The Directors: Scott Lyon

With an unrivalled back catalogue of commercials and music videos to his name, Scott is an incredibly gifted and visionary director whose clever filmmaking has won him multiple awards including prestigious Cannes Lions and British Arrows accolades.

Scott’s background in fashion and music video shines through in his conceptual, fast paced and mixed media commercials – often with an iconic soundtrack or cleverly designed soundscape, 

During his music video beginning in the early days in the noughties, Scott worked with the biggest bands of the time including Kasbian, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Mark Ronson and Moby  and won Best Director at UKMVA predecessor The CADs in 2006.

Scott transitioned into commercials in 2008 and his VW spot ‘Better Every Day’, was applauded with a Lion in Cannes that year.  This was closely followed by a win at the Saatchi & Saatchi Young Directors Showcase and his multi-screen car collage spot ‘Everything’ winning multiple Clio Awards as well as silver at the 2010 BTA Awards. This signalled the start of Scott’s long-time relationship with Honda that most recently manifested last year’s dashboard POV supercut ‘Forever Determined’. 

Scott has since directed films for multiple high-end brands including Amazon, Adidas, Audi, Nissan, PlayStation, HSBC, HP, Puma, and Lurpak (whose 'Weave Your Magic' spot won a Silver Film Lion at the 2013 Cannes Lions).

Also a highly regarded fashion photographer and graduate of Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design, Scott won the Vogue Young Photography Award in his first year of graduation, quickly becoming a favourite with cutting-edge cultural platforms including i-D, The Face, Arena, Dazed & Confused, Glamour, Jalouse, and Vogue. 

Name: Scott Lyon

Location: London

Repped by/in: Rogue

Awards: 

CAD Music Vision Awards - Best Director

VW ‘Enjoy the Everyday’- Cannes Lion, British arrows, British arrows craft, Clio, APA

Honda ‘Everything’ - 2x Clio, British arrows, British arrows craft, APA

Lurpak ‘Weave Your Magic’ - Cannes Lion, British arrows, British arrows craft, APA

Sky ‘Greatest Moments’ - British arrows, APA

LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?

Scott> A good idea. Either it’s already there on the page or it sparks something that gives you inspiration to elevate the idea by taking a certain approach.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Scott> I hate treatments, I wish you could just plug your head into a computer and the treatment would come out of your mouth like a Citroen out of Grace Jones.

Sadly that doesn’t happen so firstly I have to have the idea clear in my mind so I can picture exactly how it would work. Then depending on the job, for example if its a technical one, I’ll work on a pre-vis. This allows me to try something out to see how far we can push something visually and also gives a general idea of how it will look timings wise. Then I think about the tone and the lighting, pull some photographic or film references and then with the words this is where we can get into the characters and the performances.

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?

Scott> Normally if its a brand I’m not familiar with the agency deck will have further information or I’ll simply look for it myself. It’s good to have some background knowledge for sure or its easy to go off on a tangent. But ultimately it’s about having the trust in the script itself as between the agency and the client they will have been much back and fourth to work out how it communicates the brand.

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Scott> That’s a long list, as this game is very much a team sport, a cliché I know, but it’s true.

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?

Scott> No there isn’t a particular type, it always come down to the idea. The more variety the better.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Scott> Typecasting. You don’t get into directing thinking you are just going to do one type of thing, its like eating the same food for the rest of your life.

LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?

Scott> There is always a cost consultant but that’s the producers bag. I’ve never had any personal contact….I’m sure there is a good reason for that!

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Scott> How long have you got? There are always crazy problems and they are always solved. Such a big part of this job is being a problem solver you have to be able to adapt quickly to any situation. Always expect the unexpected!

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Scott> Through experience you learn that it has to be a collaborative relationship. Curve balls will be thrown, decisions may be made that are out of your control, however I believe that there is always a creative solution.

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?

Scott> Yes absolutely, I doubt if you would find any director who would disagree. Personally I’ve been doing it for years.

The question is what can you change practically to open this up more. In my opinion this needs to go right back to secondary school. There is little or no career advice on any jobs within the film industry and more to the point how to seek them out. You could go to college and study Film, Art or Drama or equally you could leave school at 16 and become a runner and learn on the job. But if you don’t know this then the industry seems very closed off.

There is also the argument that clients who are conscious of being diverse, not only on screen but behind the camera, should be willing to accept a line in the budget for training. To be fully diverse across all departments takes time and training, you don’t become a focus puller over night. So the idea of apprenticeships is a great one but as almost all people in the industry work freelance who’s going to pay for it? Could the government do more, of course, there is no reason why there couldn’t be a training scheme of some sorts.

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?

Scott> People are a lot more comfortable viewing things remotely, and that in general is a good thing….apart from maybe the grade.

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)? 

Scott> I’ve never understood 9:16 couldn’t you just turn your phone around?

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)?

Scott> I find it incredibly interesting and incredibly scary.

LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?

Scott> I’ve picked these four to show a variety of brands and how when you are given creative license to build out a strong concept, collaboratively you can make interesting work.

VW ‘Enjoy The everyday’

Lurpak ‘Weave Your Magic’

AA ‘We’ve Seen It All’

Honda ‘ Everything’