Director | DP / Production

charlieuniformtango Director Justin Wilson teams up with Ice-T for Raising Cane’s

charlieuniformtango Posted On June 27, 2022

charlieuniformtango announced Justin Wilson directed a :60 video for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers celebrating National Iced Tea Day (Friday, June 10^th) with none other than the man himself, Ice-T.

Ice-T recently got behind the counter at a Raising Cane’s in Phoenix, Arizona and waited on surprised – and delighted – customers on National Iced Tea Day. Ice-T noted that Raising Cane’s iced tea is always fresh brewed and ice cold. He also commented to a customer that high gas prices had made him get a day job which brought giggles of acknowledgment. “Ice was an exceptional talent to work with and a joy to be around,” Justin said, “I’d jump at the chance to work with him again.”

Justin shot the action filled spot with several cameras, including two Sony fx9s, 4 GoPros, two insta360 cameras, a drone and DSLR. With a variety of angles to choose from, every Ice-T quote was captured multiple ways to give the editor flexibility in the cut.

Credits:

charlieuniformtango

Director: Justin Wilson
Line Producer: Cesar Velasco
Director of Photography: David Wells
Lead AC/Media Manager: Joshua Babur
2^nd AC: Jessica Ramirez
2^nd AC: Samantha Bell
Media Manager: Kayla Windsor

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

Chief Marketing Officer: Christina Clarke
VP Creative Services: Tracy Ziepprecht
Creative Director: Scott Howard
Director, Creative Services: Meredith Verhagen
Sr. Motion Designer & Editor: Richard Escobedo

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Director | DP / Production

Equilateral Creates Stunning Fashion Video for Designer Brand Forty Five Ten

Equilateral Posted On April 26, 2022

Forty Five Ten collaborated with Equilateral on creating video and still photography assets for their latest Spring 2022 Campaign titled “All in a Day”. The idea was to create a magical day in the life of our model, as she seamlessly walks from scene to scene her wardrobe changes and small magical moments happen along the way. Creative & Art Director Jonathan Merla worked with Director Roger Peters to help bring the vision to life from idea to final product.

Watch the video…

Credits:
Client – Forty Five Ten
Creative & Art Direction – Jonathan Merla
Fashion Director – Jordan Jones Munoz
Production & Post – Equilateral
Director – Roger Peters
Photographer – Darren Braun
Executive Producer – Jessica Cramer
Editor – Max Smith
Model – Kayla Whitmire, Kim Dawson Agency
HMU – Gabby Rosenberg
Music – Adam Pickrell, Byron Crenshaw
Production – Sydney Dietrich
Set Design – Pablo Padgett
Special Thanks – Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Dance Department

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Director / Production / Tabletop

Threaded Pictures Announces the Signing of Tabletop Director Josh Blaylock

Republic Posted On June 28, 2021

Threaded Pictures announces the signing of Director Josh Blaylock to its roster and will represent him in the U.S. for commercial and branded content motion work.

With a keen eye for composition and lighting, Blaylock is known for collaborating with his clients to bring fresh and innovative perspectives to food and other tabletop work. His reputation as an intuitive and creative problem solver who provides a relaxed atmosphere on set has landed him work with such high profile clients as Pizza Hut, Frito Lay, Grey Goose, Dr. Pepper and Shiner Beer. He joins Threaded Pictures’ growing roster of directors as its cornerstone for all things food and beverage related.

“I’ve been tracking Josh’s career since I came to Dallas,” says Brian Hwang, Executive Producer of Threaded Pictures. “His photography is top notch, and his transition into directing motion work has been seamless. In the short time we’ve been working together, he’s shown a constant hunger to experiment and be creative. That eagerness to get in the studio to test and develop new techniques, even before a project begins, will be a tremendous draw for our clients.”

Recently Blaylock collaborated with Threaded Pictures and sister companies Republic Editorial and Infinite Fiction on projects for Estrella Jalisco, Cinemark, Rold Gold and Chuck E. Cheese. A true foodie at heart, he believes food always has a story to tell, and his lens is his tool to share it. With the benefit of a motion control rig housed at his studio, he spends the majority of his freetime tweaking and perfecting his craft.

