pedestrians, cars or road in sight.
A sub-editor by trade – that is, a field surgeon of the published word, apron smeared with the blood and sinew of bad grammar, errant facts and misplaced apostrophes – Hewit was a camera obsessive long before entering journalism, carrying his 35mm camera about the landscapes of the Scottish borders where he grew up. He returned there recently, in the wake of his father’s death, to document the long-abandoned smithy in which Hewit seniors toiled through the decades of the 20th century before the fires on that ancient industry finally went out. It’s been a long time since anyone struck the anvil there, but Hewit’s photographic memoir, The Last Blacksmith, published on the Caught By The River website, strikes gold as a poignant evocation of time, memory, place and passing.
“You know how sub-editors scan noticeboards and things for typos and misplaced apostrophes?
The itch to look for correct words is like the itch to look for the right photograph, the right frame.” He pauses. “But it’s the opposite of looking for the error – it’s about finding perfection. The sub-editor’s eye is looking for mistakes, but the photographer looks for completion.”
Hewit has plans for a book and exhibition of The Last Blacksmith. “This is the only time I’ve had a project that had a beginning, middle and end. I wanted to photograph my father’s workplace as it was, because it had been unchanged for the best part of 50 years, a treasure trove of cobwebs and dust.” The challenge was to capture that atmosphere without disturbing the natural darkness of its interior, or the metaphysical
chiaroscuro of the smithy’s abandoned tools –what Hewit calls its “unfathomable machinery”, their names long lost to memory. “I took pictures in natural light, with a wide aperture, and because I didn’t have a tripod it was all handheld, which is why they have that really narrow depth of field, so you only have a little of the frame in focus. It comes out really well, in retrospect. It has this slightly dreamy quality. The quality of memory.”
In a world bent on continual change and redevelopment, it’s remarkable that the smithy still stands at all. “It’s like a living museum,” says Hewit. “It’s simply always been there. Life without it is almost inconceivable.” That it does still exist is down to Hewit’s brother moving in to the old family home, smithy attached, when his father moved out and up the street – business for blacksmiths was winding down and ceasing to be a part of a living culture, vanishing into the shadowy world of the past. They do things differently there, and we are left with the remains.
“My brother keeps it just as it was, but in years to come who knows what will happen? It’s just standing there, slowly decaying. Which is quite poignant as well. Here are all these tools which are no longer used. There was stuff I wanted to ask my dad and grandad, but I can’t do that now. That idea of the fading away of memory – suddenly a generation has evaporated and the knowledge has gone with it. It’s spooky. It’s quite scary, in fact.”
That sense of place, of story, the narrative that springs up and out at you when you set the right frame around the right visual image, is an essential part of Hewit’s aesthetic. An early influence was Hockney’s Cubist Polaroid mosaics, and years later he’s developing his technique, combining multiple exposures and intentional camera movement. “It’s about making it different, more abstract, kinetic. If it’s handheld, it’ll move, and you’ll get this effect, so it’s a record of hand movement and of the image at the same time. It’s just trying to look at things slightly differently – whether it’s a good or bad
Page 34 Facing the storm
1 Cobwebbed clock, The Last Blacksmith 2 Unfathomable machinery, The Last Blacksmith 3 Lyme Regis
picture is up to the people looking at it, but I’d define a bad picture as clichés, things you’ve seen a thousand times before, that don’t make you stop and wonder at what the story is.”
Hewit’s website (ronhewit.photography) includes projects such as The Wood Green Triangle, turning what is commonly perceived as a rough-edged spread of unlovely, ungentrified north London into an urban landscape of wonder, mystery and magical tells. In the Buildings & People project, the human element – the people –seem dwarfed by the scale and spirit of the city rising around them. It’s like Tarkovsky’s Solaris manifesting in a car park in N22.
Photography is a democratic art, in that almost everyone has a camera, and the means to exhibit on digital platforms like Flickr or Instagram.
“What makes it difficult is making your image stand out,” says Hewit. “Why should anyone look at your pictures, out of the billion and one pictures taken every day?”
The answer is in the work itself, in Hewit’s image, say, of two young girls balancing a mattress on their heads as they walk through a cantilevered housing estate, Alexandra Road, in Swiss Cottage, snatched at waist height, sight unseen, after Hewit spotted them walking towards him from a distance. He knew he had it in the frame. “That’s what makes a good photo – it’s more than the sum of its parts. It makes you think, what is going on?”
His next project begins in April at the National Centre for Circus Arts in east London. “I’ve been to see the students in action,” says Hewit, “and it’s a really vibrant, fast environment so it will be challenging to capture their dynamism and enthusiasm. It’s a departure from static subjects like landscapes, seascapes and car parks, but you have to challenge yourself, don’t you?” S
There’s a lot going on Down Under –talking testicles for instance, and other examples of Australia’s typically ballsy advertising, but also some economic ‘sphincter tightening’ and research overkill that’s dampening creativity.
While in New Zealand, niftier, more nimble processes and simpler marketing structures are keeping the bright ideas flowing – from hybrid burgers to beer-waste biofuel. Selena Schleh talks to industry pros from both countries and finds the mood is largely bonza
ThiNgS Are lookiNg Up
DoWN UNDer
Australia and New Zealand might occupy the same corner of the world, but as any Aussie or Kiwi will tell you, this geographical closeness belies huge differences. “A punchy nation that expects to beat the world at anything and everything, justified or not,” is how Scott Nowell, ECD of Sydney-based indie, The Monkeys, describes his country. By contrast, New Zealanders are a self-effacing bunch. “[There’s] a down-to-earth pragmatism. It’s not flash here… We don’t like to be pushy, or impose ourselves on people,” says Nick Worthington, creative chairman at Colenso BBDO Auckland.
Nowhere are these differences more apparent than in advertising. Australia’s approach is aggressive, and business-first, while New Zealand’s is more quirky. But what unites the two is a consistently high creative standard, and the past 18 months have been no exception. Australia’s 56 Lions secured it third place in the Directory Big Won Rankings – just behind the US and UK – while New Zealand brought home a respectable haul of 20 gongs from Cannes.
The region isn’t without its issues. In the past two years, M&C Saatchi Auckland and Droga5 Sydney have shut up shop, a stark reminder that ANZ “isn’t exempt from the growth challenges the world currently faces,” comments John Gutteridge, CEO of JWT Australia and New Zealand, who also cites a talent drain to the States. Tight turnarounds and even tighter production budgets; the insidious creep of research; the whys and the wherefores of ‘content’, both long and short… the familiar list goes on.
Worries, wowsers and wild horses
Dig a little deeper, though, and for a country whose mantra is ‘no worries’, Australia seems to have a few more than its neighbour. Chief of these is a perceived dilution of its distinctive voice.
“Australian creativity has always demonstrated the fact we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Humour is an extremely important part of our culture as well as in our advertising,” says Simon Langley, ECD at JWT Sydney. Where else in
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the world would you find an ad starring anthropomorphised balls (Clemenger BBDO Melbourne’s The Boys, for underwear brand Bonds) or a testicular cancer PSA popping up, so to speak, in a porn flick (M&C Saatchi Sydney and the Blue Ball Foundation’s Play With Yourself)? Recently, however, that larrikin tone and boundary-pushing approach has turned blander and more risk-averse. “There’s a creeping, nanny-state conservatism that affects our industry as much as it affects the café that can’t put a seat out the front in case someone trips over it and sues,” says The Monkeys’ Nowell. “So many people are so damn scared.”
So what’s to blame? The economy, for one: 2015 saw the end of the mining boom and power tussles within the Liberal-National coalition government. Despite the ousting of unpopular PM Tony Abbott, political instability persists, producing what Cam Blackley, ECD at BMF Sydney dubs “an economic sphincter-tightening effect” on all aspects of business and marketing. Coupled with the country’s media market being one of the most expensive in the world, it’s little surprise that brands are playing it safe with their
advertising. “Gut instinct and the human touch have given way to validation by endless testing and research,” adds Blackley. The other big dampener is the rise of ‘wowsers’, or killjoys, on social media. “If you do something just a sniff controversial, you’ll find yourself in an online death match,” comments Nowell, whose agency experienced this first-hand with Operation Boomerang, a typically tongue-in-cheek Australia Day ad for Meat & Livestock, involving Aussies being militarily extracted to the motherland for a traditional lamb BBQ. The spot attracted a whopping 600 accusations of racism towards indigenous people and the inciting of hatred towards vegans, thanks to one notorious ‘kaletorching’ scene. Though cleared by the Advertising Standards Bureau, the social media backlash left a bitter taste.
Yet while some elements of the Twittersphere might be crushing creativity, it’s played a key role in highlighting Australia’s burning issues with gender inequality. In January, M&C Saatchi’s 21st birthday party hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, when its decision to have a burlesque performer jump out of a cake was branded
“Australian creativity has always demonstrated the fact we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Humour is a very important part of our culture.”
1 Honda, Wild Horse Chase
Honda, Dream Run
MLA, Operation Boomerang
ANZ, GAYTMs
sexist by trade journal Mumbrella. Forced to issue a formal apology, the agency cited “huge efforts to champion gender diversity”, pointing out that 30 per cent of its creative hires in 2015 were female, but concluded “This does not excuse the mistake we made and we have learnt a very important lesson.” That followed last year’s furore at Leo Burnett Sydney, which came under fire from equality champion Cindy Gallop after releasing a photo of its all-white, all-male senior creative team. “It’s 2015… What the fuck are u thinking?” tweeted Gallop with characteristic candour, sparking a huge public debate on gender and racial diversity in the top echelons. While unfortunate for the agencies in question (who to an extent carried the can for an industry-wide problem) these events have brought the issue to a head – hopefully hastening much needed change. Diversity isn’t only an issue in the workforce.
As JWT’s Gutteridge points out, falling revenues in traditional channels are forcing agencies to evolve and vary their offering, “which is both challenging and exciting in equal measure”. Focus has shifted to innovation and tech, and it’s here the country is excelling creatively.
“Everything that’s winning awards and getting noticed is breaking new ground in media, tech or social,” points out Ben Welsh, M&C Saatchi’s ECD in Sydney and creative chairman in Asia. His agency’s innovation arm, Tricky Jigsaw, is leading the charge with cutting-edge inventions such as the Titanium Lion-winning Clever Buoy shark detection system for Optus, currently undergoing testing at Sydney’s Bondi beach. Production companies are getting in on the act too. Sydney-based FINCH has been steadily making a name for itself at the intersection of storytelling and tech, and in 2015 won the first ever D&AD Black Pencil in Innovation for its The Most Powerful Arm campaign, a world-first, petition-signing robot to raise awareness of a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Meanwhile, Will O’Rourke, Revolver Films’ experiential projects offshoot, has found success with its work for national bank ANZ, creating 2015’s awardwinning GAYTMs and, this year, transforming the Sydney branch with a glorious Liberace-
1 Peace Day, McWhopper
2 Optus, Clever Buoy shark detection device
3 Doritos, Ultrasound
4 Lotto, Pop’s Gift
inspired interior. That’s not to say that traditional channels are kaput. Far from it, says Wilf Sweetland, managing partner for The Sweet Shop Australia. “Amid the constant talk over the last decade around the death of TV advertising, this year we’ve seen the biggest ad spends ever recorded for TV.”
But when it comes to film craft, the increased burden of research has caused standards to slip, says Peter Grasse, EP at Curious Films. Having sat on the 2015 Spikes Asia film craft jury, Grasse says “Australia and New Zealand aren’t the wellsprings of craftsmanship they once were. We used to dominate these shows on a global scale, but our neighbours, Japan in particular, are often producing better ideas, made [in a] better [way].”
BMF’s Blackley blames “a data-driven world, commoditised by value-driven content providers” for the issues with craft, but is optimistic that, with time, things will improve.
Other commentators are more upbeat.
Michael Ritchie, EP and founder of Sydney-based production company Revolver, for example, says: “There’s generally a higher standard of work, purely based on the fact that viewers have so
much control as to how and what they watch. A middle-of-the-road idea done in a middle-of-theroad way no longer has any part of the business, so that’s a good thing.” There’s certainly nothing middle-of-the-road about Aldi’s Perfect Aussie Christmas, produced through Revolver, while Honda’s Dream Run and Wild Horse Chase (both Goodoil Films Sydney) and Lotto’s Imagine –Pop’s Gift (The Sweet Shop NZ) all illustrate the region’s ability to produce beautifully conceived, impeccably crafted film. Another talking point is a rise in direct-to-client work, which Sweetland attributes to brand marketing departments increasingly bringing their creative in-house – the appointing of Clemenger BBDO creative director Rebecca Carrasco as Facebook’s head of creative for ANZ being a case in point. “It’s not something we actively seek... but some clients choose to work directly with us. I do think the lines have blurred, and by necessity we have to weigh up the best way forward,” says Revolver’s Ritchie.
