In the second of our Raging Artists Cannes Clips, I meet up with a truly raging artist, director/painter Henri de Maar of MacGyver/Amsterdam. The struggle between art and commerce is a core concept over here, and it was great finding people in Cannes who are unabashedly driven by - and protective of - their artistic passions, while fully committing to the needs and patronage of the client. And it is always refreshing to hang with a director who hates assholes and views everything, from his art to his beard, as a collaborative effort!
As the Obama For America campaign cleaned up at Cannes, winning both the Integrated and Titanium Grand Prix, a spot edited by Nico Alba of bicoastal Union received high praise from Jury president David Lubars.
The Cannes jury prez noted at start of the awards that the jury was giving a special commendation to Wassup 08 "True Vote" (the campaign-themed follow-up to Charles Stone III's "Wassup" for Budweiser), which was not technically eligible for a Lion.
To view Wassup 08 and for Alba's insight into the project, click here.
Shooting commercials in Finland? Be prepared for a good shvitz! In the first of our Raging Artists Cannes Clips, I sweat out the toxins with my friend Teppo of Scandinavian Shooting Club. A set designer/builder by trade, Teppo constructed the sauna in Finland and transported it to the Riviera over more than 36 hours by land and sea - this is the kind of commitment we saw in Cannes throughout the week, and this interview set the tone for some great convos...
Raging Artists returns from Cannes bearing excellent news:
David Neham of Bandito Brothers was honored with a Young Director Award for Above The Influence "Fitting In," which he co-directed with Trevor McMahan and produced by Rabbit, New York. The spot took First Prize in the Broadcast - non-European category, and uses an arresting visual metaphor, that of a teen doing his best to fit in as a number of cardboard cutouts close in on him.
The Commercial Film Producers of Europe (CFP-E) and Shots magazine announced the winners at a ceremony in Cannes, France, June 25.
A hotly anticipated and closely watched event, the Young Director Awards presentation takes place during the annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Its jury is comprised of experienced and respected industry professionals, including Shots magazine editor Lyndy Stout, who said that this year's Young Director Awards rewarded commercial directors who were "born to create drama."
The Young Director honor complements the recent AICP Best Spec award shared by Neham and McMahan for Tide "Have Fun."
Production Compnay: Rabbit Directors: David Neham (represented by Bandito Brothers) and Trevor McMahan Line Producer: Kevin Edge DP: Richard Henkels Production Designer: Kells Jesse
The transition from a long day at work to an evening at home is a tough one. In the hands of director James Gartner, that scenario is beautifully conveyed, as a mom returns home to kids who are boiling over with anticipation and a babysitter who's on overtime. The spot, for McDonald's and created via Burrel, has mom apologizing for the wait and rewarding everyone's patience with a Happy Meal that does more than feed the troops: it sets the stage for an exhausted businessperson to be what she really wants to be - a loving and attentive mother.
Client: McDonald's Spots Title(s): "Wait" First Air Date: 6/22/09
Agency: Burrel Chief Creative Officer: Lewis Williams Group Creative Director: Brenda Blonski Art Director: Lewis Williams Copywriter: Brenda Blonski Agency Producer: Debbie Amsden
Production Company: GARTNER Director: James Gartner DP: Tom Olgeirsson EP(s): Don Block, Rich Carter, Elaine Behnken, Annie Hanlon Producer: Mark Walejko
VENICE, CA, June 22, 2009 - Integrated production company Sabertooth has signed directing collective Display Purposes Only: DPO (aka Conrad Jackson and Conor Colwell ) for exclusive US spot representation. Each an award-winning filmmaker in his own right, Jackson (picturedtop) and Colwell (pictured bottom) have come together to develop new perspectives in visual storytelling. Their online piece “Skater Ollie” has garnered 2.2 Million hits on YouTube (to date), and recently was featured on MSN’s homepage, where it generated over 300,000 hits in a single day.
Jackson broke into the business as a writer while attending film school at Loyola Marymount University, selling his senior thesis to ABC; the project landed in the primetime roster and ultimately made Jackson the youngest African American to create a prime-time show for ABC. Colwell’s creative history is rooted in visual effects and cinematography. He has shot everywhere from the deep jungles of the Philippines to the war-torn streets of Iraq, where he developed and DP’d “Brothers At War,” a film hailed by the AARP as “categorically the best war film, documentary or fictional, ever made.”
“Sabertooth is a content company, and the first conversation we have with an agency is about how to realize their vision,” said Creative Director/Founder David Cullipher, who launched the firm in 2008. “This process can originate with live action, CG or interactive, but in the end we’re here to bring awesome creative content solutions to the table.”