A native of Texas, Blaylock’s relationship with cameras began as a teenager out on the west coast in Hollywood where he spent over eight years in front of the camera, landing roles ranging from prime time series to the Academy Award winning film No Country For Old Men. Eager to learn the ins and outs of the industry, he used his down time on set to immerse himself in the various crew departments. He credits that background and the exposure he gained from working with a wide variety of directors for allowing him to smoothly transition from a stills shooter into a tabletop director.

“My number one take away from my experience growing up on set,” explains Blaylock, “was that while a director will always face numerous challenges and unexpected obstacles, maintaining a positive attitude and working with your clients and crew to creatively problem solve is key. In the work we’ve done in recent months, Brian and the team at Threaded have provided the collaborative environment for doing just that. I have no doubt we’re gonna do some killer work together.”

“I’m so excited about adding Josh to our team of directors,” says Threaded Pictures partner Carrie Callaway. “His youthful energy and enthusiasm is contagious, plus the specifics of his skillset perfectly complement the joint talent pool across our sister companies. I can’t wait to see what amazing work our clients and our team produce in the coming months.”

Blaylock joins Threaded Pictures roster of directors that includes TG Herrington, April Kirby, Chad Ostrom, Ben Tedesco, Two Headed Boy and Taylor Washington.

“This addition to our team is coming at the perfect time for Josh, the perfect time for our company, and the perfect time for our market,” says Hwang. “I look forward to introducing him to our clients and continuing to further invest in the growth of our creative capabilities.”

To view Blaylock’s work, click here.

About Threaded Pictures:

Launched in Dallas in early 2019, Threaded Pictures is a diverse collection of filmmakers with vast experience in all aspects of the advertising pipeline. Through creativity and collaboration, they tell stories with character driven performances, stunning visuals and clever comedy. As the production arm of traditional post-house Republic Editorial and design and animation studio Infinite Fiction, they are able to provide a high-end seamless creative solution for any project.

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Editor's Spotlight / Production

AdChat Spotlight Interview | The Amazing and Magical, Norry Niven!

AdChat DFW Posted On May 6, 2021

Norry Niven is a name that is well-known in the advertising and production communities in Hollywood and DFW. In fact, people just say “Norry” and everyone knows who that is. He’s has won six Emmys, even more ADDYs and only God knows how many other accolades including being honored at the AICP Show, the Next Awards, the CLIOs, Promomax Best in Show, DIFF and New York Film Festivals. As director and cinematographer, the has created beautiful imagery and story-telling in movies, documentaries, music videos, national show promos, and countless television commercials (including Super Bowl spots) for brands such as Ford, HBO, Disney, Showtime, McDonalds, H-E-B and many more. Given all these accomplishments, it is amazing to note that he’s one of the most humble and kind professionals you’ll ever meet.

We caught up with him to chat about how he approaches his work, his new production company, Thousand Foot Squid, and the secrets behind his incredible ability as a magician.

Check it out…

573 Views

Editor / Production

Lucky’s Sai Selvarajan’s “The Unlikely Fan” To World Premiere At SXSW 21

Lucky Post Posted On March 4, 2021

Immigrant, Texan, retiree and the mother of all b-ball enthusiasts. Meet The Unlikely Fan – a short documentary that blends style, substance, and the artful appreciation of basketball.

Sri Lankan born, Dallas-based, retired teacher….and hoops nut. Meet “The Unlikely Fan,” a basketball enthusiast who definitely doesn’t fit any preconceived image. Lucky Post editor Sai Selvarajan’s, multimedia documentary, one of his most personal projects, will enjoy its World Premiere at SXSW 21 (March 16th at 4pm).

Directed by Selvarajan and Jeff Bednarz, “The Unlikely Fan” is an ode to the power of sport to rally and inspire, to see the art of passing, dribbling, and shooting as balletic, and to share that appreciation with your loved ones. Especially when your loved one is the mother of all b-ball fans.

“As a filmmaker you’re always on the hunt for an interesting angle on the world, and sometimes that perspective is not just close to home, it is home” he reflects. “My mom and I talk on the phone every day and two things we always talk about are my kids and what happened in the NBA the previous night. I think just being around her inspired me to tell this story.”