On the directing front, breakout star New Zealand’s Taika Waititi (due to shoot Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok this year) is one of the lucky ones: competition is fierce in the small
“There’s generally a higher standard of work... A middle-of-the-road idea done in a middle-of-the-road way no longer has any part of the business.”
Scott Otto Anderson
Husein Alicajic
Armand De Saint-Salvy
Gary John
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Andrew Lancaster
Nick Losq
Lucinda Schreiber
Daniel de Viciola
photoplayfilms.com sydney/auckland
Antipodean market and Curious Films’ Grasse says “there’s a general lack of bravery to give new directors a chance.” Oliver Lawrance, EP of production company Photoplay, which has offices in Sydney and Auckland, agrees: “It’s a hard market for new directors… Music video budgets have disappeared, and it’s [only] the super-lowbudget content space that now gives some ability to build a reel.” Nonetheless, fresh talent is continuing to push through with the likes of Doritos’ Crash the Superbowl finalist Peter Carstairs, whose tongue-in-cheek spot Ultrasound has garnered over 10 million YouTube views (see shots.net for an interview with Carstairs).
Breasts, bored dogs and beery fuel Across the water, the mood in New Zealand is more buoyant. The country has long enjoyed a strong creative reputation, thanks to a ‘can do’ attitude and entrepreneurial spirit born of its remote location. “We’re a little country a long way from everyone and with that comes a unique culture of just getting on and doing things. People have an idea, and the next thing you know they are doing it,” says Colenso’s Worthington. Kiwis “try very hard to make things that are beautiful, interesting, useful or entertaining,” he adds. When it comes to market and budget size, New Zealand might be dwarfed by its neighbour, but, says Shane Bradnick, ECD at DDB Auckland, bigger doesn’t always mean better when it comes to creativity: “[Australia] has more layers of clients and more layers of research to get through. The work reflects this. A lot of it feels like it’s had the edges knocked off and is a bit safer.” But New Zealand enjoys greater freedom thanks to simpler marketing structures and a lack of hierarchy on the client side. “We’re small, we’re nimble and we have the decision-makers in the room with us,” states Brigid Alkema, ECD at Clemenger BBDO Wellington. “Our ideas are not over-analysed or scrutinised by too many. Things keep moving so we have speed of thought and speed of delivery.” The agency’s award-winning streak for the New Zealand Transport Authority bears this out. Following the lauded campaigns Blazed and Mistakes, 2015’s Tinnyvision was a bold use of
1 DB Export, Brewtroleum
2 Breast Cancer Awareness, #itouchmyselfproject
3 Pedigree, K9FM
4 Breast Cancer Foundation, Breast Cream
a new social media platform, involving a group of stoners broadcasting their dope-fuelled antics on Snapchat and duping followers into thinking they’d witnessed a genuine accident. Shot entirely on an iPhone, it’s an example of New Zealand’s willingness to experiment outside of traditional channels. As Colenso BBDO’s Worthington observes: “The distinctive thing about advertising [in New Zealand] is the amount of work that isn’t classic TV advertising.” Colenso’s work bears this out: in the past 18 months, they’ve created biofuel made of beer waste (DB Export’s Brewtroleum), a radio station to entertain bored dogs (Pedigree’s K9FM) and a moisturiser that actually gives women wrinkles – by helping to prevent breast cancer, thereby prolonging their lives (Breast Cancer Foundation’s Breast Cream). The latter two campaigns have helped Colenso become the 6th most creative agency in the world in the Directory Big Won rankings 2015 and though Worthington says “our goal has always been to try to be the best in NZ and then see how we fare against the rest of the world” DDB’s Bradnick sees global awards as “really important” for the country. “I think more and more creative
work in New Zealand is coming out of real human insights as opposed to just New Zealand insights, so being recognised [around the world] gives people a sense that they’re part of a bigger global creative industry. It also helps to attract new talent, which can be limited here.”
New Zealand’s not doing badly at growing its own, however, if a certain audacious Peace Day proposal is anything to go by. Dreamed up by a young Kiwi creative from Y&R Auckland, McWhopper captured hearts, minds and stomachs across the world, and is a perfect illustration of New Zealand’s ability to produce bold, unusual work that resonates on a global scale (see our profile of creative director Tom Paine on page 54).
It all adds up to a well-deserved reputation for creativity that Worthington doesn’t see changing any time soon. “If anything, the country is gaining confidence and you’ll see more of it.” And though its neighbour may be having a tougher time right now, they’re not going to take it lying down, says BMF’s Blackley: “There are a lot of bright people down here, and with a bit of new-found economic buoyancy, I expect [our] work will be more challenging in 2016.”
“We’re small, we’re nimble and we have the decision-makers in the room with us... Our ideas are not over-analysed or scrutinised by too many.”
Skripture
The creative awakening of Cam…
Having ruled out architect and fighter pilot, a childhood of crafting and a flair for creative problem solving (plus a dad in the biz) led Cam Blackley to his advertising career destiny. After years spent grafting to go from ‘horrible’ to gold Lion-winning work, BMF Sydney’s ECD tells Carine Buncsi how he’s learnt to let go… by shooting at his employees
“Iwake up with a stretch aligning my chakras. Three short, sharp breaths and I’m suddenly planted firmly in the present. A steaming mug of builder’s tea awakens a further dimension in my consciousness which feels remarkably like fear…” Midway through describing his morning routine – seemingly inspired by much-derided Hollywood juice bar founder, Amanda Chantal Bacon (she of the ‘pretentious hippy diet’) – Cam Blackley, ECD at BMF Sydney, breaks off and chuckles. “No, every day is blissfully different – minus the chakras. I’m surprised by an idea. Inspired by a meme. There’s always play injected into a day which can sometimes end at 5pm or 3am. I try not to meddle too much. I’m genuinely interested in what stage an idea or execution is at and the wellbeing of my team… And then I shoot them with Nerf guns.”
As his offbeat sense of humour and rampant imagination reveals, something creative was on the cards for Blackley from an early stage. “I sucked at math, which ruled out being an architect or fighter pilot… But I could draw. I didn’t mind being alone for extended periods as a youngster, which was critical in creating an
extraordinary amount of shit kids craft, at scale. And no, I never thought about advertising, even though my father [former Clemenger BBDO chairman David Blackley] was in the business, which will make some people groan.”
It was a trick of fate that first got Blackley into advertising: while pursuing a fine arts and graphic design degree, he entered a local newspaper copywriting competition. The prize? Writing catalogues for three years – but also getting a crack at some Transport Accident Commission [TAC] briefs at Grey Melbourne. “It was the work on old pneumatic [tyres] that led to Mecca, aka London,” he remembers. “The rest is a whole other story.”
For Blackley, advertising satisfied every problem-solving and creative urge he had, though it took a while to hone his craft. Of his early days as a junior creative in London, working at AMV BBDO then Publicis, he recalls: “It was both challenging and exciting – and I was horrible at it! Horrible at getting it so right like my advertising heroes did, and that just drove me to work even harder.” The long hours paid off. In 2004, he got a call from Droga5 to join its six-month-old New York office. It was a real ‘pinch yourself’ moment – and the interview process was no less surreal: “It consisted of building IKEA shelves. Traumatic.”
Three years later, he was transferred to Droga5’s Sydney office and charged with reversing the eight-year decline in fortunes of a key client, local beer brand Victoria Bitter. The resulting campaign, 2009’s The Regulars – featuring comical archetypal Aussie men from ‘manscapers’ to ‘guys who claim to have punched a shark’ – did just that, and picked up a gold Lion to boot. “We wrote the absolute shit out of it,” remembers Blackley. “Without exaggeration, Matty [Burton, his then-creative partner] and I rewrote the script about 100 times and wrestled
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1 Aldi, Perfect Aussie Christmas
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with it. The walls of our office looked like A Beautiful Mind on crack. The creative crew built so many layers into it, including sound bites that were picked up by the morning show and radio presenters. The story changed entirely in the edit.” Changing the 1960s tagline ‘A hard-earned thirst’ to ‘VB – The Drinking Beer’ was key. Blackley adds: “We trod on a few toes to get there, however I’m still immensely proud of [that tagline]. It was a character building, defining moment bringing it to life.”
A hands-off, they-can-do attitude
Since taking the creative reins at BMF in 2014, Blackley has continued to work with some big names, not least Hollywood funnyman Owen Wilson in last year’s trilogy, The Conspicuous Awakening Of Owen Wilson, for P&O Cruises. However, Blackley seems proudest of recent work for a far less glamorous client, budget supermarket Aldi, based on a very simple insight: “Aldi’s fresh food is mainly locally produced, but this wasn’t common knowledge and we had to build some credibility in this space,” he explains. “When I finally understood what the team wanted to do, that it nailed the Aldi tone and humour, I just let them get on with it.”
This hands-off attitude characterises Blackley’s approach to creative directing, although he’s not sure he’s perfected the art: “I hire people not just because they’re more talented than me, but for cultural fit – then add a liberal smattering of opportunity and autonomy. We grow from helping each other. [The process] is in beta at the moment, but seems to be paying off.”
Ultimately, as with all good creatives, it’s healthy paranoia (along with tea and chakra alignment) that drives Blackley: “We live in constant self-doubt… then get to pleasantly surprise ourselves now and again.” S
P&O, The Conspicuous Awakening Of Owen Wilson
“I try not to meddle too much. I’m genuinely interested in what stage an idea or execution is at and the wellbeing of my team… And then I shoot them with Nerf guns.”
Conducting creative magic
While her siblings ran for the bathroom during ad breaks, Brigid Alkema showed early dedication to her craft, transfixed by the stories of classic NZ ads. Now ECD of Clemenger BBDO Wellington, she tells Carine Buncsi she’s lost none of her enthusiasm for the industry, and is still electrified by the chance to conduct brilliantly creative problem-solving
Aday in the working life of Brigid Alkema always starts o with music – Led Zeppelin, Simple Minds, a-ha – and she likes it loud. When she’s not bopping around to motivational tunes, the ECD of Clemenger BBDO Wellington is busy conducting a di erent kind of creative symphony: “I’m problem solving and directing many talented people – curating, plussing, shaping, selling or killing work and helping to plus, shape, grow and not kill our people along the way.” For Alkema, the job of creative director is akin to that of a conductor: “They have the vision, they know how they want the audience to think and feel. They’re the one pushing and guiding the performers, keeping the pressure on and the energy up.”
Having taken up the baton from Clemenger’s much-loved former ECD Philip ‘Duster’ Andrew last year, Alkema is proving herself more than equal to the challenge – despite turning down the position when it was first o ered to her. “It took me a while to realise that although being a creative director means you’re not necessarily the one cracking the ‘great’ idea, you’re now the one shaping it. It’s creative problem-solving on a much grander scale,” she explains.
Born and bred in Wellington, New Zealand, it seems Alkema was always destined for adland. As a child, she avidly watched commercial breaks. “My sisters would run for the bathroom or the pantry, [but] I’d remain transfixed by the TV – the storytelling was unbelievable, with commercials like Toyota Bugger and Instant Kiwi School Exam, I even loved the Ajax Spray n’ Wipe ad!” she laughs. “Whoever was creating those stories on TV looked like they were having fun and I wanted to make compelling stories.”
Starting her career at Clemenger in 1999, Alkema has steadily made a name for herself as one of the top creatives in Australasia, via a string of brilliant road safety campaigns for the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA). Ghost Chips, Blazed and Tinnyvision eschewed the typical ‘guts and gore’ shock tactic approach for clever humour, and proved hugely e ective in increasing drink- and drug-driving awareness – something that pleases Alkema more than the slew of awards that the ads garnered. “When the ‘real people’ out in the ‘real world’ are changed because of what you’ve created for them… To put it simply, I believe great work, works great.” The latest NZTA campaign, Thoughts, in which di erent comedians voice the wandering minds of two silent stoners on a car journey, looks set to be equally popular with the public and awards show juries alike.
While winning gongs at Cannes and D&AD or judging for Spikes Asia and AWARD o er huge creative cachet, what Alkema relishes most about her role is the collaborative journey. “You know instantly when an idea has potential. What’s really special is the unity and resilience you show as a team and how the idea is shaped along the way. When you’ve put together the right team, where everyone respects what each other brings, and owns the part they play – you’ll get magic.”