“These guys are tremendous at brainstorming creative ideas with agencies, and at bringing a boarded concept to life in a way that will grab attention across the web,” said John Busenberg, Executive Producer at Sabertooth. “Clients are continually pursuing the holy grail of a workable formula for web content that propagates itself virally. DPO infuses this conversation with an impressive mix of imagination and skill.”
“The shift to a free-flowing digital environment gives advertising a new beast to tame,” the directors stated. “Advertising must become so appealing that it is viewed as entertainment first, and as a commercial second.”
To demystify the process of creating effective viral content, DPO created a half-hour overview presentation for Sabertooth’s agency clients, “There’s so much demand for viral marketing, it’s great to be able to share with clients that there is both a science and strategy behind how best to position their work for success,” Cullipher said.
Busenberg points to projects such as Evolve “Magnet” as an example of DPO’s ability to craft sophisticated content while keeping their eye on audiences’ tastes. Composed from over 2400 stills, the piece is a meticulous blend of live action with a stop motion technique, gracefully narrating the passage of time and changing trends. “The camera never stops moving, even as the frame is constantly shifting – it’s a single shot that tells the story of 30 years inside of a minute,” he said. “It’s really a unique and visually compelling spot, and that’s quintissential DPO. They are independent, they are smart technical filmmakers, the end product is very polished, but there’s an inherent edgy rawness and disruptive intelligence to the work that really makes it distinct.”
“We have smiles from ear to ear,” the directors said of their decision to join Sabertooth. “We’re looking forward to creating progressive material and seizing all of the opportunities to learn from this group.” Referring to 2017 Pacific, the integrated production collective comprised of Sabertooth, Film Realite and Restless Films, they were equally sanguine. “This is an ideal environment in that it possesses the foresight needed to adapt traditional marketing and production methodologies to the evolving digital media landscape. With their support, we’re thrilled by the challenge to help define a new age in advertising and production strategies.”
About Sabertooth Based in Venice, CA, Sabertooth is a collective of designers, directors, VFX and interactive artists dedicated to creating amazing work. We are medium agnostic, flowing between interactive, film, video, online, print and broadcast. Creatively restless, we continually seek new methods and techniques to improve ourselves and our work. We treat clients as partners, and believe that great work in any medium results from the dynamic creative collaboration that takes place between idea and execution.
NEW YORK CITY/VENICE, CA, June 19, 2009 - Jean Scofield has joined bicoastal music production company Mophonics as a staff Creative Producer. Most recently, she served in a similar capacity at BBDO/NY. Vivacious and imaginative, with a keen organizational sense, Scofield has found her own niche creating partnerships with agencies, music houses, production, editorial & design companies.
"Jean understands the transitions happening in advertising and media," said Mophonics Executive Producer/Founder Michael Frick, noting that Scofield's perspective and broad experience presents the perfect complement to its current endeavors. "We take a very aggressive and experimental approach to music marketing and what a music company can be to a client."
"Mophonics is a company that doesn't simply create or license music, but seeks to foster relationships between music creators and brands," said Scofield. "I've always aspired to infuse the traditional perspective with collective interaction and creative solutions. At Mophonics, we have the resources to do that with inspiration and enthusiasm. We build presentations in a fresh style, presentations that I would have really appreciated when I was on the agency side."
Born on the day MTV made its debut, Scofield grew up in New York City's West Village surrounded by musicians and artists. With a world-renowned musician for a father and an industrious manager and producer for a mother, she had an innate aptitude for balancing the creative and the administrative. While pursuing a double major in Music Business & Communications at NYU, Scofield interned at labels (Warner Brothers, Universal) and music PR Firm Nasty Little Man. Immediately after graduation, she worked at prominent international stock-music company, before transitioning to the ad agency side as a Music Producer at BBDO/NY. Scofield spent nearly three years at BBDO, serving as the music producer on a trio of award-winning short films launching Brazilian flip-flop brand Havaianas, and as one of two music producers handling all of the audio needs for AT&T. She next freelanced as a music producer, track director, music supervisor and creative director for music companies such as Mophonics, before joining that team full-time.
As more advertising agencies operate without music producers, Scofield has been able to bring structure and originality to a wide range of projects, and she's proven effective as a satellite resource for out of town and international companies. A performing musician and audiophile herself, her knowledge, experience and industry relationships are vast, defining her as a current, authentic resource.
