The Directors: Zak Harney
Raised on a diet of comic books and cult films, the decision to embark on a filmmaking career was an obvious one for Zak Harney. His recent experience in the industry has included working with leading brands to tell stories from around the world. Harney takes a holistic approach to filmmaking projects, ensuring that clear communication, time management and a healthy working environment are prioritised.
Name: Zak Harney
Location: London
Repped by/in: FORM in UK
Awards:
'Reflections Winner at North East International Film Festival 2023 / Finalist British Short Film Awards 2023 / Official Selection Manchester International Film Festival 2023 / Official Selection Clermont Ferrand Short Film Market 2023 / Official Selection South London Film Festival 2024
'First One Away' Winner of ‘Best Editing’ at British Short Film Awards 2021 & Finalist for ‘Best British Director’ / Official Selection BAFTA Student Film Awards 2022 / Best Comedy Film at FIFF London Film Festival 2021
‘Spy Bois’ Best Film, Best Directing, Best Overall Short at the London X4 Seasonal Short Film Festival 2020
‘Bubbles’ Winner of 'Best Foreign Short Film' at LA Indie Film Festival 2018
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Zak> The amount of NDA’s we have to sign means I legally can’t discuss most of my commercial work! But I am just finishing post-production on my latest short ‘The Time Machine’. After years of directing comedy shorts and comedically-led commercial content, last year saw me take the step into darker and more poignant storytelling with my BFI backed short 'Reflections'.
This was (and is still proving to) an amazing experience that took me out of my comfort zone, and enabled me to add a more dramatic string to my bow. This is something I continued with ‘The Time Machine’, delving into themes of obsession and love. Honestly though, one of the most exciting aspects of this project gave me an opportunity to collaborate with some of my commercial crew on a narrative project (which had been a long time coming).
The film is shaping up beautifully, and I’m excited to share it with people, without the shackles of NDAs and deadlines.
I'm currently writing a coming-of-age comedy feature film called "Hyem," set in suburban Newcastle. This story is very heavily inspired by the life of my little brother, who at the age of 15 became a father.
These formative years of Kieran’s life have often been discussed when the family get together, with family joking “Eeeee, our Zak should make a film about it”. Last year I took the plunge and asked my brother if this was something he would like. After a weirdly long pause, his response was “You can write whatever you like about me, as long as it’s a comedy”. So that’s exactly what I’m doing!
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Zak> Virtual production is something I’ve been lucky enough to work with on a few projects now, and I every time I do, the technology has improved exponentially. The first few times I worked on VP stages, you were kind of battling the screen and trying to ‘sell it’. Whereas 18 months later, I work on stages where your biggest problem is that you can’t see enough of the virtual setting.
It’s not suitable for every project, but I’m excited to see how people more talented than me push the technology and make it accessible for muggles like us!
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Zak> As soon as I read or hear a creative brief, I generally know what the broad strokes of my approach are going to be, so normally jot these notes down immediately in an ‘idea dump’.
After this, it might seem reductive and overly simplistic, but I structure my aesthetic layout and images first. This gets the potentially distracting aspect out of the way, while giving me an opportunity to plan each slide and how it will flow into the next. With all of the images and flow of the deck in place, I can then focus on how to approach a creative and getting that down in writing.
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?
Zak> It goes without saying that you want to do your due diligence on a client before working for them. Not only so you can create something that accurately represents the brand, but also ensure it’s a brand you want to be associated with. I’ve certainly turned down jobs before because my ethics didn’t align with a potential client.
Often I put my trust in the creative and strategic teams of the agency when it comes to what we actually want to produce. Sometimes clients are trying something new with their marketing, so their previous ads might give entirely the wrong idea. Getting references of the type of ad they want to produce will often give a better idea of how to approach a job, and then you can use your own brand research to contextualise this.
It can also depend on a brief though. I’ve had a brief before which was about a crypto currency advertising to a new audience. Honestly, at the time I knew very little! But weirdly that naivety came in useful when forming ideas, because we were able to create something for an audience with less familiarity. By the end of the project I was an expert of course!
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Zak> If I had to choose one person, it would be the producer. On a commercial project, the producer is the only ever-present I deal with. They’re the individual I speak to on my first day of starting a project, through all of the outlandish requests director’s make, all the way to delivering the project. If I can work closely with my producer, and they understand what I’m going for and support me through that, then it makes everyone’s life infinitely easier.
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?
Zak> I love comedy! I think regardless of the genre, brand or creative, there’s always room for levity. I’ve always been a fan of comedy as an audience, but through my commercial work you discover that not everyone can direct it! There is science to comedic timing, performance and tone, that I love to play with in my work.
There’s a job I’m working on at the moment (got to be careful because the NDA police will get me), where the tone was/is super serious. It’s dark, it’s dramatic and all of the references were cinematic.
