The Directors: JAK
JAK (Jo & Katie) is an award-winning directing duo, established in 2021, specialising in commercials and music videos.
Although both hail from Northern Ireland, their paths didn’t cross until they worked together at The Mill in London. With Katie's expertise in VFX and editing and Jo’s background in graphic design and creative direction, they bring a maker’s spirit to every project, diving into editing, design, Photoshop, After Effects—whatever it takes to bring their vision to life.
Their work is characterised by charming characters, playful visual effects, and relatable stories with a surreal twist. JAK has directed commercials for major brands like Cadbury, Panini, EA Sports, FIFA, FREE NOW, Visa, SumUp, and English Rugby.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
JAK> We try to remain open minded when reading a new script, focusing more on whether the general idea might allow us the freedom to play and visually push the boundaries of the creative. We get most excited about scripts with an aspect of humour or surrealness to them. Especially those that feature quirky and lovable characters.
We also are drawn towards scripts that encourage technical camera movements or playful transitions which leave the viewer thinking - “how did they do that”.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a commercial?
JAK> We love making treatments. They allow us to get all of our ideas and thoughts down ‘on paper’ and then continuously refine and improve them together with each pass. We revel in the opportunity to be collaborative with agencies, so this is the stage where we also suggest additions or adjustments in the script, to try and push the creative as much as we can. We also spend a lot of time finding the right visuals (our second language is GIFs) that capture exactly what we want to make.
We like to be pretty hands-on with our treatments. With our shared backgrounds in writing, VFX and graphic design, we always write and design our treatments in an engaging and client-considered way. When required we also lean on our skills to create concepts/mock-ups to help clarify and sell the idea. Our aim during the treatment phase is to create a JAK blueprint for the job, visualising it in a way that gets everyone excited.
LBB> As a directing duo, how do you delegate tasks throughout the production process?
JAK> We both directed individually before JAK, and come from similar creative backgrounds of design/VFX. So there is that understanding and complete trust between us, that we both always strive for a high level craft and attention to detail in all our work.
We are both well versed across all areas of production process, so for us, being a duo is more about having the bonus of someone to constantly bounce ideas back and forth to refine and strengthen them, rather than individual strengths or bolstering an area where one or the other is lacking. Which is convenient, as it means we can divide and conquer with whatever needs our attention, and if one of us is unavailable we completely trust the other to take the reins.
We’ve found it particularly useful on set when time is against us. One of us can be blocking out action with talent, whilst the other is working with art and camera to get the frame looking perfect or choreographing any camera movements.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
JAK> It is a super important aspect for us. Jo comes from a background in branding and graphic design and Katie has experience in marketing and comms, so for us immersing ourselves in the brand is really the foundation in how we approach any pitch.
We also feel it is important as directors to be brand conscious - not only with where the brand sits strategically and tonally, but also ethically. We should always be aware of what we are helping to sell.
Part of our visual research will include looking at what the brand has done before, and scanning through any social channels. If it's a new brand, or a brand that is pivoting into a new space then this will be something we ask the agency in chats early on in the pitching process. We are all about pushing the creative and making great work, but at the end of the day we are selling a product and telling a brand story.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
JAK> It takes a solid team to make great work, but if we had to pick just one working relationship, we’d say the most important is the one between the director and the talent.
Forming a connection between director(s) and the talent is a huge priority, it is a relationship that can greatly impact the overall tone and quality of the final piece. This is why we always request to meet with talent before the shoot day. We think it’s key to build a rapport and to create an understanding that the set will be a safe and encouraging space for their performance.
We are all about good vibes on set, our directing style when working with talent is very encouraging and collaborative, allowing them the space to create that magic.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
JAK> At the moment we are particularly drawn to scripts with a quirky or comedic edge that allow us to be playful with a fresh, poppy and colourful visual style. We are also always looking for the opportunity to push our work into a more surreal space if the script feels right.
We get excited about any opportunity to bring in stylised production design, or the chance to use our VFX knowledge to create surreal worlds, whilst still adding in those little human moments that bring a sense of relatability. But to be honest, we get excited about any script that allows us the freedom to bring a flavour of ‘JAK’ to the creative.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
JAK> That we are fresher to the industry than we are. Although we only became a duo over lockdown, we’ve both been honing our directing and creative craft for much longer. As well as previously directing individually, we both actually met at the Mill in London, where we worked with many world class directors on world class brands, learning the ropes of what it takes to pitch on and make high level work.
This also exposed us early on to the language of film and the process of big live action and post-heavy productions, as well as bolstering our knowledge of post production, VFX and virtual production.
This is also where we learned the art of impactful, visual treatments and how to present our ideas clearly and confidently. We think this is where our love of punchy graphic visuals, pushing the brief and trying out new and more technical techniques came from.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
JAK> Being a duo, collaboration is in our DNA, so we are always open to collaborating with the agency and client. We are very passionate about our ideas but we aren’t unreasonable. We’ll always present and make it clear what we think is the best route, but we always leave the door open for discussion.
Don’t get us wrong, we will always try to defend any idea we think deserves to be on the table, but ultimately we see the agency as being very much on our team and trust their experience and knowledge of the client. Our treatments are also notoriously thorough, so if our pitch is chosen, we find it helps ensure we are all on the same page from the get-go.
The hope is that ultimately, the trust is there, and that together we can all make the best creative that we’re all proud of.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent?
JAK> Our thoughts are that this needs to happen faster. We are thankful for the space that has begun to be created for ourselves as female directors, but there is still a long way to go to foster a more diverse pool of talent. This is something that we hope we can play some small part in, through pushing for inclusivity and diversity on our sets.
The more diverse the pool of talent the greater the chance for fresh perspectives and new ideas.
LBB> Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
JAK> Yes! We are very keen for mentoring and apprenticeships on set. Some of our first experiences of professional productions were through directors allowing us to assist them on set. There’s only so much you can get from independent research and study.
You learn and absorb so much so quickly through being hands-on on a set, meeting other crew and seeing the flow of production in real time.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
JAK> To avoid any headaches in post, we’ll always try to gauge early on what formats are key for the client so we can have them in mind as we move through the creative process. We are always wary of any knock on effects these formats may have on the legibility of final creative.
Where possible, our normal practice if multiple formats are required (particularly the likes of 9x16), is to shoot a series of wider ‘safety shots’ with guide bars on the monitor to ensure nothing vital to storytelling is lost from the frame when cropping.
In the post stage, we will also work with our editor to ensure everything is working within the various ratios, readjusting frame positions or utilising editing techniques like ‘pan & scans’ if required.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?
JAK> We are both pretty technically minded and make a point of keeping up with the latest future-facing tech. We are always interested to see if/how it can be incorporated into our practice - again something ingrained in us from our days at The Mill.
In recent years we’ve had experience with virtual production, shooting one of the first VP short films in Northern Ireland using LED volumes. The process taught us a lot about the potential of VP, but also the limitations of such tech in filmmaking.
AI is definitely the conversation of the moment. We are believers that the physical and emotional human experience, paired with the very human trait of imperfection, when brought to art and film, is what makes a lot of the magic.
However for now, we do see AI as a tool that can be wielded to aid the creative process. We’ve already been using AI imagery generation for references in pitches, as well as replacing some stock images for VFX to make it more affordable.
As for what the future holds, (ignoring any thoughts of sci-fi disaster movie style eventualities) it will be very interesting to see how AI functionality will help us in the future to level up our creative process.
