The Directors: Paul Quinn
Paul Quinn is a versatile writer and director with extensive experience working in live action and tabletop.
His easy nature with talent in front of and behind the camera makes him a pleasure to work with.
Paul came up through the broadcast television world, so especially values storytelling and narrative in his films.
In his spare time he fancies himself an Olympic swimmer (he isn't), a gifted screenwriter (he's working on it) and a loving dog owner (if you ask, he'll bring Luna the Pomsky on his shoots).
Name: Paul Quinn
Location: London
Repped by/in: HunkyDory
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Paul> I like variation in the things I work on - that each thing feels different to the others I’ve done. I slightly rail against the idea that directors should specialise in specific genres or products - the car person - the food person.
Instead I try and find the human touch in my projects. That might present itself in many different ways - perhaps in terms of humour, character or a sense of narrative - seeing a relatable story unfold before your eyes. Some projects can prove more difficult to achieve this with than others. For example when I do table top food shoots and you’re in close on a product it's often easy to let the hands interacting with the food just be props.
But I like to ask questions like ‘who do these hands belong to?’ ‘What is their backstory?’ Creating histories for people who only appear as appendages on screen helps bring that human touch. Once you know who is slicing that bread or cracking that egg, and by that I mean really know them, then everything else becomes easier - what they would wear - what kind of kitchen or plates they would have, etc.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Paul> I tend to have an immediate reaction to how a script should be told visually upon first reading it. Reading the words on the page conjures an image in my head, which tends to stay fairly consistent throughout the treatment process.
If I read a script and don’t see it in my head pretty quickly, then either it isn’t very good or I’m not the right person to help bring it to life. I then actually like to find my way into a script by writing the first draft of a treatment in a kind of freeform style. I just start writing about what the script means to me, creating headings of each of the aspects I think speak to me most or are most important. A lot of this may never make it into the treatment, but it is good for me to help collect my thoughts and focus my interpretation of the script.
I’ll often then take the characters, if any, from the script and drill down into them. Who are they outside of the confines of this ad? This then allows me to think of things like styling and art direction. Knowing who they are let’s me know where they live and what they wear.
Only then will I go back to those images that were in my head upon first read. I ask myself if those still hold up based on the development I’ve done, and once I’m satisfied I’ll look for reference images, usually from movies, which I feel best represent that look and feel.
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?
Paul> Understanding the brand is of great importance, as are the strategic and contextual sides. I have also worked as a creative both at broadcasters and ad agencies so have seen the industry from that side, and whilst I will always strive to create work as beautiful and artistic as I can, this should never be done at the expense of the brand and its particular strategy.
Ultimately a client is spending a large amount of money to advertise a product. They aren’t paying for me to make my showreel. However I do think if you understand the strategy and the personality of the brand, a great freedom arises of how you can still make something cool and artful within the lines that are drawn. If anything there is greater achievement in creating a beautiful peace of work within set parameters than in just doing whatever the hell you feel like, because anyone can do that (for better or worse!).
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Paul> I think a strong working relationship with all of the heads of department is crucial on any job. Naturally, as a director, a strong relationship with your DOP definitely stands out from that, as having a shared vision of what we are bringing to screen visually allows for clear and concise communication with all of the other HODs.
However, I believe the most important relationship for a director on all projects is the one they have with the producer. In my eyes the producer and director are a team. One cannot operate without the consideration of the other. I believe the best producer / director relationships are formed through transparency or honesty, especially when it comes to limited budgets. If we talk openly about what can and can’t be achieved from a budget perspective from the beginning,
I feel that as a director I can approach a project problem solving with the knowledge of the confines in which we have to work. The projects I’ve struggled with the most are the ones where at the last minute the money runs out or I discover we’ve been overambitious because I wasn’t aware of what resources we were working with to begin with.
There’s nothing worse than a director who thinks they have limitless resources as we will always keep on spending! If we work closely together from the get go, we can avoid situations like the budget running out and find clever ways to make our ideas a reality.
I also most love working with ‘creative’ producers. The joy that comes from a producer who cares about the idea, offers ideas of their own, creative suggestions for how we can achieve things we might on paper not be able to afford - those are the most important relationships I’ve ever had on a a project.
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?
