Credits:
Director – Jonny Lumbley
Writer – Doug Tracy
DP – Max Gutierrez
Producers – Jonny Lumbley & Doug Tracy
Editors – John Charter & Colin Woods
Music – The Lodge (NY)
Casting – Jonny Lumbley
Production Designer – Fernando Marroquin
Wardrobe – Vanessa Chafen
Hair/Make up – Sara Armijo
Set Sound – Jonny Lumbley
VO Artist – Dave DeAndrea
Graphic Artist – Jean Yarjour
Why this script/concept? And how does this reflect my
vision as a commercial Director?
I initially saw an email Spec Bank had sent out in regards
to an ad agency looking for a director to direct a concept for a charity they
represented. I immediately wanted to jump at the opportunity to work with a
real ad agency, so I went ahead a looked at the creative.
Now, when I read “charity/PSA” from the get go, I was a
little nervous on where we were going to stand creatively and how much a public
service announcement could show off what I could do. However, the moment I read
the script I knew there was gold in there....I just had to mine it. Typically I
had been strictly looking to go down the comedy route for commercials, but I
saw this as an opportunity to really showcase my theatrical side. I wanted to
approach this from a different angle. First off, I didn't want it to have the
typical commercial look. I wanted people to get lost in this spot and for that
I had to create a film like experience.
Now the second thing I wanted to do was not only make this
cinematic, but make the experience very real for the viewers. I wanted it to
become so real that viewers would become uneasy by the topic and that right
there is the part that makes this spot so strong and persuasive. By selling the
realism of all of this, in turn, is what pushes donations to the charity. So, I
conceptualized a vision of how I thought this should look and after speaking
with the writer I quickly realized I was going to be able to push way beyond
the boundaries of the typical advertisement.
Looking back on the completed spot, I think it shows my
ability as a commercial director to tell a very in depth story in a very short
amount of time. It also shows my ability to have the viewers become lost in the
cinema of it all, but then be persuaded to support the cause/product
immediately! All in all, I think this PSA (of all kinds of spots for it to be)
has become one of my most powerful pieces and may help define an additional
side to my work that I never thought possible.
What was the casting process like?
It was unbelievable! I was really worried that the parents
were going to be apprehensive in allowing their children to audition for a spot
of this nature, but I was happily surprised when I saw the amount of applicants
I received on my ad that I posted through LA Casting and how much their parents
fully supported the cause.
I was even more worried about how the response would be for
the lead molester role, but I was very fortunate that I had some very dedicated
actors that believed in the cause that submitted. It was really fun getting to
work with so many young and talented actresses during the audition too! You
have know idea how many little future superstars we have running around out
there! But it came down to 2 girls and, to me, the 2 girls that I chose were
phenomenal! And rightly so, when you take a look at their powerful performances
we captured on film. The man that I chose to be the lead molester was also
nothing less than perfect! He is a serious method actor and I needed him to
fully commit to this role so that the viewers would be revolted by him, even to
the point of hating him! Now, hopefully every time they see this man walking
the streets they won't hate him, but you can see how real he made the
character.
Donations hinged on the perfect casting for this spot and I
think we captured what we initially set out for. As a Director, I could not
have asked for anything better from these incredible actors/actresses.
How did you search for/lock in a location?
There was a production designer, that is a great friend of
mind, that I had been looking forward to working with for a very long time. I
gave him a call and discussed my concept with him and how I wanted it to look
and he started thinking on locations right away. About a week later, I got a
call from him saying that “He had found the perfect location!” I said ok and we
went to scout it.
We were looking for a creepy dark basement and in LA, those
aren't that readily available. And, on top of it all, we had basically no
budget...just my pocketbook! So, he took me to this artist warehouse/set design
rental place that he had recently become very close with the person that owned
it. We arrived over there and spoke with the owner about the project and I
talked with her in depth about the cause. She graciously agreed to allow us to
rent the place for $100 because she believed in the cause and she firmly
believes in supporting art of all kinds.
