Pushing Ideas Further with a “Soup to Nuts” Take On Production

Curfew is an independent, craft-driven production company based out of New York. With a diverse roster of talent, led by partners and directing duo Mark Smith and Spencer Dennis (Mark & Spencer), and executive producer Kathryn Berk, the company has worked with brands like Spotify, adidas and Doctors Without Borders to create thoughtful and resonant stories.

“Like all great partnerships, Mark and I met at a bus station in Sarajevo,” jokes Spencer, as the team chat with LBB’s Ben Conway. A couple of years later, back in the Big Apple, the pair began to direct together and found they had creative chemistry. “As we were forging a creative bond, we saw a need for a more intimate, hands-on approach to working with clients,” adds Mark, “and the process of figuring out how to start a company began.”

The duo were then connected to Kathryn via a mutual friend and the rest, they say, is history. 

To stand out as a boutique production company, Kathryn says the team is more ‘hands-on’ than a larger outfit. Going all-in on every project, Curfew offers the same high standard of tailored solutions and a consistent team throughout the process, regardless of the size of the job. “It’s full transparency and accountability at every stage,” she says.

Being creative-owned is also a selling point for the company - not to mention a reassurance for directors who sign with Curfew and can brainstorm ideas, references and visuals for treatments with the founders. Beyond helping and representing their talents, Spencer adds that it’s also been essential for the team to have a strong ethos. “What sets us apart is an ethos that values craft, storytelling, and risk-taking,” he says, “all for the greater good of making unique work. Those values can come across in many different genres, so, above all, it’s about trusting our talent and their vision.”

Kathryn affirms that this belief in their roster is vital - after all, she says, “We are our roster.” 

She continues, “When we approach new directors, we talk about more than just their commercial output – we talk about their vision, drive, where they want to go in their careers, and what type of work they want to create. It’s not just what they’ve done - it’s about where they want to go. We focus on directors who have a goal that we can support and help build... And the work has to complement and seamlessly fit in with the current directors we work with.” 

Above: Doctors Without Borders - 'Across the Sea' (dir. Mark & Spencer)

Curfew cultivates these relationships with “good people” who are looking to collaborate closely with the team and produce work that isn’t afraid to surprise or take risks. “The campaigns and projects that excite us have creative that feels refreshing, not formulaic, and doesn’t feel like it’s chasing a trend or something that’s been done before,” says Mark. 

Excited by wacky ideas that feel like “something to uncover and explore” as a team, he adds that it’s a particular treat to be invited onto a project at an early stage, so the team can flex its creative muscles and help develop the scripts beyond the original brief.

“We like to position ourselves as a resource for these agencies and brands doing in-house production,” says Spencer. “Some brands have a very robust in-house agency and others have never produced a thing before, and they're looking for somebody to help them. Where we've excelled is in offering creative development, copywriting, production, planning, and everything soup to nuts. That's where experience comes in a little bit, and more hand-holding can be involved, but we've made it work and been successful.”

Some of these major success stories have come from Curfew’s PSA and non-profit work - an important part of the company’s output, explains Kathryn. Taking their Doctors Without Borders campaign as an example, Mark says that PSAs often allow for a “huge amount of creative freedom” from end to end. Working directly with the charity for this project, Curfew collaborated with the brand’s marketing team to explore the themes of their work in a more emotional way than the usual footage of doctors cut with stock music and a voiceover. 

Similarly, for the CTIA ‘1000 Ways’ PSA about distracted driving, Mark and Spencer were able to jump on at an early stage with the agency and push the script even further - resulting in more significant, long-lasting effectiveness. “The project truly influences my everyday life because I drive every day,” says Spencer. “It’s anti-texting and driving, so every time I have the instinct to look at my phone, my involvement in this project makes me think twice about it and stop.”

Above: CTIA - '1000 Ways' (dir. Mark & Spencer)

Kathryn is also proud of Curfew’s IKEA work, directed by Madeline Clayton, which she describes as “a truly beautiful film”. An intimate piece about the little things in life, she shares that the director elevated the project at every turn, from typing the treatment on a typewriter to colouring in with the child actors on set. 

Another up-and-coming Curfew talent highlighted by the company’s leaders is the New Orleans-based Abraham Felix. After working in features for a long time, he’s now completed a handful of commercial spots - all of which are “imbued with his kindness and dedication to craft,” says Mark. “We’re working hard to get his foot in the door and show the world what he can do because we know he’s got a very exciting trajectory ahead of him.” 

Kathryn adds, “We also just finished a job with Citibank. That was a big one for us, too. It was a huge win because of the campaign's scope and breadth, and we were up against some big creative powerhouses. And best of all – we won it because we had the right creative behind it.” She continues, “We also collaborated on a music video for The Strokes - ‘The Adults Are Talking’ - which was very cool and made us feel like we’d ‘made it’.”

Looking ahead to the arrival of 2024, Spencer reflects that 2023 has been “a tough year” for many in the creative and production industries - all the way through from film and TV to the advertising space. In the face of this adversity, he shares that Curfew has continued its mission of forming strong relationships with its directors, as well as finding time to breathe and even work on some personal projects. It’s this approach, with a dedication to authentic connections and the craft, that he believes will see the company through even the darkest nights.

“We don't want to be at the mercy of the whims of the day. We want to have a vision for ourselves and our business that will extend beyond our current moment. And that's a good thing. That's the part that we have control over.”