Paul> I am most drawn to projects that have a strong sense of story.
No matter how short the duration of the piece is, I like being able to take the viewer on a narrative journey, hopefully with a real sense of humanity in it. When a good story combines with a visually striking palette, I can’t wait to get to work.
This doesn’t necessarily mean I’m drawn to a specific genre.
I like to work across all genres, and as previously mentioned I hate the idea of being pigeonholed as I think all directors and projects benefit from having fresh takes brought to them rather than having the director who has done that thing a million times before.
LBB>What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Paul> For a long time I seemed to only get scripts for table-top food jobs. Don’t get me wrong. I very much enjoy doing it, but I have to say it used to wind me up when I’d not be considered for a job because I was ‘the food guy’. I’ve worked hard to change that perception and I think my reel shows a much broader range of genres now.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Paul> I’ve only ever worked directly with a cost consultant when I was on the agency side choosing directors or production companies to pitch on jobs. I’m sure I’ve had cost consultants consider my treatments when I’ve pitched, though as the director that aspect of it is generally kept away from me. I understand why cost consultants are needed and I think there is a delicate balance to be struck between choosing the best approach to a job and the cheapest approach.
Ultimately we all want to make the best creative we can, so as long as the creative is put first, there is transparency between production company and agency at all times, and costs can be justified within the agreed budgets, then I see cost consultants as ultimately a good thing.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Paul> I’m not sure I’ve had anything completely crazy happen on a shoot. Recently I worked on a job that involved sourcing costumes for about fifteen different actors. When it came to turning over on the first day of the shoot, the client said that the actors had to wear clothing sourced from their own brand (we weren’t advertising clothing), which they had neglected to mention up until that point.
We almost thought the shoot was going to go off the rails before we had shot a single frame, but our amazing stylist had luckily brought a lot of vintage clothing, which satisfied the client as it wasn’t currently on sale from rival brands, so therefore she saved the day!
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Paul> I personally don’t see that there should be a conflict between the two. Ultimately the idea is driven by the agency, who have worked hard to find a unique campaign that reflects the brand’s personality and goals.
I will obviously take that idea and interpret in a way that I feel best brings it to life, but the idea of protecting my interpretation from their interference doesn't sit well with me. Obviously I will discuss and debate my reasonings for making certain decisions, but at the end of the day the idea and the brand belong to the client, the budget is theirs to spend as they see fit, and if they insist on specific things, I will do my best to make sure that the end result fairly reflects their brand’s values.
I would never expect anyone to fund my personal art project at the expense of their brand. Hopefully by having an honest and transparent working relationship we would largely avoid any such conflict anyway, making sure from day one that we are all on the same page and committed to the same vision.
After all, there must be a reason as to why they chose my interpretation of the script in the first place. I am very open to disagreement and debate on projects as long as this comes from all parties trying to do their best by the idea. Ultimately as long as we talk openly, usually the best way forward is the one that is chosen.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Paul> I welcome a fully diverse range of talent getting their opportunity within the industry. In terms of directing, I would welcome a completely anonymous pitching process, so that the director is chosen by way of having the best approach, rather than anything to do with their gender or heritage. I’m glad to see far more women and people of colour on sets these days. It opens the industry up to more varied and fresh perspectives, which ultimately is good for everyone.
I am completely open to mentoring and apprenticeships on sets and would happily consider mentoring anyone who had ambitions of being a director if they thought that I could help. Though I’m not sure I would actually be a worthy teacher. :)
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?
Paul> I did a couple of shoots during the pandemic itself and each of those had a very different feeling to what I was used to - from social distancing and mask wearing to Covid testing, the world of filming felt very different indeed.
However now that the dust has settled, filming practices feel like they have returned to relative normality compared to pre-Covid times. The film and television industries were on the front line when it came to discovering safe working practices to get everyone back to work during the pandemic and whilst most of these practices are no longer needed, it is comforting to know that should anything like that happen in the world again, we are much more prepared to deal with it.
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)?
Paul> I tend to focus on the main format that the piece is appearing in and to work out from there. If the main place is on television or larger format screens (or even YouTube), then I will tend to think more cinematically, having wider shots and fewer close-ups than films that will only appear on social media like TikTok or Instagram. That isn’t to say I wouldn't shoot those kinds of films with a cinematic approach, but rather that close-up work better for smaller formats and to that extent the format does need to be considered.