Now this place is ridiculous...they have tons and tons of
flats (set walls) to choose from that are left over from the old All My
Children sets. The 2 of us were like little kids in a candy store scouring the
place for the right materials to build this! Yes I said it, build it! This was
not an actual basement, but a set that we built in the middle of a big open
warehouse. Every aspect of this was a complete fabrication and I have to tip my
hat to the utmost degree to the ability of this amazing production designer,
and every hand that went into the actual construction, for pulling this off. I
bet you didn't know that was a set until I just told you? Haha.
How did you select your DP/crew?
Well, I touched on the production designer, but I can never
say enough about him so I had to mention him again. By the way, anyone looking
for a rad designer call Fernando Marroquin!
The first selection of the crew was a no-brainer and that
was my DP, Max Gutierrez. He is by far the most talented DP I've seen out
there! I don't care that if he doesn't have all the Academy Awards that some of
these other DPs have, he is just as talented if not more! Just Google the guy
and check out his work! I was fortunate enough to be friends with him through
working numerous other jobs together and we had both been wanting to work as
Director/DP together for a long time. When it came to freebie projects I wanted
to wait for the right one and I think this was the exact one to do our first
job together in those respective roles. There will definitely be many, many
more together from this point forward!
The editors I had set aside for this were key, both of them
incredibly talented and you'll see their work everyday on TV, you just don't
know it because commercials don't have credits. But Colin Woods and John
Charter, wow...I can't tell you how amazing they are. Everyone else in the crew
came from people I have worked with daily on other jobs. Everyone of them is
extremely talented at their role on set and from the final product you can see
that I'm not lying.
How did the shooting go? Any challenges?
The shooting went great! But then again, I had a ridiculous
DP so I figured that would go on without a hitch. The actors/actresses were
nailing their performances and the lighting was perfect, so I can say that from
a Director's POV I was in heaven!
Everyone, from every department, took the direction I gave
perfectly and they absolutely killed it on this spot. The only challenge we
had, and it wasn't much of a challenge, was the fact that we had to alter our
initial vision on how we were going to light the set. Initially the DP and I
had discussed having some skinny basement style windows that we were going to
use to motivate our lighting, but due to the materials that we had to build the
set, this changed. Not having the set exactly how we first conceptualized it,
meant that we had to kind of re-imagine our lighting tones and how the rooms
light was going to be motivated. Now I wouldn't put this too highly up on the
challenge column because Max (the DP) is a master at lighting and one of the
best in the business! So, we chatted about it a bit and came up with a nice
solution that I feel may look even better than we initial envisioned!
Tell us about editing/finishing?
Editing was easy because I had 2 guys that are top notch in
the biz manning Final Cut. I've worked with them a ton and they knew my original
vision going into this. I always sit in with my editors as well, unless they're
just doing some tiny tweaks that we discuss later, because I feel that as a
director it's my job to bring this altogether. I've seen so many commercial
directors basically shoot a ton of footage and hand it off to an editor to
basically direct in the cut. Now, I would've had an awesome spot if I would've
left it up to these guys, but I just believe that a director's complete vision
should be the final one seen and you can only do that if you're in the grind
making it happen.
The color was also simple, Max is an old school kind of guy
with lighting and he has things looking almost perfect the second it's shot.
When it came to the music, we had an awesome sound house out of NY donate their
time and resources to help the cause. I had tons of sound bites that they had
given me to choose from, so when we began the edit I already had the music
planned out. From there, we just cut it together and had them master it.
In retrospect, is there anything you would've done
differently?
Usually I always, without a doubt, say yes! But in this
instance, I can honestly say no. I feel great about how this came together and
I don't think I could've asked for a better product. That is all a direct
reflection of all of the incredibly talented people that worked on this
project! They made my job easy and helped me bring this script to life!
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