In my pitch I decided to include a slide on ‘levity’, where I basically suggested adding a gag or two into the script. On the surface this may have seemed dumb! But without these moments to break the tension, you can easily lose an audience. These comedic beats can also make your dramatic moments feel more dramatic! Spielberg is the master of this. Just look at how many laughs there are in Jurassic Park! And it’s still terrifying when the velociraptors are stalking the kitchen.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Zak> I think if people don’t know me, and they’re working with me as a director for the first time, then there’s often a stand-offishness because of the supposed ‘esteem’ of a director. People might try and protect me from any production hiccups, or non-creative issues, because they think I don’t want to be burdened with that.
The truth is, I’m the exact opposite.
I used to be an assistant director in a previous life, so my brain is hardwired to this about schedule, practicality of shooting order and just efficiency! If we’ve schedule a contra zoom shoot first, but the zoom lens isn’t going to be here for another hour, that’s no problem! Lets work together and shoot something else in the meantime so no time is wasted.
I think the sooner we all know something, generally the sooner we can fix it! I don’t believe in any of the hierarchy of a set. We are all there to achieve the same goal, so let’s work together to achieve it.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Zak> Pffffffft! That’s a massive question! I don’t know if I can name one single problem, as every production has them!
One that comes to mind is when I was shooting is a very working class area of Bradford, with a scene in a back alley with a motorbike, children, animals, you name it, we had it! All very exciting. Except we were shooting during the school holidays, behind family homes. Which meant we got a lot of attention from literally dozens of children.
The 1st AD was becoming frustrated with kids wandering around close to set, watching over fences and just generally being a ticking time bomb of ‘something could go wrong’. But I know for a fact that kids don’t respond to shouting and screaming (mainly because I’ve been that nosey kid). Instead of shouting and screaming, or getting security to try and chase them off, I decided to bring a group of kids by the monitor with me. “Come here guys! You’ll have the best possible view! And you’ll be out of harms way.”
Sure enough a huge crowd forms, we shoot a few takes, get the shot. The kids get bored and leave us alone for the rest of the shoot.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Zak> I’ve found that involving the client as early as possible is useful and involving them in creative decisions. Particularly on set, there is a world where brand representatives are penned in and hidden behind a monitor, which is always going to lead to issues down the line.
If there is a creative decision to me made on set, I will try to involve the client in it! Making these decisions together on set just means that we can iron out any potential issues that may crop up in post. I think this just goes back to breaking down the barriers that are often present on a set. We are all professionals in this field, everyone has their own expertise they can bring. Plus if they have a good idea, the director normally gets to take credit anyway.
But I’m very aware that if in post-production, there will often be a point at which my creative feedback starts to go in a different direction to the client and I fully understand why the agency will often appease the client. At risk of sounding jaded, when it comes down to it, the idea and final product aren’t mine. We are creating a product, for a client and at the end of the day, their opinion is more important than mine.
Of course I fight my corner in order to justify creative decisions, and sell in my thought process, which nine times out of ten works!
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?
Zak> I’m not only open to it, it’s something I’ve done before and I’m actively looking to get apprentices on my sets regularly. I’m acutely aware of how hard it can be to break into the industry; I come from a working class background, without knowing anybody even remotely in the ‘business’. Anything within my power that I can do to champion the next generation of filmmakers and get them on a set, I’ll do!
In the past I’ve simply requested to production ‘Do you mind if I have a trainee who is going to shadow me on set?’ and unless it’s a closed set or high profile talent, the answer has been yes! I’m a firm believer that anybody can direct. There is no set way of doing it. There is no universal style of director. So diversifying the people who see directing (or creatives industries in general) as a career, can only enrich the type of work we are going to see.
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)?
Zak> I always make a point of asking an agency/client ‘What is our hero deliverable?’, and then that’s what I make a priority. Nowadays we have to be aware of all formats, from TVC to TikTok, but nailing down everyone's priority can be a simple leaping off point. Often I have found myself shooting multiple versions of a wide shot for different format, because the framing entirely changes. It’s not always as simple as ‘pan and scan’, so I ensure I cover the bases if there are multiple formats.
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)?
Zak> I’ve already discussed my approach with VP, but with aspects such as AI and interactive storytelling, I think it’s here to stay (for better or worse), so I think we need to learn how to make use of it in the most efficient and ethical ways possible. As long as new technology is being used as a tool for people and not to replace people, then I think it can be useful. There have literally been strikes and union movements about these issues, so I hope the protection being put in place works.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Zak> Raheem ‘Supercharged’ - This creative was tailored to get the most out of Raheem. Put him out of his comfort zone, having fun and we capture it. This was my 4th or 5th time working with Raheem, knowing how to play into his strengths all culminated with this.
Stuart’s Story / Online content / Doco - Despite being an older job, this campaign gave me an opportunity to go home and work with some amazing Geordies and get some amazing interviews with people who aren’t used to the limelight.
First One Away / Comedy Short Film - Heightened comedy which incorporates my love of toying with genre and 4th wall breaking transitions.
Distanced / Doco - Shot during the height of the COVID19 pandemic on my old family camcorder, this short documentary tells Marc's struggle with isolation and acts as a time capsule for a period we all want to see the back of. Shows that you don’t need all the toys of production to make something powerful and tell a story