1/2 NZTA, Tinnyvision 3/4 NZTA, Thoughts
She has given plenty of thought to the challenges facing the industry as a whole. “We need to help clients create world-class products and services. To help them be great, not just sound great. Companies are no longer competing within their industries – they’re competing with all industries. Everyone wants to be an Uber or Airbnb. Businesses and clients are crying out for change and innovation.” She adds: “I believe we’re the ones who can help them. Our industry is moving from having creatives in a creative department to having our businesses filled with creative entrepreneurs. We know how to creatively solve business problems, not just at a communications level, and have a broad view on what’s happening in a plethora of industries. Our creative minds can help solve business problems at boardroom level with CEOs too.”
Upward spiral to a standing ovation
Speaking of problem solving, and as a member of the small club of senior female creatives, what’s Alkema’s take on the thorny issue of gender diversity? “Everyone’s aware [of it], however it’s important to step back and look at where we were. There used to be next to none,” she points out. “So it gives me hope that we’re on an upward spiral. We have to represent the variances in our society. There cannot be one type of ‘ad-person’ anymore.” Looking to the future, Alkema sees merit in leading from behind: “I want to empower a company full of great creative thinkers who are confident, resilient and therefore bold in their thinking. We’re building a company with an inclusive and collaborative culture, where people feel free to share ideas, opinions and criticisms. I expect a lot from myself, therefore I expect a lot from our people. My role is to provoke greatness – and the audience will, hopefully, give a standing ovation.” S
“I’m problem solving and directing many talented people –curating, plussing, shaping, selling or killing work and helping to plus, shape, grow and not kill our people along the way.”
The fast-food lane to success
Asked why New Zealand consistently punches above its weight creatively, Tom Paine, associate CD at Y&R Auckland, tells Selena Schleh it’s probably down to resourcefulness, enthusiasm and a touch of frontier spirit. Qualities he happens to have displayed throughout his career and never more so than in his recent ravenous pursuit of a tasty burger blended for world peace
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you can’t have avoided the viral hullabaloo surrounding the McWhopper proposal, Burger King’s invitation to arch-rival McDonald’s to “end [their] long-running beef. With beef” by creating the ultimate hybrid burger in the name of world peace. Though Maccers didn’t bite, the stunt sizzled on social media, garnered global news coverage (Bloomberg called it “perfect guerrilla marketing”), spawned thousands of DIY attempts and is widely predicted to sweep the boards at international awards shows this year. What you might not know is that the campaign was cooked up in New Zealand – the brainchild of Tom Paine, an associate CD at Y&R Auckland.
When shots Skypes Paine, he gives us a remote tour of Y&R’s McWhopper ‘War Room’, a bunkerlike office where he holed up for three months, windows blacked for privacy, refining and plotting and plastering the walls in documents. “It was all-consuming,” he says with a rueful grin.
Born and bred in Auckland, Paine’s first exposure to advertising was via his father’s PR company, which shared offices with local agency Generator, whose foyer was “full of beer and Xboxes and beautiful girls hanging around”. After a stint as a ski instructor in Colorado, he landed his first job at boutique shop Meares Taine in 2004, through an inventive application. “Meares Taine was parking a mobile billboard outside all the big agencies, with the words ‘Meares Taine are looking for a great senior suit,’” he explains. “So I bought a model of the exact same car and made a miniature replica billboard saying ‘Knight [his ex-creative partner] Paine are looking for a great junior job.’” They were hired on the spot.
It was an early indication of the passion and resourcefulness that’s characterised Paine’s career path through some of New Zealand’s top agencies. He spent five years at Meares Taine (during which
time it was acquired by Ogilvy) learning “oldschool storytelling”, courtesy of Roy Meares and Jeremy Taine and “more contemporary innovative stuff” from then-CDs Jamie Hitchcock and Josh Lancaster. Stints at Colenso BBDO and DDB New Zealand followed, before he joined Y&R Auckland in 2011 and made waves with projects like Love From Land Rover, a Valentine’s Day stunt inspired by the tale of a beloved Land Rover acquired, restored and returned to its original owners.
But Paine was fomenting another, more ambitious idea inspired by D&AD’s White Pencil brief for Peace One Day, the UN-backed outfit dedicated to promoting International Peace Day. What if two rival burger giants could bury the hatchet for a day and combine their buns and patties for peace? And so McWhopper was born. Despite having “unwavering allies” in Y&R CEO Josh Moore and head of planning Jono Key, it proved a hard sell, but Paine persisted: registering mcwhopper.com as a domain with his own credit card and drafting countless presentations.
Key to success was persuading Burger King’s senior VP of global marketing Fernando Machado, the marketer behind the Dove Real Beauty Sketches and Burger King Proud Whopper
“Without his support, everything would have been a lot harder,” said Paine. He needn’t have worried. “I fucking love this idea!” Machado responded. McNothanks: We’re (not) lovin’ it
Over the next 18 months, the campaign was developed with Cold War levels of secrecy: officially, only 10 people at Y&R Auckland knew about it. Paine was pulled off every other project and ensconced in the ‘War Room’ to plan the details of the pop-up McWhopper restaurant, which was to be situated in an Atlanta parking lot, slap-bang between the two brands’ HQs. Interestingly, despite its reliance on digital and
social, the campaign was launched by a press ad. “It was old-school, but refreshing,” says Paine, though it took “around 7,500” attempts to draft the open letter to McDonald’s, which was published in the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Y&R – along with the rest of the world – waited with baited breath for a response. Sadly, the answer was a big, fat, flame-grilled no. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook suggested the companies should aim higher, tersely concluding: “Next time, a simple phone call will do.” Though it could have been a kick in the teeth, the hoity-toity rebuff was publicity gold: “It galvanised everybody for Burger King, although we never set out to cause strife, and it got everyone talking about the campaign.” More importantly, it got everyone assembling their own McWhoppers, posting the results on social media and generating a huge online buzz. The DIY aspect was always central to the campaign strategy, says Paine – hence the burger-build guide on the website. And though McDonald’s failed to bite, four other burger chains – Denny’s, Krystal, Wayback Burgers and Giraffas – joined the Peace Day pop-up on 21 September 2015, resulting in a five-brand stunt that helped raise global awareness of the cause by 40 per cent.
With Y&R currently working on a brief for Peace One Day 2016, is there another ambitious collaboration in the works? “Originally we thought it would be fantastic if the mash-up concept was extended – with Coke and Pepsi, or Yahoo and Google. A mixed Nike and adidas shoe could be cool. But perhaps it’s one of those ideas where you say: it’s done, it was big, let’s try something else,” Paine says.
Whether international awards juries will tuck into McWhopper with the same gusto as burger fans around the world remains to be seen, but this affable Kiwi is set to taste huge career success.
Burger King, McWhopper
“Originally we thought it would be fantastic if the mash-up concept was extended – with Coke and Pepsi, or Yahoo and Google. But perhaps it’s one of those ideas where you say: it’s done, it was big, let’s try something else.”
The caped crusader of Kapiti
Though he occasionally imagines himself as a superhero and went into films as a way to get laughs, there’s nothing flippant about Mark Albiston’s approach to his career. He learned his craft in TV news, went on to win awards at Cannes for his short films and co-founded his own company to make docs, promos and ads. Now with The Sweet Shop, the director talks to Carine Buncsi
Growing up on the Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington, Mark Albiston’s career aspirations were many – but none involved filmmaking. An early desire to become a ‘pick-up artist’ (aka a bin-man), hanging o the back of a rubbish truck, gave way to loftier ambitions: specifically, a masked superhero driving a kick-ass car saving Gotham City. And of course, like any rugby-mad Kiwi lad, he dreamed of making the All Blacks team. Today, notions of emptying bins or scoring tries for a living are far behind Albiston, but, as his portrait opposite reveals, he still harbours caped-crusader fantasies and admits “It would be cool to own Batman’s motorcycle.”
Although directing wasn’t on the cards, he learnt the art of storytelling young, at the family dinner table. “I was the third out of four kids who gave each other shit,” he says. “After we had all eaten at lightning speed – as you have to in a competitive dining environment – our parents would ask: ‘What happened today that you don’t want us to know about?’ There weren’t too many secrets in our family and everyone competed to tell the best story.”
Starting o with exploding trousers
While studying fine arts at Christchurch’s Canterbury University, Albiston began dabbling in film as a hobby – with surprisingly explosive results. “I made a film about a pair of radioactive trousers that blew up,” he remembers. “I liked attention and making people laugh so I decided to get into filmmaking.” After graduating from film school, he spent some time overseas playing professional rugby, before returning home to take up a job in a timber treatment plant. One day, it flooded completely: a disaster for the environment but serendipitous for Albiston, who reconnected with his future creative partner in crime, schoolfriend Louis Sutherland, when the
latter was working with a local TV news crew that came to cover the event. Sutherland suggested he resign from polluting local waterways and get a job making TV documentaries.
“That was ultimately my real film school,” Albiston says. “Making short documentaries on locals, whether they were about Tiger Moth pilots or an old lady and her snoring dog. We would check the local paper and shoot stories – hoping they’d make the programme that evening.” Their o ces? A ‘tourist farm’ where travellers would feed llamas and watch sheep getting clipped. “We had farm animals rocking up to our production meetings,” he laughs. Nonetheless, having to direct, shoot and edit his own films stood him in good stead when he later embarked on various film projects abroad, such as mountain biking and triathlon documentaries.
In 2000, he returned home to launch his own production company, Sticky Pictures, with wife Amelia Bardsley; a fruitful partnership that has yielded three children and a raft of successful short films. Co-directed with Sutherland, Run (2007); Six Dollar Fifty Man (2009) and Shopping (2013) garnered awards at Sundance, Cannes and the Berlin Film Festival and established Albiston as an indie director to watch. But man cannot live on laurels alone. Cue a move into commercials. Reflecting on the crossover, Albiston muses, “It’s not until I started making commercials I realised they could be a lot of fun and a great way to hone your craft – working non-stop as a director keeps you sharper than writing. It’s experimental and always a speedy turnaround, which suits my background.” Embracing the creative chaos is key. “There’s an incredible momentum which swells from client to agency, spilling onto crew and director, it’s a mad force which somehow comes together to make something really special.”
He joined The Sweet Shop in 2010, when its roster was almost entirely Kiwi directors, and over the years has seen it evolve into “an extraordinary smorgasbord of talent” – something that keeps Albiston on his toes. “With world-class directors on the roster, it encourages us all to keep striving to make [the website’s] homepage. There’s always sti competition.” The last 12 months have seen Albiston predominantly working in the UK, drawn by a combination of “immense creativity and street casting. When I’m in NZ, I often cast my own commercials. Ultimately, it all comes down to tight casting budgets Down Under, yet the value of superb street casting is recognised in the UK and agencies don’t seem to try to save money on it.” As anyone who’s seen his recent, brilliant spot for Thomas Cook, Pool Kid – featuring the fierce free-stylin’ moves of the young protagonist –would undoubtably agree.
Ending up on Batman’s motorbike
Travelling so often, Albiston doesn’t see much of fellow Sweet Shop directors, but he says “It’s great to share war stories, chat about the process and realise that what we do as directors carries similar challenges. As a director it’s your job when shit hits the fan to stand firm and make sure that you do everything in your power to keep the creative vision afloat because, like it or not, when things get hard you can often be the last one left sailing.” What is it that makes for a smoother voyage? “Pre-production is key, plus having the right team.” Albiston also greatly values working with good people: “You realise pretty quickly that making films mostly requires more than just you playing together in the sandpit.” And when things get tough, Albiston still asks himself what his superhero self would do. “I see myself escaping in one of Batman’s indestructible motorcycles –then it’s back to reality.”
Thomas Cook, Pool Kid S
“That was ultimately my real film school, making short documentaries on locals, whether they were about Tiger Moth pilots or an old lady and her snoring dog.”
Laying waste to the waffle
Sydney-based Goodoil Films director
Fiona McGee has a talent for bringing out the awkward black humour in everyday encounters, cutting out the waffle and usual bullshit – which comes in handy when helming award-winning spots. It also helps her stay sane, she tells Carine Buncsi, when faced with yet another script for female hygiene products
More beer. More cars. And fewer tampons. That’s what Fiona McGee would like to see when it comes to the scripts landing on her desk. This kind of casual gender stereotyping could make a modern woman weep, but McGee and her fellow female directors treat it as a running joke instead. “We say we get sent each and every feminine hygiene product and nappy spot ever written,” quips the Sydney native, revealing the dry, offbeat humour that’s become her stock in trade.
