Chris Sargent Joins Anonymous Content

Award-winning director Chris Sargent has joined Anonymous Content for commercial representation in the U.S. With filmmaking roots in VFX and versatility on set shooting much of his own work, he brings a style that is both strikingly visual and highly conceptual. That style characterizes much of his most recent work including the high profile Acura “Pulse,” which fuses a man’s sensory system with the high performance of his car (Grip), and Toyota “Next,” a journey of discovery serendipitously unfolding across beautiful landscapes (Saatchi & Saatchi Canada).   

 
“Chris’s work encompasses all the elements of a great filmmaker,” comments Jeff Baron, Sr. Executive Producer, Anonymous Content.  “His background as a visual effects artist and experience shooting his own work offers a unique set of skills that fit so well into the culture of Anonymous.  He’s an incredibly talented director and we are really thrilled to have him on board.”

 
Sargent comments: “I really admire what Anonymous has done over the years. The timing for me was excellent. I’m excited to transition my career here, to keep the bar high in commercials and grow into the world of feature films. Jeff [Baron], Steve Golin [Founder/CEO] and Michael Sugar [Partner/Talent+Lit Management] have an amazing energy, with so much emphasis on what I’m interested in as a director.”

 
Sargent’s distinctive voice emerged in World Wildlife Federation “Beautiful Day,” an innovative look at global warming that landed him on the radar of Creativity as a Director to Watch in 2007. Since then, the Toronto native who lives between there and Los Angeles, has been honored with an EMMY for NHL “Winter Classic.” He’s also directed spots for adidas, NBA, Acura, Toyota, Levi’s, New Balance, Lexus, VW and Verizon, among others. Along the way he’s collaborated with agencies such as Goodby Silverstein & Partners, BBH NY, Wieden+Kennedy Portland, John St Toronto, Leo Burnett, Euro RSCG, DDB Berlin and Team One, to note a few.
 

Sargent began his career as a VFX Supervisor at leading Toronto post house AXYZ. His aesthetic is nestled in reality and strikingly cinematic, as in RBC “Flame Trail,” which reads much like the work of one of Sargent’s inspirations, realist painter Ken Danby; and in Levi’s “I Just Am,” an unassuming and rich portrait of small town frankness. He also possesses an unabashed appreciation of music, a visceral part of much of his work.
 
Sargent says he enjoys working closely with agency and client to discover the backbone of an ad’s concept.  “I like having really lateral thinking from the beginning, having a point of view and going back and forth,” he explains. “It’s great to figure ideas out together rather than acquiescing to each other. The creativity happens when there is teamwork, or truth and honesty between agency and director.”