Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Commercials - A Director's Experience
What I look for in a script is something that challenges me, something that breaks new ground, something that allows me to flex my director muscle. You have got to think fast in this business, you've got to keep reinventing yourself to stay on top.
Advertising is so specific, you have to use and construct shots so differently. I like the economy of the format, the immediacy you get with fast cutting. Each second is so precious, so you learn to convey an amazing amount of information in a short space of time -- which helped on my first movie "Bad Boys.'
Throughout my commercials career I have always been angling towards movies, trying to create movie-style scenarios. That was always my grand plan -- and I was very open about it. At film school I sensed that advertising would be a great training ground. I wanted to do action, I wanted to do character stuff, I wanted to do comedy, I wanted to tell stories, I wanted to do cool images -- anything to broaden my horizon. Compare being a commercials director with a film director -- you get so many more chances, you're at such an advantage if you're a young guy. I shot so many different scenarios and ran so many different crews -- and all that made me so much more competitive.
Billy Wilder, one of the great American directors, said he was always amazed how commercials directors can tell a story in 30 second - it's real power.
I demand a lot of freedom. Commercials are about commerce. You can soft-sell people, you can clever sell, you can make then laugh or you can just plain entertain them better them better than the last spot. It depends on the product, But I generally go for the soft sell, I always try to do something entertaining, it's kinda always been my motto. My ads may be gig but the product is not slammed in your face, it's woven into the story.
Being a commercials director, you're kind of like a boss and the slave all at once. The best part of my character is my incredible drive, my fear of failing. The psychological root behind this competitive streak is that I was an athlete when I was young and took sports really seriously. I look at directing as a sporting event. It's a race, a marathon. It's great when it clicks -- which is why I push my crews so hard so we can excel.
On set, I am not the demon some people make me out to be. I like cracking a good joke and I get a kick when people make fun of me -- because at times I can be an asshole, though I never make a personal attack on someone. Crews know that they will have to work their asses of with me, but they know that w will all be proud of the end result. That's why the director's role is so important. We are the guiding lights. The same crew could shoot another commercial and for whatever reason it could be totally lacklustre.
Out of all the weird things I've done in advertising, my favourite stunt has to be getting this 94 year-old woman to do push ups and call this guy a pussy!
The perfect commercial is striking, it's witty, it sticks with you, it comes up in conversation and enters the pop culture. A perfect commercial is one that makes the client as nervous as hell. But that's the ground you have to break. More people see TV commercials than they do movies -- and that's pretty wild.
- Michael Bay [Director Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, The Island, & Transformers]
Advertising is so specific, you have to use and construct shots so differently. I like the economy of the format, the immediacy you get with fast cutting. Each second is so precious, so you learn to convey an amazing amount of information in a short space of time -- which helped on my first movie "Bad Boys.'
Throughout my commercials career I have always been angling towards movies, trying to create movie-style scenarios. That was always my grand plan -- and I was very open about it. At film school I sensed that advertising would be a great training ground. I wanted to do action, I wanted to do character stuff, I wanted to do comedy, I wanted to tell stories, I wanted to do cool images -- anything to broaden my horizon. Compare being a commercials director with a film director -- you get so many more chances, you're at such an advantage if you're a young guy. I shot so many different scenarios and ran so many different crews -- and all that made me so much more competitive.
Billy Wilder, one of the great American directors, said he was always amazed how commercials directors can tell a story in 30 second - it's real power.
I demand a lot of freedom. Commercials are about commerce. You can soft-sell people, you can clever sell, you can make then laugh or you can just plain entertain them better them better than the last spot. It depends on the product, But I generally go for the soft sell, I always try to do something entertaining, it's kinda always been my motto. My ads may be gig but the product is not slammed in your face, it's woven into the story.
Being a commercials director, you're kind of like a boss and the slave all at once. The best part of my character is my incredible drive, my fear of failing. The psychological root behind this competitive streak is that I was an athlete when I was young and took sports really seriously. I look at directing as a sporting event. It's a race, a marathon. It's great when it clicks -- which is why I push my crews so hard so we can excel.
On set, I am not the demon some people make me out to be. I like cracking a good joke and I get a kick when people make fun of me -- because at times I can be an asshole, though I never make a personal attack on someone. Crews know that they will have to work their asses of with me, but they know that w will all be proud of the end result. That's why the director's role is so important. We are the guiding lights. The same crew could shoot another commercial and for whatever reason it could be totally lacklustre.
Out of all the weird things I've done in advertising, my favourite stunt has to be getting this 94 year-old woman to do push ups and call this guy a pussy!
The perfect commercial is striking, it's witty, it sticks with you, it comes up in conversation and enters the pop culture. A perfect commercial is one that makes the client as nervous as hell. But that's the ground you have to break. More people see TV commercials than they do movies -- and that's pretty wild.
- Michael Bay [Director Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II, The Island, & Transformers]
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