McGee’s career path into commercials is an interesting one, encompassing arts, advertising and documentary making. As a youngster, she had an inquisitive mind, a keen eye for human behaviour and a general desire to create: when she wasn’t capturing funny moments with her pals on her trusty Sony Hi8 camcorder, she was dreaming up fanciful product designs: “I wanted to design and build swimming pools for my toys. Who knows, perhaps after this comedy director gig, that’s something I’ll go back to later in life –but for fully-grown humans.”
Continuing to dabble in film while studying at Sydney’s prestigious College of Fine Arts, McGee got a gig as a runner for Cherub Pictures in the
early 2000s. There, she came across director Vikki Blanche, whose work piqued her interest in commercial craft. “[Vikki] had a completely unique and authentic point of view,” McGee recalls. “From that moment on, I realised there was an opportunity to do something really different in advertising.”
That lightbulb moment led to McGee enrolling on the course offered by Australian advertising association AWARD, though she continued to make documentaries and shorts, inspired by the documentaries of Errol Morris, Lars von Trier’s Breaking The Waves, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. A two-year stint in London followed, working as a creativecum-director and shooting spots for MTV and Nickelodeon, but the sunny climes of Oz soon lured her back Down Under and into full-time commercials directing.
Since signing to Goodoil Films in 2009, McGee has cemented her status as one of Australia’s foremost comedy directors, thanks to her willingness to embrace the awkward reality of the human condition. “Usually the comedy scripts I receive are dialogue-based. I look for a sense of newness to bring to the piece and unravel its authentic, awkward humour,” she explains. “I particularly love awkward silences and bringing real life to commercials. Observing humans, finding the beauty and black humour in everyday life. So often commercials are over-glossy, full of bullshit and waffle. Australia and NZ have a strong ad industry but we tend to repeat the same gags and ideas again and again.”
A lack of originality isn’t an accusation that can be levelled at McGee’s standout body of work, which includes: the 2011 bronze Lion-winning spot for Selleys 3 In 1 – part of the DIY store’s Do It Yourself campaign, which illustrated the pitfalls of letting a hunky handyman into your home;
1
1 ING Direct, Monologue
2 CarAdvice, The Advisers – Headlights
The Advisors for CarAdvice, showing the lengths to which the magazine’s journalists go to test the latest autos; and ING Direct’s recent, brilliant Monologue and Shout Out, featuring the comic talents of ex-Home And Away actress Isla Fisher. Working on the multi-million-dollar ING Direct campaign was a big deal for McGee, who directed the spots in LA. Not only was it “a blast” working with Fisher – who plays a slightly deranged version of herself as the bank’s reluctant celebrity ambassador – McGee had a pinch-yourself moment when Fisher’s husband, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, sat beside her on set. “During takes, Sacha was in total dad mode with the kids,” McGee says, “but I kept thinking –what’s happening here, could this all go pearshaped, is he going to come up with a new idea?”
Getting serious for a moment
She was also fortunate enough to work with one of her heroes, Steadicam operator Andy Shuttleworth, who was responsible for the incredible long takes in Boogie Nights. “I was more excited about working with him than any LA celebrity sighting – apart from Christopher Walken and his cat, of course,” she laughs.
It’s all much more glamorous than the diaper ads that agencies keep sending her. Does she ever get fed up with the ad industry’s entrenched gender norms? From a personal perspective, McGee says sexism has never held her back: “There’s never been a focus on whether I’m a female or not. I haven’t really delved into that conversation too often.” However, she’s well aware of the industry’s shortcomings. “It probably needs to be braver at times and represent more diversity, whether it’s females directing or in the casting of characters. It’s so boring seeing yet another woman wearing chinos in the kitchen.” Fiona McGee: serious when it counts. S
“Observing humans, finding the beauty and black humour in everyday life is what I try to convey in my work. So often commercials are over-glossy, full of bullshit and waffle.”
Going native: Sydney
Why is Sydney like a tub of finger paint? We’re not sure really but it’s how Adrian Shapiro, executive producer at Sydney production company Scoundrel, sees his home city. Something to do with fun times and colour probably....
What is the best thing about working in advertising in Australia?
For a small market we have some incredible creative talent, which means there are always a lot of great pieces of work around.
What is the worst thing about working in advertising in Australia?
Budgets can be challenging. Another issue is that work can be quite parochial and ideas can be misunderstood internationally.
If you are booking a hotel in Sydney, where would you choose to stay?
If you’re after a great spot to be positioned while in Sydney you can’t go past Bondi Beach. The Adina in Bondi offers serviced apartments with a range of awesome restaurants, bars and beautiful beaches on your doorstep. If you want to go a bit more upmarket, the new QT in Bondi would be a good option.
What advice would you give to a visitor?
Enjoy the beaches around Sydney and get out into the national parks to see some of the beauty that’s nearby.
What’s the best Australian ad you have seen in the last year?
8 Bar Eagle Woman
What do you miss when you are out of the city?
My family first and foremost, and then I miss the beauty of Sydney. There is nothing more amazing then flying back in to this city when you’ve been overseas on a shoot and you come in over the harbour. It feels like home once you see the bridge and the beautiful water.
What’s the best place to eat in Sydney?
I like Riley St Garage in Woolloomooloo, North Bondi Fish, and for a big meat meal you can’t beat Hurricane’s Grill down at Bondi Beach.
If Sydney were a product, what would it be?
A tub of finger paint.
One table, four places. You and who? Larry David, Quentin Tarantino, and Tom Araya.
What’s your one-line life philosophy?
Give it a rest, and then try it again with more soul.
What’s Sydney’s favourite pastime?
The favourite summer pastime would be going to the beach for sure. Sydney folk are not shy of an outdoor festival either.
If you could have one question answered, what would it be?
What is wrong with our species?
And the best place to have a drink?
I like it a bit grungier so I’m a big fan of Frankie’s Pizza, which is a rock n’ roll-slash-metal bar that also makes amazing pizza. It’s open late, late, late!
Who do you/would you love to work with in the industry?
I love working with all the Scoundrel directors, of course. Intelligent filmmakers and good people to create wonderful pieces of advertising with.
“I’m
a big fan of
which is a rock n’ rollslash-metal bar that also makes amazing pizza. It’s open late, late, late!”
hitting the righT noTe
Despite a history of creative differences, bands and brands are now in sync when it comes to music in ads. Artists make money they’re no longer getting from sales and brands get a measurable return in recognition. But, as Joe Lancaster finds, to get it right takes more than just naming that tune
The guy from the record label eyed his phone with horror as messages rattled into his inbox like machine gun fire. Many of them were from a disgruntled Lily Allen. We were discussing a shots/Warner Music event on the morning that information about the singer had been leaked to the press and she was not at all happy. But it wasn’t details of her private life or a pirated copy of her next album that had gone public. In fact, word had got out that a track by Allen was featuring on that year’s John Lewis Christmas commercial and, these days, putting a deal like that in jeopardy is a pretty serious issue. Music in advertising has come a long way since the days of catchy jingles.
“The John Lewis commercial is sought after by labels and it’s sought after by artists if it’s the right time for them. It’s the equivalent of getting A-listed on Radio 1 a few years ago, if not bigger,” explains Abi Leland, MD at Leland Music, music supervisors for the retailer’s ads. Although John Lewis is a good example of a brand that artists are scrambling to collaborate with, it’s certainly not the only one. “Five years ago it was still considered pretty bad to have your music used in a commercial. A lot of artists didn’t want to be associated with brands,” says Marcel Wiebenga, partner and head of new business at Amsterdam music company Sizzer. He feels there’s been a significant shift recently. “At SXSW a few years ago I saw Public Enemy, the ultimate antiestablishment hip-hop group, play on a stage that was designed as a Doritos bag.”
It’s no secret that, bar multi-million-selling megastars, artists now make little money from record sales. Revenue comes mainly from two avenues: touring and brand collaboration, and the latter has evolved hugely from the days of
“Sync is now more and more important in the record label setup… We’ll be pushing hard to get an ad or another type of sync.”
Change your partnerships
Federico Bolza, VP of strategy, Sony
Music
Entertainment
explains how the record industry is changing its approach to brand partnerships
The biggest challenge we have is moving partnerships between brands and artists away from where things are purely transactional – where everyone walks away with a slightly bad taste in their mouth. Put crudely we’re aiming for partnerships where both parties feel they’re winning as opposed to one party feeling they’ve
won and the other they lost or got screwed. Part of what’s driving it is that the ad industry is thinking about how to get people to watch its output. You keep hearing ad people saying “Advertising needs to become more like entertainment, it needs to be culture,” and the record industry is good at making
culture. We’ve seen an evolution of partnerships –we’ve dropped the word ‘brand’ from our partnership function, so a partner could be anyone. How are we going to tell stories in the marketplace, who’s the target market we’re trying to reach, and how do we mutually reinforce the story that we are trying to tell?
slapping a hit on a soft drink commercial and counting the dollars. Artists are now using advertising and other types of sync (e.g. film and TV shows) as part of their release strategy, says Charles FitzGerald, global head of sync & brand partnerships at [PIAS], a record label and independent music licensing giant. “Sync is now more and more important in the record label set-up – you work in combination with your international team, radio team, online team. As much as they’re pushing to get the song on Radio 1, or the video onto VICE, we’ll be pushing hard to get an ad, or another type of sync.”
Developing a sound strategy
So we know what’s in it for the artist, but what’s in it for the brand other than added street credibility?
According to a study by Adrian North and David Hargreaves of Leicester University, “ads with music that ‘fit’ the brand are 96 per cent more likely to be remembered than those with non-fit music,” and, “Respondents are 24 per cent more likely to purchase the product in an ad which featured ‘fit’ rather than ‘non-fit’ music.”
Like all facets of the ad industry, the increase in brands’ activity online has led to major changes in how record labels and music companies can spread their wings. “Nowadays we’re getting more opportunities to be more creative and the diversity of brands that you can expose artists through is much greater because of the way online is more experimental,” explains Kate Young, MD of Soho Music. “The role of creative music agencies in advertising is becoming more respected, moving away from the old-school mentality of cliché jingle companies.” And the multi-platform nature of today’s media landscape means brands need to engage more with music companies to develop
Gospel truth
Paul Reynolds, MD, MassiveMusic London
For my APA masterclass music session, i put together ten commandments for successfully using bespoke music for a campaign. it’s a bit tongue in cheek, but they’re actually very important rules and could save the commissioning party and the composer getting into all sorts of difficulty.
The Ten Commandments of Music Composition
1 Thou shalt allow enough time
2 Thou shalt use professionals
3 Thou shalt brief well
4 Thou shalt not listen to 72 demos
5 Thou shalt pay for demos
6 Thou shalt not fall in love with the temp
7 Thou shalt not copy thy reference
8 Thou shalt avoid risk
9 Thou shalt adhere to the grid
10 Thou shalt know how to budget
“Respondents are 24 per cent more likely to purchase the product in an ad which featured ‘fit’ rather than ‘non-fit’ music.”
their ‘sonic branding’, explains Roscoe Williamson, EP at MassiveMusic London. “Brands are making a lot of noise and there are many more ways of communicating with their customers. Without a coherent sound strategy, it’s not as effective as it could be. We’re not just talking about mnemonics at the end of adverts, it could be a whole strategy of watermarking audio through loads of different touchpoints and giving a global sound to the brand.” Sadly though, as with film, clients still don’t recognise the value of music in online applications as highly as they perhaps should, but the situation is improving, says Young. “The more that clients see results from online campaigns, the more it increases in value. TV is still the most highly budgeted medium but it looks like soon the two will run parallel.”
While it’s clear that more artists are keen for their music to be used in ads, an age-old problem remains. “Sometimes when a director falls in love with a piece of music and it fits with the picture, it’s wonderful and that’s what everyone dreams of,” explains [PIAS]’s FitzGerald. “The problem is, on the whole, musicians don’t write music for that purpose, they write to deal with break-ups or hurt, and those things don’t always go brilliantly [with advertising or film].” This has led to more and more artists agreeing to write bespoke music for ads, and this can be a particularly useful opportunity for emerging talent to gain exposure. [PIAS] recently placed a track by Anna Of The North in a European-wide Google campaign.
Although her debut album is yet to be released, the ad has increased her exposure hugely, with almost 5m YouTube views (she’s credited in its description with a link to the track in the Google Play Store). The ad is also Shazamable, which has likely contributed to the more than 55,000 tags the track has gained to date.