When it came to creating the short, the filmmaker knew it had to be as colorful as the subject. Leaning into his design background, Selvarajan sought to craft something that felt handmade with love. Like most films, this work was a collective effort, with many people coming together, virtually, to make something even as the world – sporting events included – shut down.

“I’m very grateful for everyone involved and the opportunity to create, even when it felt like the world was just crumbling. I’ll always look back on this film with joy, because of the circumstances in which it was made. But I think you can feel the sense of urgency in the filmmaking, there’s no half stepping by anyone, every move feels bold and confident because they were all in.”

As all in as The Unlikely Fan herself. And that’s saying something.

Credits:
Directed by Sai Selvarajan and Jeff Bednarz
Starring: Gita Selvarajan
Cinematography by Andrew Ryan Shepherd, Mark Thomas, & Judd Myers
Original music composed and performed by Joey Kendall
Edited by Sai Selvarajan
Assistant editors: Alex Histerkamp and Lara Tillotson
Producer: Brandon Tapp
Visual Artists: Matt Wohlrab, Olivia Reneé Saldívar, Trevor Garza, Nicole Marxen-Myers
Sound Mix: Scottie Richardson
Color Correction: Neil Anderson
Effects: Seth Olson and Jake Odgers

758 Views

Director | DP / Post-production

Gorgeous New Work for Mary Kay From Equilateral’s Director Roger Peters | Hydrogel Eye Patches

Equilateral Films Posted On December 11, 2019

Balanced Hues on the Set Enhance Visual Branding

At Equilateral Films, we were over the moon to shoot our first commercial in our new studio earlier this year with the Mary Kay Global Team. This spot features New York based model Aubrie Williams showcasing the new Hyrdrogel eye patches from Mary Kay.

We built two sets in our studio, one for live action and one for still photography. Roger Peters directed the live action portion of the project, while photographer Alicia Stepp handled the still photography.

Peters stated, “The balance of the soft creamy light and the pink tones in the set design, wardrobe and Aubrie’s luminous skin, complimented and supported the pink shade of the product packaging and the product itself. We did this deliberately to visually brand Hydrogel in the mind of the viewer.”

Check out the behind the scenes video for a sneak peak of the sets in action!

And check out the finished product!

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AdChat Interviews / Director | DP

Apollo’s Jeff Smith Directs Hysterical Goody’s Headache Powder Spot | AdChat Interviews About Directing Comedy

AdChat DFW Posted On May 22, 2019

Jeff Smith is a comedy director represented by Apollo Films. His work has ranged from Cici’s Pizza to national Ford Commercials. This particularly hysterical spot for Goody’s headache powder caught our eye. The scenario involves a couple who just met at a bar and before moving forward decide to “fast-forward” to see what the future holds. It was so clever, we just had to interview Jeff about it.

AdChat DFW: Who came up with the scenarios on the spot and who is the agency?

Jeff Smith: The agency is AF&G, out of New York City. They have the Goody’s and BC Powder account. This is the fifth time I’ve worked with them. I have a relationship with Dale Earnhardt Jr. who is one of their spokespeople. He did not appear in this spot, but because of the other spots that I had done with him, then they saw the potential and maybe doing other stuff with me. Then this one came down the pike.

The agency came up with a rough overview, and then of course, like always happens, there was collaboration between me and the agency. I would say this would be cool or that would be cool. In this case they handed us the strong visual ideas that they wanted, but they said, oh, by the way, we only have five dollars. Then you say we can do this, but we’re going to have to make this change and that change. That’s where the collaboration came in.

AdChat DFW: Where did you cast?

Jeff Smith: We cast in Charlotte, but when you do that, you also get talent from Atlanta, which is very hot right now. There are very good talent pools in both Atlanta and the Carolinas. So that’s where we got them from. In fact, the male actor lives here in Charlotte and he auditioned with his real-life girlfriend, who is also a comedian, and they were hilarious. But we went with another actress who fit the client’s demographic better.

AdChat DFW: When you cast did you have them auditioning the scenario together?

Jeff Smith: Yes. And the one thing about AF&G is that they are old school, New York, and once they storyboard and test whatever their idea is, they like to have their auditions almost mimic what the shoot is going to be. This can be very difficult, because we had a cake being thrown down to the ground in the audition. You don’t typically have that in a casting session. They went through a bunch of them and, and you know, you could tell that Sterling, the male character, was the guy. I pushed him very, very hard on our end and got a little pushback at first, but then won that battle and I think everybody was happy in the end that we did choose him.

