Most of the kids coming into advertising have never had a film class.
They come from Watford, or other purely advertising courses.
They learn to come up with ideas.
But they don’t have time to learn much of the craft of what we do.
The thinking is, the portfolio will get them a job.
The rest they can learn as they go.
But, as soon as they write a good script, they’re expected to oversee the shooting of a commercial.
How does that work?
The director, the producer, the editor, the sound engineer, are all professionals.
How can a junior be overseeing them?
So, at our agency, we used to run film classes once a week.
For the juniors, or anyone else who was interested.
Just to learn the very basic grammar of how a film’s put together.
Starting with the structure: the master shots.
Then the cutaways and reaction shots (to cover non-continuity cuts).
Then lighting: practicals, chiaroscuro, moulding, etc.
The relationship between 35mm SLR lenses and film camera lenses.
Picture editing, using non lip-sync shots so we can re-edit dialogue.
Sound editing to cover multiple shots, different days, different locations.
Once you understand the basics you can also write scripts that are way beyond what you have in the budget.
Because you can suggest ways of shooting that will get around set builds, locations, weather days, overtime, etc.
The mechanics of putting a film together adds another dimension to your creative possibilities.
So, with all that in mind, we’d have a film class one night a week for 6 weeks.
You’d had to watch the film before the class.
Because we needed to get the story out of the way.
So we could concentrate on the purely technical aspects, and stop and start the film for discussion.
Without any grumbling.
So we’d start with the most basic: High Noon with Gary Cooper.
Filmed in real time.
So a minute on film is a minute in the story.
The camera keeps cutting back to the clock to build tension.
Mournful cowboy soundtrack linking close-ups and landscape shots.
Contrast the shadows on the set with the shadows the light sources should be making.
A great movie to learn the basics.
Next would be a Hitchcock, personally I think Psycho is great, you learn so much about editing.
But Suspicion is great for learning how to use the camera to let the audience mislead themselves.
Then probably Triumph of the Will, Leni Riefenstahl.
A piece of propaganda, and a boring film, but a great place to learn film rhetoric and its use in advertising.
Then Onibaba, a Japanese film that uses the soundtrack as one of the most important elements in the film.
Probably no one but Kubrick uses sound as well.
Then Battleship Potemkin to show non-narrative editing.
The mood you can create by arranging shots in a montage, instead of a simple continuity of action.
Then usually ending with Touch of Evil by Orson Welles.
Showing how to break the rules once you’ve learned them.
A murder that takes place as just shadows on the bedroom wall.
Another murder that takes place just as sound, over a walkie-talkie.
Orson Welles is one of my heroes.
But what you like and what you respect isn’t always the same thing.
And, so none of those great films are in my personal top ten.
They are just my subjective choices.
They might be films that remind me of different times in my life.
But they’re films that I’ll always stop whatever else I’m doing to watch.
Films which, if they’re on TV, I can’t switch off in the middle of.
So, sorry if they’re a bit obvious but, in no particular order:
Midnight Cowboy
Lock, Stock.
Big Lebowski
Full Metal jacket
The Unforgiven
Richard III (Ian McKellen version)
Oh What a Lovely War
Lawrence of Arabia
The Rebel (Tony Hancock)
And anything the Marx Bros ever did
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I love lock, stock. Great movie Dave.
Everytime I read your blog, I would like to prepare my bags, leave all here, to meet you and work for you.
Onibaba. I bunked off life class one afternoon to go and see it. The support was by Harrison Marks. There were six other people in the cinema. All blokes. All in a row at the front. All wearing mackintoshes……….
Without knowing it, I’ve been waiting for such a thread for quite a long time. As a University of Art graduate, knowing how much I had to learn about Art Direction during those four years, I keep wondering, how can anyone become an Art Director without having attended an art school? Because Dave, this one-night-a-week strategy that you are talking about is what we used to do on a daily basis. 4 years! And how many agencies bother with such a film class? Film, oh God, that’s too much to talk about! Even for a stunning print or a photograph you need to have a certain artistic background. An NO, it’s not only a talent business, you need the education (=a better understanding of how you should organise your ideas in order to be able to present them to the whole production/post-production team and still not lose control when let’s say 30 professionals work on their small slices of your project). And not only does this give you an incredible flexibility in creating great static visuals and motion picture projects, but it helps you learn, which is essential, in my opinion, for your further development. Continuous development. It helps you learn from what others have done. I still analyse films and TV ads the same way we used to do it back in the University days and believe me, there’s so much you can learn for free just by watching others’ productions. …But you need to have the tools, the skills to decode the final form of a project, to understand the process behind it by answering questions like: how dit it all start? What were the early stages? How was everything put together? AND… what was the Art Director’s role? What were the things the Art Director encouraged/dismissed? What is your emotional status after watching the film/ad? And if it’s an ad we’re talking about, is it right that it transmits those feelings, is the brief still there or has the message slided towards unknown places?
And great film selection, Dave. I’d add “Dead Man”, by Jim Jarmusch – absolutely wonderful Art Direction there. A great photographic composition, nearly every frame could function on its own as a lovely photograph.