If the film is to be used equally across a whole range of formats then I will just do what I think is best for the story, and then keep in mind different aspect ratios as I’m framing up shots so that cropping the film for Instagram doesn’t mean the shots are compromised. I find that using a mix and overlay of the different format sizes on our playback monitors can be helpful for this.
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)?
Paul> I have a healthy interest in new and emerging technologies, and always try to learn about the new things that are coming through and may change the way we approach what we do in the future.
That said, as a director I haven’t had a chance to work with things like virtual production or interactive storytelling. In terms of AI, I think there is a time and a place to incorporate that - I am particularly interested in doing that when sourcing reference images for my treatments.
However I would be very reluctant to use it when it came to any visuals appearing in an actual film. I think we should hire and celebrate human artists whenever we can and that AI technology can be used by those artists if they so wish to incorporate it as a tool. However it should never be used to replace anyone, and frankly human creativity can never be bettered as far as I’m concerned.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Dave Does Eurovision - This was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a job and mostly because it was such a unique working experience. Comedy channel Dave wanted to do something to tie in with the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Their idea was to imagine that Dave had declared itself as an independent country so therefore could enter as a contesting nation.
They asked comedian Jazz Emu to write the song and then I got to interpret his lyrics visually. It was very low budget and rather than hinder the creative process it actually helped it. There was very little oversight as myself and Archie (Jazz) were able to bounce off each other in real time as we developed the concept. My idea was that an arm reaches out of the television set as Jazz and friends are sitting down to watch this year’s competition. He is pulled into the TV and becomes the actual act performing.
This became the basic structure around which to bring his hilarious lyrics to life. What was great is that if I had a good visual idea, he could very quickly tweak his lyrics to reflect it. Similarly if he had a good idea for a new lyric, I could adapt my visuals to reflect that.
This was crucial given the limited funds and very short amount of time we had to make the film in, and as a result I had an absolute blast, and felt completely freed to be wild and irreverent and not actually feel like we needed to sell anything other than a sense of humour and fun. Dave were so good about it that they didn’t even feel the need to have their logo or brand featured heavily throughout. They simply wanted to give their social media fans something fun to say thank you for their continued support.
Drama Idents - Over the last couple of years I’ve had the opportunity to make a series of idents for the Drama Channel, trying to bring their branding to life in a unique and unusual way. The idea was to drop the viewer into the middle of what seemed like a scene from a drama, and then use an inciting moment to slow the action down to a thousand frames a second, showing all of the inherent drama that exists within a single moment.
I loved this because as a movie fan I got to experiment with lots of different genres - from a WW1 battlefield to a 1950s style village drama.
Some of the moments were huge (a bomb exploding), while others were tiny (a hat blowing off a head or a foot stepping into a puddle). They were designed to show that every moment in life is filled with drama if you look at it in the right way, and that the Channel, by its very name, will unlock all of the dramatic potential that life has to offer.
Shreddies Sponsorship Bumpers - This was a relatively small job, but I think it does a great job of showing what I spoke of earlier - table-top food work, but with a human touch. Ostensibly all it was was a series of overhead shots of Shreddies being poured and eaten in different households across a morning.
But I spent a great deal of time working on who each of these people were, how they might eat their cereal, what their lives and jobs are like, and really trying to give a sense that if you stopped on any one of the vignettes that you could look around and really get a sense of who each person was. I actually wrote full bios for each of the characters, which allowed the HODs to take those and interpret them to best realise their aspects of the shoot.
Adidas x ITV - I really enjoy collaborating with brands when they aren’t doing a hard sell, and instead are just trying to put something good out into the world. To tie in with last year’s Women’s World Cup, Adidas wanted to do just that, starting an initiative to get young women of all abilities out playing the beautiful game. What was nice was being able to collaborate with real people, from young kids all the way up to professionals - each with one thing in common.
They love football.
We spent a few very fun days just having fun with a ball and I really love the energy that gave the edit. All for a good cause. It was also really rewarding to try and get a real sense of spontaneity and fun out of a group of non actors so that you can feel the passion they bring to the game.
