Henry Hobson’s Appetite for Innovation
A masterful storyteller, Henry Hobson is known for his epic narratives that challenge and engage the senses. From concept to edit, he creates richly cinematic story worlds that explore the depths of the human psyche using powerful character-driven performances and uniquely arresting visual scopes of all scales.
Whether it’s through spectacular and dynamic action sequences like armies battling amidst arrows raining down on advancing ranks or quieter, character-driven moments, Henry creates a compelling world of his own creation that mesmerises the audience.
Henry’s award winning body of work includes spots and campaigns for adidas, Apple, Audi, Gillette, Pepsi, PlayStation, Reebok, the Marines, Under Armour, Xbox, and others. He has earned awards ranging from Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, AICP awards, and One Show accolades to a Director of the Year nomination by Shots magazine.
Henry’s feature directorial debut, Maggie co-starting Arnold Schwarzenegger and Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin, received praise at the Toronto, Tribeca, and Berlin Film Festivals. Schwarzenegger’s much-lauded emotional ‘Eastwoodesque’ performance in the film has been recognised as one of the best of his career.
A graduate of The Royal College of Art in the field of graphic design, Henry brings his design-world skills of single-frame storytelling into the world of filmmaking to create beautiful and evocative cinema.
Henry sat down with LBB to discuss his upcoming short film being in Japan, the rise of cinematic advertising and problem solving mindset…
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Henry> I’d love to but I'd have to kill you… too many NDAs in this business. But I have a short film that I’m shooting in Japan, which is hugely exciting, especially as I was writing it I was looking for those perfect characters, and having experience casting in Japan you can find faces whose stories are already told.
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Henry> The excitement is in the appetite for innovation, and what really mirrors my own passion is the demand for cinematic advertising.
I really like that the digitisation of technology has allowed us to symbiotically sync up areas, so lighting and camera can sync in ways that were impossible before. The camera can also move in ways that would have drained resources just a decade ago. Using that innovation as a tool to tell the story is hugely exciting, as it means we can be quick to set up to allow more time for performance, emotion and cinematic intention.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Henry> If a script has a singular point of view - not just aiming for simplicity, but a clear and clever voice. Ideally with some emotional desire, and some room to interpret and stylise in a cinematic way. Ideally we can tell a story that feels like it is part of a much bigger world, so the audience can imagine what happens next, or where what we made came from.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Henry> My first port is to research, considering in detail the concept, then writing my twist or push on the script. It's always writing that starts the process, it's most often the film that is my focus, but occasionally if the script demands it it will be a camera technique, or a sound design device, so those areas will be my focus. That being said I find the arms race in treatments somewhat hilarious, in the 10 years I’ve been directing I have seen them go from 20 pages to 70, from static PDFs to dynamic animation.
But at the core I like to write and design them myself, as mirroring my own point of view is paramount because then the agency gets my real voice not the voice of a treatment writer or image researcher.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Henry> The context is key. I'm coming into the creative journey cold, and the creative team at the agency have been working on the idea for months, it’s hyper important that I can glean as much nuance from the briefing call about the ideas they tried and didn’t sell as much as the idea that they are sending me to work on.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Henry> There are a dozen different relationship styles. With the agency, for me it’s about connecting so I can get a fast track to the context, but help them sell the ideas that they adore to their client. Sometimes having a director amplifies the excitement for an idea that the agency has been trying to get across can be enough to win over a client who is unsure. That is completely different to relationships with ADs and producers. Both of whom you have to clearly be able to help them get inside your mind. They are there to solve problems like you. So don’t be a dick, and never say ‘no’. Problem solving is about finding a solution not being a brick wall.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Henry> I’m fortunate that I get to play with a lot of amazing world creation. Which is hugely satisfying, but above the epic, I find the best projects are about human emotions. Telling the emotional story of a character in an alien world is much more difficult than a human world. So that's the subject matter that excites me the most, the challenge of emotional connection.