Also “3-Iron” and “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring”, by Kim Ki-duk.
Anca,
You’re right about Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, then Spiring.
That should have been in there, definitely.
Touch Of Evil. Great flick. I love the bar scene in Ed Wood where Orson Welles complains to Wood that Universal Pictures wanted him to make a film with Charlton Heston cast as a Mexican.
Midnight Cowboy:
“Strong Back”!
“You’re going to need it son”
Awesome movie.
Ditto on Spring Summer…. Too beautiful for words.
film classes, now that would be nice.
learning as you go is such a waste of time if you do 3-4 TV ads a year.
my likes: I don’t know why but I really like italian movies. particularly Fellini’s Amarcord, Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso, Taviani borthers’ Padre padrone or Bycicle thieves (don’t know who shot it).
Hallo Dave
Any chance yo could video your classes for the benefit of overseas people?
I’m working with a famous director now. He’s very famous but I find very one-trick pony. All spots are shot in the same way - will email you the link - slow pans, dramatic lighting.
Always thought directing was a partnership but this chap imposes his ways - or the highway.
Clients love his style even though he ignores the brief.
I’ve done some telly spots but nothing great. Watched about 1/2 the shows you mentioned and read many film making books when I was in North America. But still find I’m quite clueless. Thanks.
bicycle thief
El Mariachi
film school 101
Niko and Riki,
Bicycle Thieves was Vittoria da Sica.
It’s one of only two films that actually made me cry.
Ha! I cried at The Sound of Music yesterday.
By the way, the two comments above highlight that fact that Bicycle Thief/Thieves has actually gone by both titles, but the true one is Bicycle Thieves because of the ambiguity of who it refers to and what it represents.
Preston Sturges!
I studied Triumph of the Will in one of my film studies modules at Uni, and you’re spot on about how mindnumbingly boring it is. On the other hand, Riefenstahl’s direction is absolutely incredible - the way that she portrays the strength, unity and precision of the Nazis through her camerawork is amazingly powerful. The visual device of shooting from Hitler’s plane as it descends into Nuremburg, as if he is a messiah descending from heaven, is probably the best piece of propaganda I’ve ever seen, and it’s crazy how many films since have aped her style to portray brutal regimes built around military efficiency (watching Star Wars again after TOTW makes you realise just how closely the Empire are based on the Nazis, and some of the shots of Scar and the goose-stepping hyenas in the Lion King are lifted almost directly from her shots of the rally). Basically Riefenstahl wrote the book on portraying evil in film.
Loved this post Dave, it’s great to know that cultural context is important to some in the industry. I’m a student on the Watford course, and I’ve actually just started a blog with one of my coursemates about ads in relation to wider culture, so it seems quite eerie that you should post this now. We’d love if you could check it out and let us know what you think (or anyone else who reads Dave’s blog for that matter).
http://www.vitalsignsblogging.wordpress.com
I’ll hazard a guess the other one that made you cry Dave was The Full Monty?
Alison Stevens, the advertising lecturer at Newcastle college, does something similar - the students make a list of films that they want to watch, study and discuss and they set Thursday evening aside for it.
Guy
PS: Dave - how could you leave out Akira Toryama?
Guy,
I never heard of Akira Toryama, should I have?
I never heard of Akira Toryama either.
anybody else not heard of him (her?)
Sorry, did love Withnail & I and I think
Stand by Me, directed by Meathead is
the best kids movie ever.
On second thoughts, Dave, I’d say you cried watching Wall-E?
There is a always a sub-conscious influx from such things as movies and literature (and music top 10?!) but it’s always hard to put a finger on it as to exactly where any idea comes from. I suppose one’s own everyday experiences, first hand and second hand, play a part too. It’s been great to see a whole gamut of movies mentioned, some known some unknown to me and I will no doubt be adding some to my to see list. Thanks.
Sorry guys, I got my Japanese names mixed up.
Although Akira Toriyama is a real person (he created the Dragon Ball series - one of the most successful animated franchises ever and great reference for art direction and copywriting, too) I actually meant Akira Kurosawa.
And I’m sure you know who he is.
surely The Princess Bride (also rob reiner directed) is the best kids movie ever. and willliam goldman wrote it. so…you know
love Lebowski
I’d have to throw my vote in for “24 Hour Party People,” the Tony Wilson/Manchester music scene biopic. Never has a character selling himself and his point of view for two hours been so entertaining or inventive.
Granted The Princess Bride is good, and William Goldman can write, but, compare it to Stand by Me? Story by Stephen King, directed by Rob Reiner, an amazing performance by River Phoenix. and as if that’s not enough to put it out of reach of TPB, there’s that soundtrack: the Killer, Buddy Holly, Lollipop by the Chordettes AND BEN E. KING. I mean , come on, Vinny.
I scored 3 out of 10.
3 of my favs - Midnight Cowboy, Lawrence of Arabia, Marx Brothers Films - are in Dave’s Top Ten
Of course, one way round it is not to let juniors go on shoots at all.