The story of the blues, rock, dance… It’s not just record labels that are getting in on the action. Music companies are also adapting their offering to cater for clients’ desires and create opportunities for young artists. Last year Audio Network, traditionally known as a music library, launched Workshop – a showcase of its composers’ talents. “We used to present ourselves as the company first and the artist second, but the ad industry doesn’t want that,” explains Nick Bennett, Audio Network’s head of advertising, Europe.
When it’s time to bring in the experts
When creative people often listen to a diverse spectrum of music themselves, why do agencies need to employ music supervision companies? Richard Brim, ECD at adam&eveDDB, and Abi Leland, MD at Leland Music, the team behind the tracks in the John Lewis commercials, explain why companies like Leland are vital
RB Everybody thinks they’ve got good taste in music and I start every year thinking I know what we should use for the next John Lewis ad, but I’m quickly talked down.
When my wife was giving birth we were in the operating theatre and an Elton John track came on
“Everyone needs a story they can pitch in, whether it’s us pitching to creatives, them pitching to a director, or someone pitching to the client. So it’s important to have a story behind the artist – what they’re doing outside of this one track.” And what they’re doing is pretty impressive. Some of their composers are signed with major labels and Workshop has facilitated some hugely successful brand partnerships, for example Alex Arcoleo’s track for a Dove Men+Care spot that has notched up 18m YouTube views.
MassiveTalent – the division of MassiveMusic that helps unsigned artists find sync deals – has also enjoyed considerable success. Recently, young singer/songwriter George Barnett recorded a bespoke track for online cycling retailer Wiggle which featured in an ad for the client as well as in a branded ‘music video’. The track is available on Soundcloud and Spotify where it’s credited to Wiggle Bike Shop/Wiggle Music, although Barnett is credited on YouTube, where the ad has had over 4.5m views. Since doing the track Barnett has found an increased following and secured more sync work through MassiveTalent, including an Axe spot, Young Mature
Another success story is Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, who featured in the Heineken ad The Switch which used their single Love Letter Interestingly, though, despite what we hear about artists being more open to brand partnerships, none who were contacted wanted to comment in this article, including George Barnett and Anna Of The North. In another case we were actually
the radio. I looked into the middle distance and she said, “I know what you’re doing.” She explained to the anaesthetist that I do the John Lewis ads and all of a sudden all the nurses and staff came over and said “I know what track would work.” Everyone has an opinion.
It’s an inexact science but Abi instinctively knows when something will work to picture. It’s good to have her opinion, especially when you realise that your taste in music is actually shite and hers is much better. You need somebody to say, “Have you thought about it like this?”
AL It isn’t just about having good taste and a great music collection. It’s a multi-faceted role and a skilled craft. There’s much more to it than sifting through Spotify and finding music you love. Music is subjective but when you’re working to picture there are things
told by an artist’s management that they wanted to distance their client from ad industry press.
The ad industry is obsessed with new technology and, from a sonic perspective, it’s no different. Shazam has enabled advertisers to take TV viewers directly to their website or app, and last year it reported over 100 million active monthly users, with 30 per cent of users having tagged a TV show or commercial, and those figures are increasing all the time. According to a Nielsen study conducted in 2014, TV ads with a Shazam call to action have overall significantly higher recall and likeability than those without, including 14 per cent higher brand and message recall and 13 per cent higher likeability.
New tech can also be used in the creation of music for brands, as MassiveMusic’s mmorph project aims to prove. Created in collaboration with leading audio and tech firms, including Reactify, the browser-based workflow can be used in interactive experiences to enable audiences to manipulate sound where it would previously have been impossible. Applications for its use could include VR, installations or interactive film, and the demonstration website has already won an FWA Site of the Day award and sparked conversations with interested potential clients. We’re all music supervisors now
So, how does the future look for music in advertising? Bright, according to Federico Bolza, VP of strategy at Sony Music Entertainment.
“I think we’re going to see a lot more partnerships
that work and things that don’t. There’s often a right and wrong. I think it helps to have someone you’re working through that process with to work out what does and doesn’t work and to explain why.
You have to avoid second-guessing people’s reactions. It’s not as strategic as people think it is. It has to be right for the brand identity but the main thing is that the music works creatively. I’ve worked on projects where a group of middleaged men have tried to guess what will appeal to twentysomething females. You can lose touch with what you’re trying to do.
“It’s going to be more about creating exciting and entertaining content that’s going to drive brand, artist and audience objectives.”
but they’re going to blur the lines between sync, licensing and partnerships. It’s going to be more about creating exciting and entertaining content that’s going to drive brand, artist and audience objectives.” [PIAS]’s FitzGerald hopes that the availability of more music via streaming, and the accessibility of the internet as a channel for brands to communicate through, will result in a diverse creative output for clients and artists. “I hope that everyone becomes a music supervisor,” he says.
“The music industry is pushing hard to get its rights management into place so that people can freely sync music to their videos. It isn’t just major corporations, but young professionals and new brands who can have online ads. I hope they work in tandem with the music industry so we can keep them up to date with great music.”
Creative conversations. Music companies, brands and agencies talking at the start of a project. Promoting new artists and using new tech. It all sounds good to us.
a quiet obsession
Sometimes the sound of chips being thrown at a windscreen is best expressed as... silence –but it takes an expert in sound design to know that. Jim Griffin, senior sound designer at Jungle Studios, reveals to Joe Lancaster how the best sound often goes unheard, and describes the OCD delights of becoming a snuffling pig and making sushi noises with fish fillets
Making tea and emptying bins are the kinds of crap jobs that work experience kids usually get. But when Jim Griffin started at the bottom at Jungle Studios in the 90s, he had to go a little further to impress the boss. Sent to the butcher to retrieve two pig legs, he was tasked with Foleying (creating a sound effect to replace an ambient noise) scuttling trotters. “I was on the floor, being a pig basically.”
Growing up playing drums for bands in High Wycombe, England, Griffin was always enamoured of music and knew he’d end up working with sound. After a brief stint producing audio for theatre, he got a shot at Jungle and clearly did a good job with those trotters because he’s still there now, having worked his way up the ranks to establish himself as one of the best sound designers in the commercials industry.
Echoes of The Dark Knight’s drums
What is a sound designer? The affable Griffin would forgive you for not really knowing what he does, or spotting when he’s worked his magic. “Often what we do has to be unobtrusive and so good that you don’t notice it… so realistic that people just believe [the sound is real]. If you start breaking someone out of what they’re watching, then you’re failing as a sound designer.”
His daily tasks are too many to list here but they include cleaning up the audio recorded on shoots, creating Foley, looping (re-recording actors’ lines), dubbing and a lot more. He’s effectively responsible for everything you hear other than the music. This certainly isn’t just adding a few ‘boings’ and ‘booms’ – for example a sound designer can spend around nine hours on a 30-second ad.
Like all aspects of filmmaking, sound design goes through trends and recently Griffin has noticed a lot of work in the vein of top Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, whose sound for The Dark Knight trilogy, for example, sees big drum hits coinciding with action – particularly punches
– on screen. “It’s entered into the lexicon of sound design. It’s not like you’re ripping it off, it’s an homage [when you replicate a sound]. It’s not like music where you’re copying it directly – it doesn’t work that way.” However, these trends can quickly get tired, as Griffin points out. “The problem we’ve got now is that the big drums thing is being overused. It’s becoming lazy.”
And the rest is silence
But Zimmer is a composer rather than a sound designer, so the two must overlap a little? “Most good sound designers will tune their sound design so it at least interacts with the music,” explains Griffin. “Sound designers each have different styles. I’m obsessed with music (he’s also a working club and radio DJ) and my strength as a sound designer is in the more musical stuff.” What else makes a good sound designer? “For me there’s a touch of OCD to it, where I have
“For me there’s some OCD to it, where I have to go out and watch movies to know what other people are doing, and I have to learn from that and apply it to what I’m doing.”
“It’s the best shot in the whole piece and I argued against putting sound on it – which is a weird thing for a sound designer to do, but I thought it would rob [the film] of its energy.”
to go out and watch movies to know what other people are doing, and I have to learn from that and apply it to what I’m doing. Don’t bother [trying to be a sound designer] if you’re not obsessive about sound.” Also, he believes that good sound designers don’t only know which sounds to use and where to put them in a film, but also when to leave them out. “You can use a gap of silence to accent the sound design either side of it even more,” he explains, pointing to an example in a commercial he worked on for Transport For London, through M&C Saatchi and director Yann Demange. At a critical scene, some chips are thrown onto the windscreen of a car, but there is no sound effect at impact – just silence. “It’s the best shot in the whole piece and I argued against putting sound on it – which is a weird thing for a sound designer to do, but I thought it would rob [the film] of its energy.”
Other notable work on Griffin’s reel includes spots for Virgin, Nike and his proudest piece –a trailer for a Discovery Channel documentary. He also worked on a charming short film called Mohammed, for hot young director Mustapha
“Don’t bother [trying to be a sound designer] if you’re not obsessive about sound.”
Kseibati, which starred Kayvan Novak and was selected for the London Film Festival last year.
A public lack of understanding about how much work – and skill – goes into sound design is an occupational hazard. You’ll often hear people praising the cinematography or score in a film, even if they don’t know who was responsible for it. But do you ever hear people gush about sound design? “We’re not a very well known bunch,” admits Griffin.
Two of his idols are relatively well known however – Ben Burtt (every Stars Wars film) and Randy Thom (Despicable Me) – and Griffin acknowledges that doing a big feature film is the way to gain recognition. Fame doesn’t appear to be something he craves, but the fun of creating sounds for movies definitely is – his eyes light up when he talks about Star Wars, The Revenant and Kung Fu Panda. “It’s incredibly competitive, so to get to the level in the features industry where I currently am in commercials would be a big leap. But it’s not impossible.”
Recreating porcine pandemonium
Spend an afternoon chatting with a sound designer and you might never watch films the same way again. Every time a pig trots into shot you may now picture a young intern tapping amputated hooves on a recording studio floor. You’d think that successful sound designers might not need to get their hands dirty anymore, but that’s what makes Griffin tick and he thinks it makes the difference between good and great results. For an M&S spot he recently spent a “happy half-hour” cutting up raw fish fillets and slapping them together to get the perfect sound for sushi landing on a plate. “My wife’s sprayed me with a garden hose, prison-style, to get a sound before,” he shrugs. “I’ll go the distance. I don’t know if I’m a sound fetishist – I just get really excited about sound.” Give Jim Griffin a microphone and some real-life props to play with and he’s happier than a pig in shit.
RAWFORD JAKEGOSLING
SIGOMABAND
PROCOLHARUM
JOECOCKER IRWINSPARKES
right ON TRACK
A symphony of swimsuit slapping, squash court slamming, sweat flying and squeaky trainers, blended with classic Missy Elliott, justly won Soundtree Music multiple gongs, including the shots Awards
Best Use of Music category for Sport England’s This Girl Can Peter Raeburn, Soundtree’s founder and CD talks about the spot’s sonic triumph
At what point did you become involved in the Sport England This Girl Can spot and what was the brief you received? I’ve worked with [director] Kim Gehrig for many years now. We have a very collaborative relationship so we talk openly about the work. She called me in right at the beginning and we delved into the ideas and principles behind the project.
Right from the get-go, we were all driven by the ambitions of the campaign – women, regardless of age, body size, or any other considerations ‘can’, and do. FCB Inferno was so supportive of Kim’s vision and, really, it was a circular collaboration with ideas flowing between us and the agency. In a way, the brief was open but the inspiration behind it was clear.
What was the process of finding the right track for the spot and how long did it take to get to that decision? I heard the Missy Elliott hook in my head early on in the process and it felt like it could be something.
Were there a lot of conversations around what worked and what didn’t or was it pretty cut-and-dried? There were lots of conversations. A lot of exploration went on, trying and testing, examining and challenging the idea that we had all fallen for.
Could you tell, when you first saw the finished film, that it was going to be something special? I knew there was great potential in what Kim had shot and how Tom [Lindsay, editor] was cutting. And, of course, the women who appeared in the spot are brilliant. We all really hoped it would resonate with the wider world as much as it had with everyone who worked on it.
What was the most difficult part of the process and how long did your part in the commercial take? My involvement was throughout. The most difficult part for myself and my colleague, Luke
Fabia, was crafting the soundtrack to the images and making them one. We needed to put the energy, shape and dynamics into the music that weren’t already there and through the process try to keep a sense of spontaneity and rawness at the heart of the work. As always, these projects are serious team efforts and Jay James [Soundtree music supervisor] and the rest of the team at Soundtree were key in this collaboration. S
“We were all driven by the ambitions of the campaign –women, regardless of age, body size, or any other considerations ‘can’, and do.”