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Henry> Whispering so my producers don't hear… the misconception is that all my work is mega budget… when it’s quite the opposite. There are some of the video game worlds that would shock at the paucity of the production budget… but I get huge satisfaction with making them look like they are million dollar worlds.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Henry> Yes indeed, they come with dread and fear… but I find that they can be helpful as much as anything. Sometimes when you’re bidding a job and you are trimming to win (when a client mistakenly says lowest bid wins), I’ve had moments where the cost consultant will add back in a bit of equipment that you might not need because they can see a client demand later on that would require it. It’s all about a deep understanding of production and if they get it, it's mostly helpful.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Henry> Planning to build a huge Chinese palace on a mountain in southern New Zealand, with little production infrastructure.. the script called for it. The budget couldn’t handle it.. it was a $350,000 item… (because even the lumbar had to be flown in…) so my solution was to find an epic vista, and build a $6k chair and have $2k worth of Chinese flags. It looked amazing and cost a fraction of the estimate.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Henry> My strongest relationships are with agencies that are passionate and excited as it's a short cut to creative collaboration. I realise that they will help me fight for an idea if we are together in the journey. The strangest place to be is to have the agency isolated, and cut off from me and production. I can help them win over an unsure client and they can help me, we are both voices that get louder together.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Henry> Yes indeed, coming from a working class background, growing up in Hull, before moving to deepest Wiltshire (to be less working class) the access to the industry was tricky (directing especially is a field filled with a lot of people from incredibly privileged or connected backgrounds).
Seeing the journey my wife as an Afghan refugee had taken puts some perspective on how fortunate we are to be working in an industry that is constantly unique and exciting.
I feel that opening our industry to people without privilege whatever their background is hugely important to ensure more voices are heard and we diversify the work on screen. If the talent – whether producers, crew, or agency – comes from the same pool, the work inevitably starts to look and feel the same, no matter the brand; diversity is key to introducing new schools of thought and keeping the work fresh.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Henry> This all stems back to my design training at the RCA, you need to be able to tell the story in a single frame so that 24 frames is a luxury. Formats are just an extension of that conundrum. So keeping in mind composition when you're telling a story in an anamorphic perceptive as well as 9x16 is just another opposite for creative problem solving.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Henry> Advertising is about innovation, so you have to be excited by it. I’m not just excited by it, I’m a tinkerer in it. I have a hyper nerdy problem solving desire. Not just inside our industry's tech. I have a patent for flexible cement which I filed at art college, which also allowed for animated concrete. Alongside that I have a product I use for when I travel which I built which is a tap to update luggage tags.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Henry> Frontline19 - This was deeply personal, with a parent in the NHS, I’ve witnessed the dark side of patient interaction. And this allowed for a bold camera technique, it’s ugly, painful and raw and allowed for performances to shine.
Mr Malcolm - I loved this script, an unravelling richly cinematic universe that utilises a character that traditionally doesn’t sit in the video game world, with a performance that ebbs between ever so slightly sinister and then gleeful and fun.
Ford Mach-e - The history of the ford mustang racing through a closed downtown Los Angeles Where the client allowed for unconventional shots of the vehicles, which allowed for aggressive angles and what I enjoyed was imbuing a constant sense of mystery. And Idris…
Pepsi - Like Mr Malcolm, this is playful, but utilises a really fun cinematic world to misdirect the audience. William H Macy only says one line, but fulfils my intention of making it feel like a real film. Plus we got to make a real puppet.
Reebok - I don’t usually get to stretch the graphic muscles that speak to where I came from, but Reebok was that. The brief was to see this man (with fast feet) doing his conventional training regimen. My interpretation was to make that training regimen metaphorical, graphic and captivating. Mirroring the energy he has with literal kinetic forces.
Notable mentions:
The POV film for the Olympics: technically intense, 22 sports in 2 days with a POV camera in some of the trickiest of spaces.
Apple iPhone, another graphic world, playing with cameras and techniques that I’d being dying to experiment with.