In Asia, it was not uncommon for CDs from London to take someone else’s script and go alone for the shoot..
My exCD always flew first class from Malaysia to Australia. (It wasn’t just the shoot - he had bought himself a pad in Oz, and the shoots were a nice way to see if his property was still intact.)
So when one of the copywriter guy who taught me at D&AD Workshop joined Roger Woodburn’s from GGT, I wondered how he became a director.
How I envied him.
He replied, “Oh, I just picked things up along the way.”
I felt so depressed, learning that all of us had been slogging hard to write scripts were actually funding the CD’s property inspection.
Guess not everyone can be like Frank Budgen - good at whatever he does.
Sorry Dave - I seem to prefer TV shows over movies. Maybe because I can see the characters developing. Reckon anything good, in terms of tv commercials, can come out of watching and re-watching tv shows? Thanks.
Justin - If you are gonna mention 24 Hour Party People then I assume you’ve seen the beautifully shot Control?
Guy.
from Kurosawa I only know Rashomon and Seven samurai. loved ‘em both.
anything else you recommend?
Dear Dave
By the same token can I deduce that you are advocating that it might be a good thing for potential print Art Directors to have come from a Graphic Design background, where they learn weight, form, composition etc etc etc?
In terms of structure, if you start with almost anything Charlie Chaplin made as a template, you won’t go far wrong.
@ Riki:
Yeah, definitely!
Yojimbo - remade into A Fistful of Dollars.
Kagemusha.
and Ran - based on King Lear, brilliant but about 3 hours long
They’re all my favourites (as are the two you know).
Hope that helps!
Guy.
I don’t know why exactly I forgot to mention Steve McQueen’s “Hunger”. Wonderful direction. The art direction is flawless, extremely powerful and shocking at times and the sound direction is incredible also, with no music (this can sound weird to those who haven’t seen the film, but you’ll understand what I mean if you see it). The only instrumental sounds can be heard in the final scene, two alarm-like notes which in that context sound terrifying.
to digress a little, what about talking to directors without a job/pitch attached? Mean, it’s always good for creatives to meet directors without the pressure of a so-call job. I’m a director at one of london’s big / better production companys and I’d welcome the idea of meeting over a coffee slash film etc. Good work occurs more often and easily with like minded people getting along so building relationships and learning from one and other means that if / when you work together you can put stuff on the table - the good and the bad.
Mat, I couldn’t agree more. In a world of people who spend most of their time at work, their only possibility of not losing their personal lives would be to make work part of their personal lives. Friendships among professionals would surely be a shortcut to it. I never understood that fear of sharing ideas. “Geeez, what if he’s going to use my idea? How can I prove we’ve talked about it over coffee???” This type of desperate creatives are really worrying. If you’re so paranoid about one good idea, it means it doesn’t strike you too often. Also, a relaxed atmosphere is most definitely the first step towards the right mood for creative work. Getting to know the person you (might) work with helps you understand why you should think twice before dismissing any of his/her ideas — it is also known as… respect; at a higher and more subtle level.
Nice reply Anca.
I learned years ago that the only people frightened of sharing their ideas are people who are frightened they can’t come up with any more ideas.
Most people think the mind is like a well: the more you take out, the less there is left.
But actually the mind is like a muscle: the more you use it, the better it gets.
To tell you the truth, sometimes I have such ideas that I pray for someone to steal them and produce them. Seeing them up and running is nothing but a confirmation that they were indeed very good ideas. Ointment for self-esteem (which by the way, young creatives more and more seem to lack.).
Absolutely Anca.
One of my favourite quotes is by the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and it could refer to a lot of young so-called ‘creatives’.
“The problem with the world is that the ignorant are arrogant and cocksure. While the intelligent are full of doubt.”
mat, yes, you should definitely seek out the creatives whose work you like. they’ll appreciate it and get to know you. and know that you’re not Billy Walsh.
do creatives rely on producers to pick directors in the UK? how does that work?
PS: where can i buy an Anca t-shirt?
funny thing is people even tend to ‘hide’ books, Lurzers, blogs where they got info from etc. which is just ridiculous. especially youngsters.
my father used to say: “if I gave a hammer to you and a proffessional carpenter, who do you think will do a better job?”
the same is with knowledge or ideas. it’s not where’s coming from, it’s what you can do with it.
Anca, Dave, I agree, ideas are better shared. On a shoot this year I had been getting along with the creative team well prior to the shoot & they were trusting me at the shoot. But my producer came over and whispered in my ear, asked if I’d like him to move them away from me and my playback monitor. I was against it - and kinda shocked. The 3 of us (director and creative team) were all communicating and the day/shoot was much better for it.
When the team first saw the offline they didnt change a single edit - coz they understood it as they were amongst it more than they usually would be at the shoot.
John,
Haven’t seen Control yet, keep meaning too. One of the things I loved about 24HPP was that it spent a good chunk of the movie really showing Ian Curtis to be this intense, doomed figure and then turn it all around by having Tony’s last memory of him being Ian singing “Louie, Louie.” A nice change from the usual movie treatment of the tragic artist.