“We needed to put the energy, shape and dynamics into the music that weren’t already there and through the process try to keep a sense of spontaneity and rawness at the heart of the work.”
space-age symphony
What sets Honda Ignition apart from any other spacetravel themed commercial?
An ear-thrilling aural cocktail of revving, rocket rush, opera and interiors with their own sonic characters. We talk to Anthony
Moore, CD/ founding partner of Factory UK, whose sublime sound for the spot saw them win the Best Sound Design category at the shots Awards 2015
At what point did you become involved in the Honda Ignition spot and what was the brief you received? As with all my Honda jobs for W+K London, I was involved in the Ignition project from an early stage. Before production had even started, I’d had conversations with Scott Dungate [creative director at W+K London] about how sound design needed to play an important role for this script to come alive. We talked a lot about science fiction and space references that both of us found interesting. From here, I went and listened to lots of rocket launches, NASA clips, old sci-fi B-movies and a ton of other space-related influences.
As the production began to shoot in Kiev, the sound design brief began to focus in on early space flight, power and the expectation of a mission launch. Space concepts have been done many times, so it was very important for me to create something that drew on the rich heritage of sci-fi, while also feeling fresh, exciting and unique to the film.
What were your first thoughts when you read the brief? From my early chats with the agency, I was massively excited about the project. The chance to work on a film that has sound design rooted to its very core is a dream. I loved how the brief wanted to embrace the feelings and sounds of early space travel, a time of real human endeavour and bravery. This attitude demanded rawness to the sound. It needed to feel visceral, and it needed to live on the edge.
This is a spot where the sound design is at the heart of the commercial. Is it the case that, too often, sound and music are overlooked until too near the end of the process? Thankfully, I think this attitude is starting to change. At Factory, we encourage our clients to involve us early on in a project. Sound and music needs to be woven into the fabric of the idea and thinking about it from the outset can achieve this. You can always hear the difference in jobs where this has happened.
There is so much going on in the spot in terms of sound. How challenging was the project? The job was a challenge, but for all the right reasons. The initial sound design started with the first edit and continued to evolve throughout the two-month post production schedule. This allowed me the time to experiment; time to play and create sounds that related directly to the feel and story of the film. I strived to work with material that had a solid connection with space flight and sci-fi. It added richness to the film that was impossible to ignore.
This idea also filtered down into our music choices, the main track being a fantastic reworking of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Mozart’s Queen Of The Night aria [from The Magic Flute] produced by SIREN and composer Walter Mair. These two pieces of music featured on the Golden Records that Voyager took into outer space in 1977.
It was also vital to capture the feeling inside the vehicles as we travelled through the film. Contrasted against the ferocity of the sound outside, each vehicle interior needed to have its own sonic character to tell the story of its crew. These were to be little pockets of sound design that surprised and intrigued whilst adding some human warmth to the piece.
Could you tell, as the film came together, that it was going to be something special? Working with a brand like Honda, the bar for sound design is set incredibly high. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in creating some great Honda work for W+K London on jobs such as Hands, Inner Beauty and The Other Side The Ignition project was no different. It had sound design at its core and the expectation to make it amazing was there from the start.
What was the most difficult part of the process and how long did your part in the commercial take? Work spanned a couple of months, as there was a heavy amount of visual post production to
be done. This actually made the sound design process easier as it gave me the space and time to experiment. The core sound palette of the piece came together quite quickly, in part due to the valuable time spent researching the reference material. What followed became a meticulous process of refining and improving as the visual effects moved on.
How did you feel when the winner of the shots Award was announced? Thrilled to say the least! Our work for Honda Inner Beauty picked up the shots Best Use of Sound Design award in 2014, so it was fantastic to follow up that success in 2015 with Ignition winning gold and Honda The Other Side picking up silver. These wins say something about the calibre of the Honda work and their desire to focus on sound design as an integral element of their brand identity. I’d like to thank Scott, Tony & Kim and the W+K London team for all the Honda projects they’ve brought my way –it’s a real honour to work on such great stuff. Sound design is damn powerful – let’s hear more of it! S
“Contrasted against the ferocity of the sound outside, each vehicle interior needed to have its own sonic character to tell the story of its crew.”
easy listening
Matching audio to the visuals of a spot is often a costly and complex process – but it doesn’t have to be, says Gary Hilton, musician and co-founder of GAS Music. He tells Carol Cooper about his new fun, no-fuss model of bespoke, realtime composing for ads, films, TV and gaming. He believes life is easier if you nail the brief right from the start – something that should be music to ad agency ears
Creative outfits often express their creativity via artfully oblique websites that leave you hovering at their digital front door with a frustrated mouse and rising blood pressure. Not so GAS Music, whose easy-access site reflects its simple, playful, can-do approach to the business of making sound. Faced with 15 coloured tiles bearing a range of descriptive words – from ‘Snotty’ to ‘Spiky’ – curiosity compels you to click on every one to hear what music GAS has created to match the mood. ‘Subtle’ brings you floaty piano and celestial strings; ‘Memorable’ features a distant seashore and children’s laughter; and the lush, soaring vocals of ‘Anthemic’ are classic car-driving-through-stunning-scenery spot. When I meet Gary Hilton he doesn’t just hand me his business card, he presents me with a choice of six colours, labeled, like the website’s tiles, with different moods. It’s a trick he uses to kick off composing sessions, generating the kind of free-associations that get clients wandering in a synaesthetic landscape where they can feel what colour tune they want. “I saw a client yesterday and flung down my cards saying, ‘Think about the music you want and pick a colour.’ He picked a pink card, and I asked why. ‘Well, it’s kind of soft,’ he replied. ‘Soft how? In a feminine way?’ I asked, and he said, ‘No, in an engaging way.’ We went on like this till I got a firmer idea of he wanted.”
Sidelining the sidechain
GAS was launched in November last year by Hilton and fellow musician and Manchester native Steve Southern. In the early 90s they had a band, Moses Gate, with Damon Gough, who went on to become Badly Drawn Boy. “There were loads of bands around at the time, and a lot of infighting and bickering when I felt we should all be sharing and helping each other,” says Hilton. “With our rich musical history in Manchester, I thought let’s just get together and be one big, happy modern family unit.” It was a while, though, before his dream of creative collaboration came to fruition.
After their second band, called Hilton, split, the duo went their separate ways – Southern moving into animation, filmmaking and music production; Hilton dividing his time between being a professional singer-songwriter and a commercial sales director. But two years ago, after coming across old demos that they realised were rather good, the pair reformed as Modern Family Unit (MFU). Their former producer, Mercury Prizenominated Dave Maughan, came on board and they started a new album Religion, a single from which, Mmm mmm mm aah, released last spring, was passed around by industry friends. Legendary Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam recommended it to fellow Factory Records alumnus, producer Mark Reeder who did a remix and radio edit – and who is now also on the GAS roster.
Hilton then took the single to his friend Hugh Todd, then CD at Leo Burnett London (now global CD for HSBC at Saatchi London) and asked for his opinion. “You get an intuitive feeling when something is ‘syncable’ – whether it would suit an ad,” says Hilton. Todd thought it was indeed very syncable and contacted Hilton when the agency was struggling with a piece of music. “As a favour, we acted as a kind of consultancy,” says Hilton. “They sent us the video of something that wasn’t working and Steve realised the music was out of sync, so we balanced the visuals up, created an audio file and sent it back.” Todd was delighted and asked if they could write some music as well. “We wrote a simple melody, recorded it and sent it back within the hour.”
Hilton saw how he and Southern could help agencies circumvent the often lengthy procedure for creating music for ads. “Normally, a piece of film would do the rounds of creatives, music supervisors, producers, clients etc – a huge supply chain of people. I thought, why not go back to the source and create the music early on – just nail the brief at the start.” He feels the industry occasionally sees music as an afterthought: “Sometimes people are focusing so much on the
“I saw a client yesterday and flung down my cards saying, ‘Think about what kind of music you want and pick a colour.’”
branding, copy and visuals that at the end they think, ‘Oh shit, the music!’ But it should be seen as just as important as the other elements – the visuals and audio should be intrinsically linked.”
Another epiphany came when their band was having some music mastered. “Mastering is one of those magical black arts. You pay clever people big money to make your sound better, but it can just end up sounding a bit louder or a bit quieter.” Hilton then bamboozles me with sonic science till my ears bleed, with descriptions of playing music backward, finding gaps between wave forms etc. The upshot was that he and Southern set about learning to do it themselves. “People talk about sidechain compression and these weird and wonderful things, but we believe if you start off with a crap melody, your sidechain is irrelevant.”
The sweet sound of saving money Marrying their tech and composing skills meant the pair could provide a one-stop music service. With financial director Jeff Jones, another Factory Records and Hacienda alumnus, joining the team, GAS started to grow. They set up a record label that’s steadily accumulating artists. “I talked to heads of TV at Saatchi, Leo Burnett, JWT etc, who said a big problem with music is coping with legal and rights issues,” says Hilton, “so we set up GAS Records and anything MFU or any of our acts do is just one transaction. Usually there are so many people involved in getting music who want a cut.”
With Southern bringing in his TV and CGI business to form GAS TV, the company can also offer visual services and has recently worked on a series of 50 short films about the First World War for the Imperial War Museum. Showcasing his background in sales, Hilton negotiated killer deals with tech companies to kit out GAS’s state-of-theart studios at Manchester’s MediaCityUK with all the latest audiovisual bells and whistles. Plus, he got discounts on top composing software that they can take to clients who can’t come to them.
Alongside regular work with Leo Burnett, GAS provides audio services for major BBC and ITV shows filmed at MediaCityUK. They collaborated with agency Hoot on a recent National Lottery spot Play Makes It Possible, and the title track from Religion is being re-edited for a Triumph motorcycle spot out of creative agency MWM Associates. They’re also excited about an idea for a new TV show they’re working on with dock10, the production company that owns MediaCityUK studios: “It’s a great idea, but I can’t tell you about it till you turn the recorder off.” There are some things that Hilton likes to keep in the family. S
1 Wine and tech
I love tech and I love wine. I don’t like new technology for the sake of it – some of the best gadgets were designed a long time ago. When it comes to wine I have only two tools: the double-reach waiter’s friend corkscrew (reliable and no-nonsense design), and my wine app of choice, Vivino. I can scan wines, rate them and keep a history. Pro-tip: don’t scan wines people give you when they come for dinner. (Do it later when they’ve gone.)
2 Food and tech
I have two wood-fired ovens: one in the garden for summer cooking, and one in the house. From pizzas to tandoori, there’s not much you can’t cook in a wood-fired oven. I’ve cooked a full Sunday roast with Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. The smoky flavour is hard to beat. My higher-tech option in the kitchen is a fantastic sous-vide cooker – SousVide Supreme. I use this all the time for exact temperature control. Once you’ve eaten chicken breasts cooked in spices for three hours at exactly the temperature required, you won’t want it any other way.
3 Narrative Clip 2
A recent arrival, the Narrative Clip is a tiny camera with wi-fi and Bluetooth that continuously takes pictures when you’re wearing it. One double tap and it also takes HD video for 10 seconds. Then it uploads all the pictures to the cloud and filters out the duds to leave you with a stream of great images and video. They also provide an API so I’m looking into building other applications with it.
RICK GRUNDY
4 Gear VR
The Gear VR is the quickest route to a half-decent VR experience and it’s great for experiential as it only requires a mobile phone and has no trailing cables. They are even giving them away with the new Samsung phones, so expect to see a lot more of them.
5 Raspberry Pi
The £25 Raspberry Pi is still the most iconic and game-changing small computing device we have seen for a long time. They’ve improved performance and a world of makers are finding new uses every day. One of the Tech Off winners actually built a security system with his to catch the person who was stealing his meat box deliveries. We use them at Techdept as an inexpensive way of building great experiential tech, such as Twitter-enabled snow machines and weather-sensing digital advertising. I use them at home to teach my children programming.
6 Podcasts & Bose noisecancelling headphones
I am addicted to podcasts. They fill every time gap I have with knowledge, humour and great storytelling. As well as the usual popular ones like Radiolab, Serial, Freakonomics Radio and TED Talks I like to get my comedy this way too with RHLSTP, Harmontown, The Comedian’s Comedian, Answer Me This and the much missed The Bugle. Combine these great podcasts with my noise-cancelling Bose Quietcomfort 25 headphones and I am happy sat on a Tube, plane or simply walking the streets of London, learning and laughing all the way.