"Growing up, music was a way of life, and an actual language. I learned that a tremendous amount of meaning and feeling can be communicated through audio," Scofield said. "When paired with visuals, music and sound create extremely powerful and evocative moments. I believe in Mophonics' foundation of breathing new energy and talent into the music house idiom. They are committed to fostering relationships among musicians, brands, visionaries, and consumers through diverse and inspired music and sound."
About Mophonics
Forward-thinking and firmly situated at the intersection of the music and advertising industries, Mophonics counts Wieden & Kennedy, BBH, TBWA/Chiat/Day, BBDO, McCann Worldgroup, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners among its agency clients and has created music-driven cobranding intiatives for Apple, Visa, Verizon, Scion, Wrigley's, Electronic Arts, Axe, Nissan and Nike, and more. Mophonics is the only company to create an original single, "Gimme That," for an Apple iPod campaign. Artist Zeroleen's "All Good," has been featured in "CSI: Miami," "Weeds," multiple film trailers and ad campaigns for Verizon and 24Hr Fitness; the single also received airplay on specialty radio, retail outlets, and in-flight radio. Mophonics-produced band Four Fifty One was featured on NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and in a 4-spot Wrigley's campaign that featured Mophonics-produced artists; the band also played a 40-gig sponsored tour for energy drink Upshot. Mophonics artist Joey Ryan has had tracks featured in spots for Visa, Wrigley's, Wendy's, and UNICEF's LA Tap Project, in the Toronto Film Fest's People's Choice Winner "Bella," and TV's "One Tree Hill"; Mophonics produced and released Ryan's 2009 EP, "As It Must Be." The Mae Shi, repped by Mophonics for original compositions and sync, was a strong presence at SxSW in 2009, with placements in Rockstar Games Midnight Club LA (MCLA) and in the award-winning indie "My Suicide."
The ad trades are full of RESTLESS news about new director Jeff Feuerzeig, while Wayne Holloway's adidas work is covered inside and outside the spot biz...
SANTA MONICA, CA, June 16, 2009 - Open on a delivery room, in the final throes of deep labor. The mother gives birth, and the doctor informs her that she is the proud parent of...a teenager. The tense exchange that follows perfectly illustrates the parent-teen dynamic, and the strength required to raise a child.
With "One Powerful Mother," his new PSA for Partnership for a Drug-Free America via Martin Williams, iconic director James Gartner does not employ heavy-handed messaging about drug abuse. Rather, he uses his deft storytelling skills to fry bigger fish: the responsibility of the parent in steering their children in the right direction.
"Nowadays, we're not parents anymore, we're buddies," Gartner explains. "There is no separation, and I think it's really dangerous and irresponsible. We end up hurting our kids when we behave like that. 'Because I said so' is a valid answer for a parent, and it's just not said enough anymore."
Gartner says that his greatest hurdle with "One Powerful Mother" was the casting. "The concept is really terrific, it's a fresh idea without being over the top," the director says, "and from the moment I got the boards I loved it. Once I found the right actors to play the mother and son, it was smooth sailing."
While the delivery room set-up is executed with the dead-on timing and precision expected from a director of Gartner's stature, the spot helmer himself views the exchange between the teen boy and his mom and the PSA's most critical element.
"When shooting something of this nature, the worst thing you can do is be too ambitious for the restraints you have," says Gartner, whose eponymous production company produced the spot pro bono. "I work backwards, asking 'What do I need for the payoff' and working back from there. In this case, having this kid roll his eyes at his mother and having her answer back with an authority that impacts him was the payoff."
Client: Partnership for a Drug-Free America Spots Title(s): "One Powerful Mother - Birth" First Air Date: week of June 15, 2009
Agency: Martin Williams Chief Executive Director: Tom Moudry Group Creative Director: Julie Kucinski, David Richardson Director of Production: Stan Prinsen
Production Company: GARTNER Director: James Gartner DP: Tom Olgeirsson EP(s): Don Block, Rich Carter, Elaine Behnken Producer: Jane Thompson
Editorial: Arcade Editor: Paul Martinez, Kim Bica Editorial EP:Damian Stevens
Music: Beacon Street Studios Producer: Andrea Lavezzoli
Raging Artists returns from Cannes bearing excellent news: 
The Commercial Film Producers of Europe (CFP-E) and Shots magazine announced the winners at a ceremony in Cannes, France, June 25. 
VENICE, CA, June 22, 2009 - Integrated production company 
University, selling his senior thesis to 
NEW YORK CITY/VENICE, CA, June 19, 2009 - Jean Scofield has joined bicoastal music production company 
