Cinematic Arias

Recently FIND held another lecture in their “Shop Talk” series, this time inviting director Chris Milk to speak about working in, and breaking into, the commercial and music video world.

First, it should be noted that Chris moved backwards through these industries. He first landed in the corporate jungle of Madison Avenue as a commercial director before venturing into the wild west of music videos (why do most directors start with music videos? Because it’s easier to convince a bunch of addle headed musicians that you should direct the video for their third single than it is to convince Murray the used car lot owner to fork over a big chunk of his advertising budget for you to helm his late-night local television spot).

For reference, here’s a commercial by Chris (a spec ad, I suspect):

And here’s his video for “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” by Gnarls Barkley:

Second, he confirmed everyone’s fears – as the country goes, so do these industries. We all know the music industry has gone to hell. Gone are the days of million dollar music videos. Today, a major band is lucky to get a low six-figure budget for their first single; I know someone that was offered a $10k budget for an effects heavy third single by an artist that’s huge (I mean HUGE) on KROQ. Chris seems to think that the ideal newcomer will not only be able to shoot great footage but will also have the postproduction expertise to make $5k look like $50k.

Unfortunately commercials, once seen as the safe haven for highly paid helmers, are also seeing their budgets slashed. These days advertising executives are looking for young talent to create viral campaigns. FYI, viral should be defined as “we won’t give you any money so you have to scrounge up the equipment yourself and we want it done in a week.” Chris mentioned that there’s really only one industry that still spends lavish amounts on their commercials — the pharmaceutical industry. Still not deterred? According to Chris there’s one last thing you gotta do: brand yourself. Are you the funny, shaky-cam guy whose work reminds folks of THE OFFICE or are you the guy that can shoot table-top so well that you’ll make all the lactose intolerant Americans rush to their phones, credit cards in hand, when they see your ad for Domino’s new extra cheesy family pizza? Wanna be both? No can do. Production companies are looking for consistency and reliability they can pitch to ad agencies. Want to stretch your creativity? That’s what music videos are for.

Personally, I’ve always been interested in music videos and commercials. Years ago I pitched like crazy on a rock video but in the end felt like I got screwed by the talent so I gave it up (lesson learned: getting screwed over isn’t personal, it’s strictly business).

I also had a brush with the commercial industry after winning awards for this, a Philips Electronics spec ad/PSA hybrid:

At one point I had a Japanese company contacting me, asking me to pitch some ideas for their Pepsi-man campaign. I sent in a few ideas but never heard from them again (lesson learned: while domestic ad agencies might ask a handful of directors to pitch on their boards, foreign companies will invite dozens, if not more, to submit their take).

I was also told that I should shoot a Coke spec ad. The catch: I’d have to pay for it out my own pocket. Yikes! Not only was spending $30k (I kid you not) of my own money on a spec ad just not a possibility for me, it just felt wrong. I thought if I had $30k I should make something personal, not a commercial for a ridiculously wealthy multinational.

But there I go again talking about “personal” when I should know that it’s strictly business.

So what now? I’d love to direct a music video and/or commercial. Doing a very low-budget spec ad or video isn’t out of the question but first I think I need to build up my After Effects skills.