Meet the Nominees: Commercials

January 24, 2014

At the Meet the Nominees for Commercial Direction Symposium at the DGA’s Los Angeles Theater Two on January 23rd, former Commercials Award winner David Cornell moderated a discussion on the work of the nominees. With four of the five nominees on hand — Matthijis van Heijningen was unable to attend — DGA National Vice President Vincent Misiano welcomed Fredrik Bond, John X. Carey, Noam Murro and Martin de Thurah.

The event included a screening of the nominated commercial spots followed by a frank discussion with the nominees on their working philosophies, war stories from the set, and the importance of having a great AD. Six-time nominee Frederick Bond began the talk by stressing trust between his creative team and their client in directing a spot for Heineken that was “As much fun to make as it looks,” all the while wrangling “extras and elephants.”

First-time nominee John X. Carey called his spot for Dove, which has reached over 62 million views on YouTube, “The little film that could,” and revealed he didn’t know if the concept—women blindly describing themselves to a sketch artist who cannot see them—would work as he feared, “If we faked anything, the audience would figure it out.”

Cornell lauded the “poetic and startling…visual imagery” of Martin de Thurah’s spots for Acura and Hennessy after the director claimed he was going for a “buffet of images.” De Thurah applauded the hard work of his crew under pressure, saying “The rain was so intense, but the Assistant Directors helped improvise with close-ups and didn’t give up. You just have to get it done.”

For his spot for DirecTV chronicling the quest for peace and quiet for the husband of the old woman who lived in the shoe, Noam Murro hoped for it to look “…timeless and romantic…you can look at it in a couple years and it’s still okay.”

Casting was a major topic of discussion in what Cornell called “the silent movie business,” as was the absolute importance of having reliable assistant directors and crews surrounding them. To close, Noam Murro said of Assistant Directors, “They are the ones who make it happen with their pragmatism and understanding of characters and politics. They are really heroes.”

Written by Kent Ochse

Pictures & Video

photos by Krista Kennell

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DGA National Vice-President Vincent Misiano welcomes guests and introduces this year's nominated Directors in the Commercial category.

Full Talk (26:53): Director David Cornell leads a discussion with 4 of 5 nominated Commercial Directors about how they achieved their vision on their respective projects.

HIGHLIGHT: Director Fredrik Bond credits extensive prep for allowing a fun atmosphere to develop on set on his latest spot for Heineken.

HIGHLIGHT: Director John X. Carey describes how he adapted a print concept into a documentary that told an even deeper story for Dove.

HIGHLIGHT: Director Martin De Thurah talks about how he developed the visual concept for his spot for Acura based off of a poem.

HIGHLIGHT: Director Noam Morro explains why he tried to refrain from over-stylizing his commercial for Guinness featuring wheelchair basketball players.

HIGHLIGHT: Bond explains how the tone of his spot for Johnny Walker changed through post production.

HIGHLIGHT: Carey explains where some of his inspiration for the Dove film came from, and how he worked to achieve an emotional tone for the piece.

HIGHLIGHT: De Thurah describes the many physical challenges he and his Director's Team had to overcome to shoot a stylized period piece on a beach for Hennessy.

HIGHLIGHT: Murro describes why he cut down several pages of dialogue into a mostly silent picture on his commercial for Volkswagen.

Director David Cornell (moderator) with 2013 DGA Commercial Award nominees Fredrik Bond, Noam Murro, John X. Carey, and Martin de Thurah.

DGA National Vice President Vincent Misiano welcomes the attendees.

1989 DGA Commercials Award-winner David Cornell moderates the conversation.

Six-time DGA Commercials Award nominee Frederick Bond speaks about creating the trust between his creative team and their client.

Director John X. Carey recalls the gamble he took in creating his conceptual spot for Dove.

Director Martin de Thurah applauds the hard work of his crew on his nominated spots for Acura and Hennessy.

Director Noam Murro explains how he tried to make his DirecTV spot look “timeless and romantic.”

DGA members and guests enjoy the post-symposium reception.

2014 DGA Capra Award recipient Lee Blaine with DGA Associate National Executive Director/Eastern Executive Director Russ Hollander and 1st ADs Brad Ewing and Eddie Nicholas.