Chief technology o cer & co-founder, Techdept
7 Lockitron door lock
Ever since installing my internetconnected front door lock I’ve been asked “Why?” Well, it’s a godsend, whether I’m letting tradesmen in and out of my house remotely or never being locked out. I even once wrote a short script to unlock my door after 15 minutes as I had no phone or key and was 15 minutes away on someone else’s computer.
8 Bowflex SelectTech weights
With my love of food, wine and tech, I need to exercise. Having got into crossfit-style training at my local gym I needed a set of weights for home and these really fit the bill. Combining every weight from 2 to 21lbs in a single dumbbell is great design and saves a lot of space in my home office.
London’s Best Co ee app
I know it’s a cliché to love coffee if you’re a tech enthusiast but I don’t care. What I’ve learned with everything addictive or bad for you in excess is to have less of it, but of higher quality. This goes doubly for coffee. I’m always going around London meeting clients, and stopping at a large-chain coffee shop is not an option for me. I simply call up the London’s Best Coffee app and find the nearest quirky independent coffee shop.
FAVOURITE KIT
Dave Dye THE WAY I SEE IT
As one of the industry’s most respected and awarded art directors, Dave Dye’s exacting standards and keen eye have earned him a ‘sackload’ of Lions and Pencils – as well as the nickname ‘Herr Dye’. While his award-winning work for the likes of adidas, Mercedes-Benz and The Economist has gone down in advertising history, Dye got his big break writing ads for frozen mangetout in 1985. Not content with working at pretty much every top London agency, from Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow & Johnson to Leagas Delaney, BMP/DDB and AMV/BBDO, he also launched two of his own – Campbell Doyle Dye in 2002 and Dye Holloway Murray in 2007. Now head of art and design at J. Walter Thompson, he tells Selena Schleh about hurtling round mountain roads while strapped to a Land Rover and why there was no golden age of advertising
“I liked the idea of creating things that millions of people would look at.”
I was born in London, in 1964, and baptised at St. Monica’s church in uber-hip Hoxton Square (back then, the uber-squalid Hoxton Square).
My earliest memory is hearing the Beatles’ Penny Lane coming out of the Roberts radio in my nan’s kitchen.
I had a happy childhood, spending the first half of it in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, and the second half in Waltham Abbey, Essex. My dad was a decorator and my mum worked as a secretary.
Growing up, I wanted to be a lot of things: a policeman, then a bionic man, an artist, a commercial artist, a designer, and finally an advertising art director. I wasn’t really a good student, though. My curiosity developed after I left school.
I studied fine art and graphics at the ‘legendary’ Loughton College in Essex and got into advertising because I liked the idea of creating things that millions of people would look at.
It took a while to get my foot in the door. On my way out of the office of Barry Brooks [of Brooks Legon Bloomfield] – yet another creative director who didn’t want to hire me – I asked: ‘Got any real briefs I could work on?’ With all the enthusiasm of a man paying for his dry cleaning, he reached for the nearest bit of paper and handed it to me.
It was a trade ad for Findus mangetout. Brilliant! I thought, and then spent the next week coming up with idea after idea. All bad. Any marks I made on paper, I considered to be ‘an idea’.
When I turned up the following Thursday, direct from being rejected by yet another creative director, he said: ‘Let’s have a look at your folio.’ And proceeded to say exactly what he’d said the week before. He’d not only forgotten he’d briefed me, he couldn’t even remember seeing me one week ago! Awkwardly, I tried to give him a get-out: ‘Great… thanks for going through that with me… again… obviously I’ve answered that brief… you set me.’ Needless to say, he looked a bit puzzled when I handed him a huge pile of paper (or crap, to give it its correct name). After flicking through it, like you might flick through a big wad of notes – and fortunately not looking at any of the ideas – he said: ‘Why don’t you come in for a couple of weeks and see how you get on?’ I left three years later.
In the early days of my career, I was a bit serious. Focussed and determined, but probably a pain in the ass. I was trying to produce Bartle Bogle Hegarty-type work at Brooks, before realising that clients that wanted the former wouldn’t go to the latter.
Until I got hired by Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow & Johnson in 1991, I’d only worked at very nondescript agencies. The good ones like BBH, Leagas Delaney and BMP would like my work, but never commit – it was as though they were worried I wasn’t from an ‘approved’ agency. But within two days of being offered a job by Chris [Palmer], I had headhunters calling to say BBH and Leagas Delaney wanted to hire me, which was nice but irritating, when I’d spent the past six years desperately trying to get into those agencies. It’s also testament to how highly regarded Simons Palmer was. Also, they had a policy of hiring creatives from ‘bad’ agencies – people like Sean Doyle, Paul Silburn, Tiger Savage and Tony Barry – figuring that if they gave those people an opportunity, they’d make the most of it.
When I got to Simons Palmer, I found it was all about the creative work – irrespective of whether it was a [low] budget mailer or a big budget TVC, the standard was the same. It made it tough to get work through Chris and Mark [Denton], but if they approved it so, it seemed, did the client.
I won my first D&AD Pencil [for adidas Just To The Signpost] in 1996, while at Leagas Delaney. The ad hasn’t dated too much because the art direction doesn’t come from a style, it’s purely conveying the idea: the red makes it feel hot, the type getting smaller to make it feel like you are moving along the road. There’s no artifice. It’s a human observation. I’m sure people are still doing that today.
Good agencies tend to have their own style or way of doing things. As a young creative, your number one goal is to get your work through your creative director, and they generally buy their kind of work. So subconsciously or cynically, that’s what you end up producing. Working at a few decent agencies, you pick up different ways of doing things, like when you build up your tools by going through PlayStation levels.
I’ve learned a few lessons from setting up my own agencies [Dye co-founded Campbell Doyle Dye in 2002 followed by Dye Holloway Murray in 2007, re-launched as Hello People in 2013]. One: avoid setting up an agency just after two planes fly into the Twin Towers [Campbell Doyle Dye]. Two: don’t name an agency after the founders at the height of a digital revolution [Dye Holloway Murray]. Three: never start an agency where all the partners do exactly the same job [Campbell Doyle Dye]. Four: when creating your agency’s debut piece of work [Lucky Star for MercedesBenz], make sure it mentions the client’s name and doesn’t cost £1m – it’s likely to put off rather than attract clients. And finally: setting up an agency is all about chemistry. I’d bet that if you’d mixed up the members of the Beatles and Stones, neither group would do as well.
One advantage of CDD being run entirely by creatives [Dye’s co-founders were Walter Campbell and Sean Doyle] was that it was 100 per cent creatively focussed, which meant we won a lot of awards. In the first three years we had over a hundred entries, a couple of Pencils and half a dozen nominations at D&AD alone. The cons? It’s pretty easy to judge the functionality of one tech solution against another, but advertising is more subjective, and three – or two – subjective opinions about creative work is tricky. Sean and I would like ‘simple and funny’, Walt would like ‘big and poetic’. In our early pitches I would present two, wildly different routes, and the client would inevitably ask: ‘Which one does the agency recommend, the funny one or the black-and-white one?’ I’d get splinters on my arse trying to be even-handed.
A year or so later, with not too many clients biting, it was decided we needed to change. One creative partner needed to judge the work, and that creative partner was me. That solved the issue of a lack of clarity but created a new one: Sean and Walt didn’t want me telling them what work was right or wrong. It’s understandable – we were equal partners – but ultimately it led to me leaving, and the agency then folded within a year. What a waste.
I wanted to have another swing of the bat, because I felt I’d learned a lot over my five years with CDD. People tend to swing from one extreme to another; with CDD we weren’t unified, so that became my big focus when setting up the next agency, when it should’ve been having the right
“Advertising is a less confident, bullish industry than the one I joined in 1985. Society and technology have evolved.”
name. The digital revolution was really kicking in and I didn’t want the agency to be named after its founders. I wanted to be called Thingy. I thought it would sound funny on a headline –‘Thingy win Vertu’; or the receptionist answering a call – ‘Hello, Thingy’. Sadly, my two partners thought it sounded flip, so we went with the non-cool Dye Holloway Murray, which sent out the wrong signals at that moment in time. It screamed ‘traditional’.
I love tech, but it won’t replace thinking. Nowadays there’s an over-reliance on new tech at the expense of human insights. Our industry has flipped from psychology to a tech-focussed business. But I think it’s going to change, I think there will be a correction in the creative markets – there has to be. Clients pay comms companies
to help them make more money, by selling stuff. But it’s hard to sell stuff to people if you don’t understand what makes them tick. That’s the basis on which we set up Hello People, that while tech has transformed people’s lives, it hasn’t transformed their psychology.
I moved to Mother in 2014. I was very flattered that an agency I loved had created a role especially for me: their first head of art in nearly 20 years. It was a good year – I did some nice work, the PG Tips Keep It Tea campaign in particular, and met a lot of good people, such as [co-founder] Mark Waites – you only had to waft a script in his general direction and it would improve – and [global creative partner] Carlos Bayala, one of the most thoughtful, creative people I’ve ever met.
I’ve only ever done the job [of head of art] where I’ve overseen all the agency’s output, but unfortunately Mother never operated like that. Instead it’s lots of independent pockets, which has worked great for them, it just wasn’t what we’d talked about before I joined [Dye left Mother and moved to J. Walter Thompson in 2015]. I talked to various agencies, but the scale and mandate for change at J. Walter Thompson made it too tempting to turn down.
Advertising is a less confident, bullish industry than the one I joined in 1985. Society and technology have evolved. You can’t go back, we have to embrace today and try and do what we do well: make our messages simple, compelling and entertaining. I love the challenge of solving problems, so it’s still an exciting industry for me.
“Fountain pens are my greatest weakness. I buy a lot of them.”
Digital, digital and of course digital has been the biggest change to the art director’s role. We can produce work very quickly and for very little budget, which has meant that we are now given less time and smaller budgets.
As a glass-half-full-type guy, I don’t like to hark back to ‘the golden age’ of advertising: it’s both better and worse now. Yes, ads used to be seen by millions of people at the same time, so they’d generate water-cooler moments, fame and large amounts of cash. But as a creative, it’s never been easier to realise your ideas.
I’m very hands-on at work. Solving problems and making stuff is the best bit. I keep the theoretical stuff for my blogs.
I started my blog Stuff From The Loft while in the process of moving house and closing down an agency. The first two events made me realise just how much stuff I’d accumulated – work, roughs, reference material, pitches, books, magazines etc, and I thought I’d dump it all onto this unused web address, davedye.com, that a friend had bought me years earlier. In the process I thought I might as well give it some context and write the story. People seemed to like seeing roughs and the evolution of campaigns, because you rarely see those imperfect start points.
About six months in, I was Googling an old Tom McElligott ad and was appalled that barely any of his work came up. So I scanned his ads and wrote a post on him, called ‘Hands up who’s heard of Tom McElligott’ – ironically, because I thought everyone had. The numbers went berserk. I was getting five and a half thousand [hits] a day, every day, for about six weeks, and watched it spread from country to country on the little Wordpress map. People started talking on Twitter and Facebook about this ‘amazing pre-internet copywriter’, then VICE picked the story up and did a big piece. The only niggle was that a few ex-Fallon guys got in touch to point out that some of the work I’d featured was under the creative directorship of Pat Burnham, though funnily enough the only ex-Fallonite who wasn’t bothered by this was Pat Burnham himself. To try and make amends, I thought I’d interview Pat alongside his work, so it all started from there.
I can’t think of any brands or products I’d like to work on but haven’t yet – I’ve been lucky. But there are hundreds of people I’d still love to collaborate with: Rolph Gobits, Gary Larson, Woody Allen, David Shrigley, Nigel Bogle, Nacho Gayan, Charlie Brooker, Gerry Graf, David Drummond and Adam Curtis… I’d better stop now!
Awards are still coveted, but not to the same degree they once were. Originally, most awards were charities, set up to promote the creative industry to big businesses and they felt like gentlemen’s clubs. Now, they’re driven by growth, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it means their focus is on growing entries year on year and getting as many agencies in as many countries to enter as much as possible.
