Daniel Warwick: “A Hedonistic Garfield” in a Filmmaking Playground
From Volvo trucks falling in love, to an ode to adventure for Kathmandu, the box doesn’t exist for Daniel Warwick. In fact, he occupies a space perpetually outside of it – big, bold, audacious ideas are at the centre of his creativity.
Now a celebrated commercial director known for his comedic flair and ability to connect with audiences around the world, Daniel’s road to filmmaking wasn’t straight out of a textbook. He recounts taking “a really weird route” – starting out as an apprentice at a ship broker, before realising he wanted to “work in media somehow.”
What followed was an internship at a music video production company, offering an insight into how the promos he’d eagerly recreated as a teen really came to life. “A friend of mine had a VHS-C Camcorder back in the day, and we used to do silly little music videos with my buddies and myself lip syncing to songs we liked - that was when we were 14/15 years old.”
After his internship, he worked as a line producer for four years before stepping into directing. Reflecting on this journey, he says, “I don’t really see myself as being a storyteller who had a calling, I rather just cracked the system of being a hedonistic Garfield in a very businessy surrounding.”
Daniel’s “hedonistic Garfield” approach has seen him build a catalogue of work spanning countless genres, brands and continents. Undeterred by the unknown, he relishes in the prospect of diving into an idea head first. “I love to take on any challenge in terms of type of script or genre… I love getting my head round any idea, whether it’s whacky or serious, sports or cars or just lifestyle or food products.” He adds, “What’s fun is to dive into a new nerdism each time.”
To do this, he draws inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. In the early days, he found it in the glossy pages of photobooks, whilst nowadays Instagram serves as a gateway to the “random absurdities” of the internet. Above all, however, music serves as an endless source of inspiration, playing an integral part from the very beginning of the treatment process.
“I always have to create a playlist before I even start writing a word on a treatment… I need it to feel the atmosphere and tonality of an idea which then inspires the visualisation approach.” says Daniel. The next stage of creative development comes in the form of “a fantastic and long trusted team of mood researchers”, who take Daniel’s initial ideas encompassing music, art, and imagery and come back with “a mindblowing collection of absurdities in images.”
They’re a key part of the creative process; “I couldn’t live without them”, Daniel adds. Moreover, mood researchers help to fully consolidate an idea, making it easier to sell-in to the client or agency, an aspect of the job which for Daniel, “is always the biggest challenge.” He explains, “Agencies often really love my approaches and ideas… but it takes precise imagery and confident explanation for the clients to go through with it. But in the end they never regret it and are very happy with the result.”
Crafting campaigns for audiences around the world, Daniel’s understanding of cultural nuances and comedic preferences is evident in his work, as he finds ways to resonate with audiences. He explains, “Humour in the UK, for example, is downplaying and poking fun at yourself when it actually means subliminally you think you’re amazing. Astonishingly, in the US, it’s the complete opposite… people brag and pretend they are the most amazing heroes while that implies that they see themselves as losers… people in Australia however, just straightforwardly love anything that is bonkers and makes you laugh out loud.”
Daniel’s bio describes his work as “big and bonkers”, and no project better exemplifies this than 'A Love Story' for Volvo Trucks. An ambitious, outlandish and unlikely love story between two trucks, which saw ‘efficiency’ and ‘fun’ journey off into the sunset together. Describing the shoot as “pure logistical perfection”, the campaign, of which 90% was shot in-camera with real trucks, was a huge feat shot in just two days following weeks of planning.
A campaign that’s earmarked as his proudest moment, however, comes in the form of ‘Summer Never Sleeps’ for outdoor adventure brand Kathmandu. Created for the Australian and New Zealand markets, the campaign brings together an eclectic mix of adventurers making the most of a summer’s day. Merging Daniel’s out of the box creativity with commercial work, he describes it as, “the one piece of advertising work I did that feels like the most free piece of creative work I ever did.”
That has to do with the amazing trust of the agency and client. Plus the whole shoot felt almost spiritually magical…” Daniel explains, “You see, my main fascination and core love in filmmaking is the actual process of shooting – more than the result even… we also shot Kathmandu in Slovenia with BAS productions, only a few months after Volvo ‘Trucks’. Parts were shot in a magnificent cave and another part by a jaw droppingly beautiful lake on the Italian border… we were shooting during full moon and all of us – cast and team were so beautifully aligned and in perfect harmony… It really felt like a meaningful experience. That sounds really corny - I know. But I remember wrapping the shoot and thinking, ‘This might have been the pinnacle of my complete career in terms of emotionality.’”
It’s an ad that was widely regarded and well loved by people in and out of the industry. Reflecting on this Daniel adds, “part of me wants to believe that the energy of the shoot is somehow transmitted in the end result. I always try to believe that viewers can feel how fun it must have been to shoot this…”
The spirit of Kathmandu lives on, and the feeling of coming together on a shoot stands strong as one of Daniel’s favourite parts of filmmaking. It’s for this reason that he’s hesitant to incorporate new technologies such as AI into his process. He explains that whilst its capacity for making the impossible possible is fascinating, it could also take away so much from the tangible production experience. “It defeats the sensation of the whole beautiful process of 50 amazing human beings coming together and giving it so much passion that all culminates in a few shoot days… if it means losing that, it makes me weep. Because, as mentioned, THAT is what I do filmmaking for…”
Looking ahead, Daniel’s keen to get stuck into mediums beyond traditional advertising. Whether this be in the form of a TV show that he’s been developing in the background for the past ten years, or testing other ways of storytelling like the Sphere in LA. This ambition is part of what led him to join Object & Animal in September 2024, a move Daniel describes as “a very good and inspiring step forward in my career. Not only are they all amazing humans but they also love all aspects of filmmaking and treat it as that playground. I feel honoured to be part of their highly acclaimed bunch of talents and hope we get to do some really dope shit in the next few years.”
With Daniel’s track record of creative escapades, it seems inevitable that ‘dope shit’ will come into fruition in the years to come.