AdChat DFW: Tell us fun story about the shoot.

Jeff Smith: When you are working with talent that can contribute and aren’t there to just read the script, things can get unpredictable. It can be hard because you don’t get the same thing twice. Sterling Hurst is one of those actors. That scene in the beginning where he just pops up from underneath the bar and introduces himself, that was basically all him. We had done a bunch of other takes where he slid in there with this little Don Juan thing, but next did it a little differently. Eventually the direction came down to the pop up. People were laughing around video assist and we just kept letting the cameras roll. When he came jumping over the sofa with the football thing, and the horn at the party…those were all bits he did at the audition and they weren’t in the original spot. When you work with talent that are truly funny people, they’re loose cannons. Although they are hard to keep a set of reins on, they can contribute in a big way. That’s what makes it fun working with those kind of actors.

AdChat DFW: How do you like working with Apollo Films?

Jeff Smith: I’ve worked with them for a long time and we took a vacation from each other for awhile, only because of schedules. I’ve shot a lot of Ford for Jay Walter Thompson all over the states, California, Maine, New York, Florida and the Carolinas. Claude Locke with Apollo shot some Texas Ford work and I was introduced to him that way. The first job I did with them was a huge shoot and we did more after that, so it was a good fit for them to add me to their roster. Then we did other stuff like CiCi’s Pizza, Mountain Dew and Gold’s Gym. It’s been a good relationship.

Watch spot…

361 Views

AdChat Interviews / Director

Norry Niven Directs Promo for Hit Showtime Series SMILF | Check Out Our Interview

AdChat DFW Posted On January 23, 2019

AdChat DFW had the chance to chat with award-winning director, Norry Niven with Niven Films, a Dallas based production company, about the promo he directed for Showtime’s recent hit series SMILF (Single Mother Is Losing Faith.) It stars Frankie Shaw, Rosie O’Donnell, Connie Britton and other notables. The stop motion spot brings together various elements of the show in a very inventive, fun fashion. Check out our interview and the spot.

AdChat DFW: This is a very fun stop motion promotion, how did the job come about?

Norry: The job came about for their second season of a Showtime program that Frankie Shaw writes, directs, stars in and produces. She won Sundance best Short three or four years ago, and because of that got a shot at creating her own comedy series. The show’s about a single mom trying to make it in Boston. It’s really about the comedy of life and her trying to have a social life and get work.

AdChat DFW: Does the show’s title SMILF mean what we think it means?

Norry: Actually, the SMILF acronym is being re-defined as “Single Mother Is Losing Faith.” Showtime is really trying to get behind the series. It’s so good and Frankie is so amazing in it as is Rosie O’Donnell who plays her mother.

AdChat DFW: Where did you shoot?

Norry: They shoot everything in Boston so for us to shoot it needed to occur there. We were trying to use our time constructively and we started with the idea of doing chalk paintings on the floor and shooting it all from an overhead position. But, that would have required for both her and us to be there for about a week, so what we wound up doing was mimicking that same process with a high resolution still camera and creating hand painted drawings in a stop motion CG environment.

The work started five months ago, so it’s been a long process. As the artwork progressed, we shot tests. Joey Lavelle is my DP in Boston and he and I worked out the mechanics of that and then we worked out how many frames per second. We also shot a test with Showtime. They did a stop motion piece with one of their coworkers, which is pretty funny.

AdChat DFW: Did you shoot a test with Frankie?

Norry: Oh no. We got a dozen different processes going on before we really sat down with her. Then we did a computer previz so we could show her on set and she knew where we were in each piece of action. It’s weird when you’re lying on your back or your side and your front, you have quite a bit of gravity issues with hair for example. We had four people, her stylist, makeup artist, wardrobe and hair stylist tweaking her in between each still frame, so you can imagine how long that took. But Frankie was so patient and gracious, she made it great and she made it fun because she gets it. She pours herself into her show and she absolutely poured herself into these promos.

AdChat DFW: Did you just shoot the one promo?