The problem isn’t that the juries are made up of the same old familiar names – the Hegartys, the Wiedens etc – it’s that they’re made up from unfamiliar, unproven names. It sounds more democratic, but awards, by their very nature, shouldn’t be democratic. The result is there’s a little less respect for the juries. Also, the boom in categories has meant that, aside from Grands Prix, nobody seems to be able to recall who won what.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given? Brian Stewart, an old boss of mine, once asked whether I was happy with a piece of work I was presenting him. I said I wasn’t sure. He replied: ‘Well if you’re not happy with it, how am I supposed to be?’
Be curious, optimistic, honest with yourself and don’t give up is what I would tell anyone starting off in the industry today.
If I wasn’t an art director, I’d be a key cutter or a film director. On balance, probably a film director – the money’s better.
Chronologically, my mentors in the industry have been Brian Stewart, Derrick Hass, Mark Reddy and Mark Denton. The first two encouraged and taught me. The third gave me belief in myself. The fourth hired me.
The Guardian Skinhead commercial [Points Of View] is the best piece of advertising I’ve ever seen. It states the paper’s philosophy in a way you can’t ignore, disagree with or forget. In 30 seconds.
Although it didn’t win any awards, I think the best piece of advertising work I’ve ever produced was the 2012 D&AD cover. I suppose what it won was the competition to be D&AD’s 50th anniversary cover, against 50 other creatives –very good ones. I set out to be totally candid about the process of creating, without worrying about what people would think about it, or me.
If I could change one thing about myself, I’d have more hair.
Fountain pens are my greatest weakness. I buy a lot of them. Keep that between us, though – my wife hasn’t a clue.
If I could time travel I’d go back to Leagas Delaney in 1997 and try to find my vintage Parker Duofold fountain pen.
My biggest fear is Trump. (The US presidential candidate, not the bodily function). And bears.
I last cried two weeks ago, while watching Room
The closest I’ve been to death was at the end of a three-week shoot for Kawasaki in Scotland, when photographer Duncan Sim challenged me to take his place and shoot a roll of film. ‘His place’ was a homemade metal shelf, bolted to the front of his old Land Rover, and he’d been chained to it for days while we drove at speed around mountain bends, trying to get exciting pictures of motorbikes. I couldn’t say no. After giving me a loaded camera and chaining me into position, Duncan and his driver, Malcolm Venville, tried to scare me by hurtling around the edges of the roads as fast as they could go, without actually driving over the edge. Every time we cornered, I desperately tried to stop sliding from side to side by hooking my feet into the bumper and tensing my leg muscles. I thought, there are a few possible outcomes: either my legs will give out and I’ll slide off the side of the trailer, or the car will slide 500 feet off the road, or the shoddy rig will simply give way and they’ll run over me. I wasn’t keen on any of the options, to be honest.
Pomposity, arrogance, rudeness, bullying and laziness all make me angry. Luckily, I work in advertising, where those things don’t exist.
“The worst human invention has to be the paper weight. Who’s working in an office so windy they need to tether down paperwork?”
My hobbies are photography, parenthood, avid film watching and five-a-side-football. I’m also a donor of huge sums of money for Arsenal season tickets.
One of my nicknames was Dave ‘The Eye’ Dye, started by my old partner Sean Doyle. He also came up with ‘Diddly Eye Dye’. ‘Herr Dye’ was Campaign’s No.1 advertising nickname one year, supposedly because I’m ‘so exacting in my standards’. But I think they made it up.
I’m an occasional Tweeter, a sporadic Instagrammer, and an obsessive Pinner [Pinterest user]. Although I have a bit of a Facebook allergy.
I have too many heroes to mention, but one of my biggest died in New York in January 2016 [David Bowie].
Do I ever Google myself? Yes. Do I care what people think about me? Yes. I wouldn’t trust anyone who answered ‘no’ and ‘no’. Although I find I’m caring less and less.
The wheel was a pretty good human invention.
The worst human invention has to be the paper weight. Who’s working in an office so windy that they need to tether down all their paperwork to stop it blowing around?
If I was prime minister for the day, I’d bring back the C.O.I. [Central Office of Information, the UK government marketing and communications agency], then appoint J. Walter Thompson.
My ambitions are to produce work that I like. That runs.
How would I like to be remembered? Answering a question like that is a sure-fire way to make yourself look like a dick.
At the end of the day, what really matters is the usual stuff: world peace, health, family… And Arsenal winning the Premier League.
FROM THE SPARK TO THE BIG FINISH.
Magnet is Dubai’s first creatively driven integrated content production lab. By combining content production with in-house creative capabilities, we are more than just producers, we actively participate in the creative process with our clients in order to deliver great content.
PHOTO: MARTIN BECK
BEAUTIFUL BREACHES
This trio of short films each depict various intrusions –tricky calls interrupt an actor’s woodland wanderings; a body symbolised by a sci-fi world is violated by the monster of cancer and a man must take control of his destiny when intimations of mortality invade his life
Craig Ainsley
SHORT FILM
Lesley
Having access to top contacts in the advertising production world can go a long way in getting your directing career o the ground. But Craig Ainsley, who works part-time as a creative at Anomaly London, hadn’t even considered the path until showing a script to Blink EP, James Bland, which resulted in him stepping behind the lens to shoot his short, Lesley
The film, shot in Epping Forest, Essex, is a monologue-style piece about a work-obsessed actor, Arj, who wants to forget the world for five minutes and gather his thoughts in the wild. But once in the leafy location, he finds that he just can’t let go of the possibility of bagging that next role. “He’s trying to take a break from the pressures of work and the city; get back to nature for a moment to feel connected. But then, when he’s there he’s completely distracted by his desires for success, status and fame,” explains the director.
Throughout the piece we are acquainted with the actor’s agent, Lesley, who calls on the phone with endless opportunities that could lead to
Arj’s big break. However, what ensues is a string of one-sided conversations that result in him winning a part in a toothpaste commercial as a tooth, highlighting his somewhat deluded desperation. “Arj will always take Lesley’s call. He could be at a funeral and he’d find a way to take it. Or he’d secretly text her whilst trying to listen to the eulogy,” muses Ainsley.
Having been in the industry for around a decade with spells at agencies such as St. Luke’s, TBWA and Mother, the creative-turned-director knows the feeling of being sucked into the industry. “I learned a hell of a lot but it takes up a great deal of your mental energy and I was trying to do other things. One day I found myself quitting,” he says. “I took some time out and went to film school, did some occasional comedy writing jobs, including BBC comedy shows.”
Along with James Bland, another big industry name Ainsley managed to get advice from was Rattling Stick director, Ringan Ledwidge. “Luckily, at the same time I was prepping, I was working with Ringan – he was directing an ad I’d written
so I pestered him during the shoot and picked his brain. I probably really annoyed him, but he was pretty damn helpful.”
Towards the end of the film it emerges that despite thinking he was lost, Arj is actually only metres from his car all along, further highlighting the idea of being immersed in work and not having time for loved ones.
As for Lesley, Ainsley says her voice on the other end of the line can be seen as symbolic for ambition and what we want to achieve in life: “I like that we never meet her,” he states. “She represents opportunity. Maybe we’re all waiting for our own version of Lesley to call.” RW
“Ringan was directing an advert I’d written so I pestered him during the shoot and picked his brain. I probably really annoyed him, but he was pretty damn helpful.”
Karol Kolodzinski
TV & CINEMA
Alivia Oncological Foundation War With Cancer
When it came to creating his film, War With Cancer, for the Alivia Oncological Foundation, new director Karol Kolodzinski wasn’t going to settle for your typical charity ad approach that’d been done a dozen times before. Instead, he worked with Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive Solutions Poland to develop the script into something truly original. “What was great about this project was that there was no specific script at the beginning, so I got the chance to collaborate with the agency,” he says. “I loved their initial idea, because they wanted to build a di erent image of a sick person with cancer. Not as a victim, but as a determined fighter who wouldn’t give in. It was an amazing idea and I’d never seen an ad depict cancer in this way.”
The spot’s heroine finds herself on a remote planet which resembles a human organism,
fighting an alien species – or a “big and scary son of bitch” – symbolising cancer. The ammunition in her space gun is comprised of hard cash, reminding viewers of the funding required to combat the disease.
Kolodzinski had harboured ambitions to direct from an early age but the odds were stacked against him achieving his dream career – there was no film school where he grew up and a distinct lack of encouragement from his family, none of whom had ever worked in the industry.
However, showing a determination similar to that of his War With Cancer character, he overcame the odds to reach his goals and has had a fruitful career in a mix of disciplines so far.
“I pursued di erent mediums,” he says, “such as graphic design, illustration and animation and I have taught myself everything. Learning
animation and CGI gave me a lot of insight into film and direction and the idea [of directing film] returned to me as I got older. Getting into directing has basically been a result of trying to step up my game and evolve.”
Kolodzinski says the decision to use CGI and animation on the Alivia job was partly to facilitate depicting the sheer scale of the battle the su erer faces, but also there were financial
“I loved their initial idea, because they wanted to build a different image of a sick person with cancer. Not as a victim, but as a determined fighter who wouldn’t give in.”
Glenn Paton
SHORT FILM
H Positive
constraints: “There was no budget involved but we still wanted to create a visually pleasing film. I wanted to create this awesome sci-fi look, but needed to make sure it could be done in limited time and didn’t cost too much. That’s where my CGI experience came in and we worked with special e ects post production company Platige Image.”
The hard-hitting spot expertly brings to life the harsh world that is faced by those fighting for their lives against the disease.
“The ad is very visual, but it’s really about the emotions associated with dealing with cancer. It’s about strength, determination and not giving up,” concludes Kolodzinski. “I simply wanted to see real emotions, sweat and tears. That’s why I decided to have a real actor instead of a CGI character to play the su erer.” RW
If money was no object, how would you choose to die? That’s the question posed by H Positive, a stylish short film in which Mark, a loathsome master-of-the-universe, considers his exit options after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Dismissing the Dignitas route (“Too sterile: there’s no flair to it), he commissions a custom-built euthanasia rollercoaster. Its hairpin loops starve the brain of oxygen –producing, quite literally, the high of a lifetime.
Moodily shot in muted blues and greys, the film features slick cinematography with arty shots illustrating the inexorable creep of mortality into Mark’s carefully curated world.
A bowl of fruit visibly putrefies; a glass of champagne tossed into a pool stains the water blood-red. The pace picks up as Mark’s plans take shape, building to a bone-shaking finale in which his life flashes before his eyes.
Glenn Paton, currently head of film at Grey London, has spent more than ten years working as an agency producer at the likes of Mother, Lowe London and BBH London, so the move into directing felt like “a natural progression” though he wasn’t formally trained. Being “madly into film; I’ll happily go to the cinema by myself at least once a week” helped, of course.
The film’s macabre theme was inspired by an exhibition at London’s Wellcome Trust Museum featuring a blueprint of a ‘euthanasia coaster’, designed by Lithuanian artist Julijonas Urbonas and capable of inducing death by cerebral hypoxia. “Reading the blurb, my jaw started to drop,” says Paton, “the physics are there, but no-one has actually made it. I thought it was a great idea for a short film.” He then met with Urbonas and started writing the script.
It took several years to get H Positive o the ground: having exhausted all other financial
“The idea was such an ambitious one that it could easily have cost a lot more – so keeping a tight rein on the budget, while still allowing me the creative freedom I needed – was the biggest challenge.”
avenues, Paton turned to Kickstarter to raise his target of £20,000. Despite years of experience in managing budgets, he admits staying within that sum was hard. “The idea was so ambitious it could easily have cost a lot more so keeping a tight rein on the budget while retaining creative freedom was the biggest challenge.”
Finding the right team was less of an issue, thanks to Paton’s network of industry contacts. Academy produced the film, cinematographer Federico Alfonzo acted as DP, Stitch’s Andy McGraw was on editing duties and The Mill handled post. “I’ve built some solid relationships over the years, which enabled me to work with some of the most forward-thinking people in the industry,” Paton says. Although slotting into his new role took some getting used to: “It was weird to have a whole crew look at me after a take to see if I was happy to move on!”
After much research, the team chose ‘The Superman’, a rollercoaster in Madrid’s Parque Warner, for the location. Combined with heavy post e ects, including dialling down the ride’s cheery colours, the deathcoaster was brought to life. GoPro helmets were used to capture the raw adrenaline rush of the final segment.
With the film garnering laurels from Palm Springs, Raindance, the Edinburgh Fringe and Rhode Island, Paton is hoping for further stints in the director’s chair: “I would love to direct more. I just need the creatives to trust me with their scripts and we’ll see.” SS
James Rickard, creative director at KWP! Advertising captures the colours, contrasts, contradictions, cloudless skies and, of course, cricket grounds of Adelaide
