High Five: Blowing up the Reel

The year is 2013 - Free the Work won’t be founded for another four years. Back then, there were just a handful of female comedy directors. Really, I could have counted them on one hand. There was no major push by agencies or brands to have women bidding on work, even if the product is something like toothpaste - targeted directly towards Moms. What a wild time! After becoming known for her sketches from the Onion, JJ had just been signed by Tool. The agency producer, Noelle Rimrichter, constantly pushed to diversify the bid pool and brought JJ to the creatives.

This style was popular at the time, right around Beck Bennett’s AT&T 'It’s Not That Complicated' ad campaign. JJ won the bid with her extra layer of creativity. The kid’s costumes are perfect. When the alien spits into his helmet, such brilliant prop comedy. Then there are the names and ingredients of the snacks - “Nori Pops!” And yes, the little girl actually did throw up. That was purely accidental, Noelle assured everyone when she showed the first cut around the office. This campaign got a ton of attention, and JJ blew up as one of the go-to comedy directors. When I got to Droga5 in 2014, she was already a name as she helmed this spot for Toyota. Eventually, she wiggled free of kid comedy, exploding with spots like Geico’s 'Win Win' and founding her company, Ruckus Films.

Now it’s 2016, and I’m a producer at Droga5 on a comedy streak. Here’s how every conversation went with creatives: “How about Harold Einstein?” “Tom Kuntz would be perfect.” “Something off-beat like Andreas Nielson.” “Can you see if Matt Aselton is available?” “Something more grounded like David Shane.” (By the way, all of these directors are incredible!) One name made every shortlist - always #4 or #5, but never made the bid pool - David Shafei. His work made us laugh at our desks, but he didn’t have the splashy reel these others had. I don’t exactly remember why (I didn’t produce this - shout out to Brett Fisher), but this spot got David into a bid pool. When he won, he made it into a crazy derailed pharma spot.

The edit is so well thought-out. I love that when he revisits a scene, the main character is first the only one who reacts, and then when you go back, the other people in the scene react. This rhythm is what makes the spot. After this, he began his long run with Droga5, directing spots like IHOP's 'Fork in the Road'. He got so busy it became hard to find him available! Most recently, you may have seen his major Geico Super Bowl campaign. All this success and 'Stuck' is still on his reel....and even the WW7 website!

By 2018, I had left Droga5 to pursue freelance jobs and personal projects, like Similar But Different’s short film Pioneers. I got to know the pair, Charlotte and Dani, as they signed with their first production company, division7. It’s obvious when you work with them - they’re inventive, artistic, and have incredible taste. However, this CVS campaign popped up during the pandemic when every single director in the world was available. They were just starting their careers. Why them?

This spot was produced by industry vet and agency producer Veronica Beach. Veronica was the HOP at David in Miami for years and was accustomed to working remotely; she regularly worked with LA, New York, and any major production hub that offered the best talent. This translated well to pandemic times. First, it was about finding the right production partner, and the team at division7 showed a truly unique and exceptional ability to execute this remote production. But, most importantly, the agency loved Dani and Charlotte because, in this case, their inexperience was a positive! It meant no preconceived notions of how things should go. It meant they were open to solving problems in new ways. You can see this problem-solving in their casting, shot design, and production design. The mirror mount in the bathroom, the transitions, and the details like the background action of the dad and girl in the bathroom make this feel like a real commercial instead of a UGC pandemic shoot. Since CVS, the duo has produced major campaigns for global clients such as Jack Daniels and McDonald’s.

When I was freelance, I boomeranged back to Droga a few times. This is the job that will go on my tombstone. My challenge on this job: find a director with a fresh reel! Maybe a music video director? The reel must have real people and exciting, dynamic narrative storytelling, but also prove they can direct a $3M job for the Olympics (so maybe not a music video director?). Oh, and it would be great if they had some connection to Africa because our subjects are in Ghana.

Two names on a long list of 'up and coming' filmmakers were Justyna Obasi and Bafic. I found Justyna through her German production company and Bafic on Virgil Abloh’s IG. Both had such exciting reels, but did they have the experience to helm a $3M Olympic shoot? My agency team at the time was sceptical, and they did not make the initial shortlist. So we did what any agency with a great budget and great ideas does - we reached out to Daniel Wolfe. Daniel took a call with us, and one of the first things he said when he jumped on Zoom was, “Normally, I would not go near this project,” then something like, “There are all kinds of red flags.” Eek! But what he said next changed the game... He had three directors he would like to bring on, and they would direct this collaboratively - Elliot Power (his trusted DA), Justyna Obasi, and Bafic.

And the rest is history - we made something ground breaking, simply because Daniel’s radical approach gave us an insane opportunity. It changed my career, just like I know it changed Justyna’s, Bafic’s, and Elliot’s. Since then, these directors have absolutely exploded. Justyna’s hits include this Pixel spot and this Expedia campaign. Elliot and Bafic co-directed this WhatsApp Spot, and the highly awarded Channel 4 rebrand.

Fast forward, I’m an EP at Greenpoint Pictures. This spot is somewhat of an urban legend in the office. This was made in 2013, when agencies began to make long-form content like JJ’s 'Halloween Candy'. The idea that you needed $300-450K per day to make a :30 commercial was still widely accepted. 'Doc-style' was still incredibly novel and even a little scary. In fact, I’m going to be bold here and say that these guys were pioneers in this style of commercial filmmaking. Prior to this Jordan spot, The Hudson Dusters had been directing web content and longer format work, mostly sports. As urban legend has it, The Dusters were hired by WK to make a longer-form documentary about the return of Melo to the city where he was born and built his career: New York. There had been another multi-million dollar commercial shoot for broadcast right alongside it, but once the edits went up the chain for review, the clients fell in love with Carmelo's authenticity and honest performance.

Next, the Hudson Dusters cut a :30 spot from the 'content', Jordan canned the multimillion-dollar shoot, and they ran this spot on broadcast instead. This catapulted their careers and solidified Greenpoint as a boutique independent shop that could compete with the largest commercial production companies. Over the last decade+, the Hudson Dusters have directed major campaigns for Dicks Sporting Goods, NFL, Hotel Indigo and JPMorgan Chase, to name a few. Michael Kuhn (owner and ½ of the Hudson Dusters) always reminds us of this job. It’s become more than an urban legend - it’s a part of Greenpoint’s ethos. We always strive to make the best work no matter the budget or media buy because you never know where the work may end up! And it may just be that spot that blows up the reel.