Courtney Brookes: From Designer to Director
Courtney Brookes, designer turned director, has been working within the industry since graduating from UTS with a foundation in graphic design. Her first job was with Paper Moose, where she got a taste for what was possible.
Since then, she has worked on countless projects that have allowed her to expand her career, her knowledge, and her mind. Honouring her craft as a designer and honing her skill as a director, she has worked on music videos for bands such as Sloan Peterson, Salt Cathedral, Montaigne, and Kita Alexander.
In terms of ad-world experience, Courtney has directed spots for Lexus, L'Oreal Paris, and Bumble. Constantly learning and paving her own path as a young female director, Courtney takes pride in not confining herself to the director’s chair but being wholeheartedly hands-on during the process of creating content.
Here, she sits down with LBB’s Casey Martin to discuss her passions
LBB> Talk us through how you came to be a director? I noticed you were a designer at Paper Moose, why the switch?
Courtney> Paper Moose was my first job out of university and I was a jack of all trades. Production assistant, designer, videographer, editor, animator - I did it all but with the aspiration of becoming a director and using all of their equipment to do so.
I studied Visual Communication at UTS which has its foundation in Graphic Design but is very broad in terms of careers you can follow. I quickly realised there that I wanted to be a filmmaker and so just started making films, animations, anything that moved.
After PM and making a lot of music videos, I moved to New York and worked at a production company there as an in-house director/editor. I was blessed with free equipment and studio space in Manhattan, so kept honing my craft on music videos and started turning my focus to commercials. The pandemic brought me home and it really kicked off after that - I became a fully fledged director at the ripe age of 25.
LBB> Out of the countless projects you’ve already worked on, what has been the biggest highlight and what did you learn from the experience?
Courtney> My project for Lexus is a career highlight as both my biggest shoot and also my first car commercial. Winning work that isn’t already on your reel is particularly difficult, especially as a young woman trying to win a car spot. To have both the trust of the agency and the client to bring my bold style to a refined luxury car brand was incredible. They certainly took a risk getting away from their normal aesthetic, and let me create a futuristic servo!!
I learned a lot on that shoot - playing with cool camera toys, directing performance, and the intricacies of road closures and police escorts. Shooting cars ain’t simple.
I should also shout out getting to work with The Veronicas last year, because if I could go back in time and tell 11 year old Courtney, she would have died.
LBB> Can you talk us through some challenges that you face and how you overcome them?
Courtney> Directing is like an endless stream of challenges, there are so many and they are so constant but hey that’s the job and I bloody love it. Obviously being young, female and having a very specific style to my work adds a layer of difficulty to the job. I combat this by carefully choosing my production team and crew. Having a team that is fighting for your vision and is there to laugh with you when all the other unpredictable challenges emerge makes all the difference.
LBB> Personally, I love the Girls will be Girls spot for Bumble, what was the creative process like for this particular project?
Courtney> This is one of my favourite pieces of work to date especially because of the creative process. The script was born from a male creative team who recognised their lack of experience as women who use dating apps, and generously handed the reins over to me to fill in the details. I rewrote the whole script and added the narrative of the three women being housemates which really elevated the spot, especially because the actors brought ridiculous amounts of chemistry. Again it was incredible to have my vision trusted and embraced wholeheartedly from start to finish.
LBB> Do you have a process as a director? If so, how would you describe it?
Courtney> I don’t think I have a formal process but there is definitely a rhythm to the way I work. Once I’ve been sent a script or song I like to sit with it, let my mind conjure up some images on its own. Lots of mulling takes place then I start to do visual research before diving into writing.
My style is incredibly visual and so in my treatments I go into a lot of depth about every aspect of production particularly the art direction, locations and styling. This kind of world building means pre-production is very involved for me and I absolutely love getting into the gritty details with my team to bring my curated vision to life.
LBB> Lastly, what is your all-time favourite thing about your job?
Courtney> There is nothing better than being on set and watching an idea that you could see so clearly in your mind now exist right in front of you, every detail exactly as you imagined. This wouldn’t be possible without the people around me and I’m so lucky to have a village of insanely talented artists helping me do it.