Norry: There’s a second promo that we haven’t released yet called Dunk. It included some special rigging and rig removal where we flew her through the air to do a Michael Jordan style slam dunk. It’s a pretty cool piece.

AdChat DFW: Where did you assemble all the footage?

Norry: The assembly process happened at Showtime, they have an incredible facility with Flame artists. But the animation happened off-campus because that really needed to have its own style and sort of energy. That was a result of a lot of back and forth with them, Showtime and Frankie and it really became an evolving process. The elements of the stop motion were done and ready before the shoot, which made it so much easier for me to help direct her in the scene if she could see what we were doing in the previz.

AdChat DFW: Why did you decide to shoot a stop action promo instead of taking scene excerpts from the actual show?

Norry: Well we’ve tested this and it’s been proven for the nearly 20 years that I’ve been a shooting promos that it shouldn’t look like the show. Instead we are taking the suggestion of the show; the elements and theme, and creating a mood or an environment that’s artistic, that’s a standalone piece, something that represents the series and yet not be clip driven. You see clip driven promos every night, so we wanted something special that gets a lot of attention.

Sometimes I’ve done promos for shows that haven’t been filmed yet, like Dexter where they had only shot the pilot when I shot the first promo for them. Shooting promos is back and forth with regards to the creative process, but it’s definitely an art form. Like a music video where there may not be a literal interpretation of the message of a song. But if you can do something that catches people’s attention that they can watch again and again, then you’re successful.

AdChat DFW: You are really the king of promos, what are some other ones you’ve directed?

Norry: I did all eight seasons of promos for Dexter, usually three per season. We won so many awards with that and other promos for Fox. I did a promo for the Superbowl for a show called 24 that we shot in London. It was just one take that happened over 58 seconds with pyrotechnics. It captured the essence of the show without tipping your hand to showing clips from an upcoming season that you don’t want people to see yet, especially out of context.

AdChat DFW: Can you share a fun story about the shoot with Frankie Shaw?

Norry: She’s amazing, full of energy and so into her art forum and anything that helps promote her art forum she’s all in favor of. We would shoot a sequence and then she would want to go look at playback to see how she looked. She self-directed herself on the show, so there was a bit of that going back and forth to the monitor, which took extra time. But I just loved that sense of collaboration and fun and energy.

AdChat DFW: Some directors would be annoyed at that, because they want to control everything.

Norry: It’s so much better everyone working together at that point. The stylist, the makeup artists, the animator, the composite, the photographer, the gaffer, the art department. Everyone’s on board and they’re feeling the energy.

We did a second promo with her young son on the series played by two twin girls. When you have four year old twins on set you’re in for a lot of discipline with your time and energy. We worked pretty hard to get those shots done first so we didn’t have to worry about the rest of the day, which Frankie appreciated. I think she’s fantastic and the SMILF is incredible, so check it out on Showtime.

AdChat DFW: We certainly will!

Watch promos…

575 Views

Director

Equilateral Films Director Roger Peters Creates Heartwarming Video About Overcoming Addiction

Equilateral Films Posted On December 27, 2018

Young men attempting to overcome addiction find a new chance at Beartooth Mt. Ascent, a Catholic based residential treatment center in Wyoming that offers wilderness immersion. The experience helps the young adults to reconnect with nature in hopes of developing a positive mindset while healing their bodies and spirits.

Equilateral Films Director, Roger Peters, captures the essence of the program in this video.
Watch…

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Food Shooters

Gorgeous Food! Noonday Pictures Signs Another Star to the Roster | Canadian Director Rob Fiocca

Noonday Pictures Posted On July 24, 2018

“Rob and I had been talking about collaborating for awhile…I don’t know if it was a combination of an on-site tour of Noonday’s capabilities or the best Tex-Mex Dallas has to offer, but whatever it was, we are thrilled that he has joined the team.” – ML Nelson

Rob has applied his mastery of light and texture to memorable commercials for advertising agencies including Leo Burnett, JWT, Ogilvy and Y&R. His artful insight into (appreciation for) the story of food and the poetry within the details keeps him busy shooting for brands such as Cracker Barrel, Kraft, Smucker’s and Kellogg’s.

“It was the enchiladas.” -Rob Fiocca

Check out Rob’s Reel...

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