By now, you may have seen Teleflora's Christmas commercial. I hope it gave you a chuckle.
The ad's director is Julian West, a commercial director and independent filmmaker living and working in NY and LA. He is represented by MacGuffin Films.
We thought it would be fun to get his perspective on directing a Dalmatian named Andy and the Teleflora Difference.
Q Did you ever think you would direct a commercial titled, “Dog Pee”?
A I must confess I do take a certain childish delight in having directed a commercial called "Dog Pee". I'm the kid snickering at the back of the classroom; "you said 'pee'..."
Q How did you get into directing in the first place?
A Directing was mandatory where I come from in England. Kind of like jury duty. Actually, my career approach was somewhat backwards: I was very lucky to get a job at the BBC straight out of high school as an apprentice film editor, and then I went to the National Film School, where I was possibly the worst, most contrarian film student ever in recorded history.
They despaired of me so much they finally let me make some spec commercials which, to cut a long story short, brought me to the USA to direct commercials for Limelight Films. I joined MacGuffin Films in 1999 and it's been my happy home ever since.
Q Who are your top 3 favorite film/TV directors (unless you have a No. 1 fave)?
A In no particular order: Stanley Kubrick (Dr, Strangelove, Barry Lyndon), Michael Powell (Black Narcissus, A Canterbury Tale), Wong Kar Wai (In The Mood For Love, 2046). But honorable mentions must also go to Alfred Hitchcock and Krysztof Kieslowski.
Q There’s an old show-biz expression warning against working with animals and children. Was that true at all in this case? Were there any funny stories about the dog or with the ad in general?
A Well the dog was a total pro, really. He stayed in character for the whole shoot. This was a Hollywood dog, after all. Shoots with animals are always odd affairs; just one inch outside the television frame there are actually grown men with little doggie treats and rubber duckies and plush toys or whatever it takes! – begging and pleading with the animal to do exactly what it's supposed to do. It's definitely a process, although we had great trainers on this one and it all went pretty smoothly thanks to them.
Director Julian West
Q Have you received flowers as a gift before and were you familiar with the Teleflora Difference before making this commercial?
A I love flowers – but perhaps because I'm a guy, I've never yet had a fancy delivery like the Teleflora one in the commercial! Which come to think of it, may be a gap in the market. Men deserve flowers too, ladies! Hmmm. And making the commercial has certainly educated me as to the pee-falls of cheap delivery flowers.
Q You’ve made a number of award-winning short films including “Small Jeans.” And you wrote and directed the feature “Trigger Happy” for the Independent Film Channel, featuring Michael Weatherly and Rosario Dawson. I imagine these projects give you more freedom and creativity. What are the upsides to commercial work?
A Independent projects come from the heart, and for a writer-director like myself they are definitely very intense, often literally maddening labors of love. Commercial work allows me the freedom to pursue these kind of indie projects, and also offer a counterpoint of sanity!
I enjoy the craft, and the collaboration is refreshing. 30-second commercials stimulate because they always throw you interesting curveballs and are all about process and finding elegant storytelling solutions. They really teach you how to reduce things to their essence. And advertising is fascinating to me culturally; it is a social space of sorts – the modern equivalent of the stallholders in a medieval marketplace plying their wares with sweet talk and banter.
The way people in a community endeavor to persuade each other of the merits of something is always very revealing.
Q I understand you are currently developing a new indie feature project with Michael Weatherly from the CBS TV show “N.C.I.S.,” which is set for 2010. Can you share a few details?
A It's called "Solar Drive" and Michael plays a private detective searching for a missing movie star. Like all good detective stories, it's a quest, a kind of "Alice Through The Looking Glass" journey through the strange, hidden world of behind-the-scenes Los Angeles.
I love L.A. To me it has a kind of duality: there is a real city – Los Angeles – which is interwoven and sometimes indistinguishable from a kind of dream version of itself, which is "Hollywood" – not merely the zip code, but the state of mind. I find the contrast and combination of the two very intriguing. L.A. is full of wonderful, crazy carny folk, but it's also full of real, hardworking people just like any other major city, and in our story Michael plays a character that straddles those two worlds, and is comfortable in both.
It's a drama, but as anyone who watches "N.C.I.S." already knows, Michael brings a lot of humor and warmth to his characters, so expect some mischief!
Q Who will you send flowers to this holiday season?
A Well, now, that must remain a secret... Or it wouldn't be a surprise!
