Giorgio Bruni Is Electric

There's a kinetic energy around Giorgio Bruni. The Stadium director is perfectly at home whilst on-the-move, not least during our conversation which came snatched in moments between takes on his latest shoot. 

Sometimes, there’s a clear separation between a director and their films. For Giorgio, however, the restless hustle and bustle of life as a filmmaker is something he’s been able to transplant directly into the camera. It’s right there on-screen when watching his work, in the breathless half-seconds that fizz together in his work for Nike. It manifests, too, in the steady buildup to an audiovisual crescendo in his Intersport spot. In conversation and in his work, Giorgio bounces from moment to moment with such fulsome authenticity it’s a wonder how it all makes sense. And yet, somehow, it completely does. He does. 

Although there’s a remarkable versatility in his work, if there’s a common thread to be found it is precisely that kinetic energy which keeps narratives moving and ensures a shot never overstays its welcome. Whilst he never set out with a specific style or genre in mind, that trademark energy begins to make a lot of sense when Giorgio reflects on his early days. 

“The only two classes in school that I remember tolerating were PE and art”, he recalls. “I actually started out as a painter, and then moved towards installations and immersive spaces. From there it morphed into image and film - but it was all very organic”. 

It was during that period of creative experimentation that Giorgio achieved his first breakthrough - picking up a Vimeo staff pick for the music video to Stanton Warriors’ Turn Me Up Some in 2011. Watching that video back now is fascinating - it’s raw, but it’s quite evidently the same director who would go on to shoot some of the world’s biggest sports stars for enormous brands just a few years later, like Lionel Messi for Adidas. 

Above: Giorgio's recent work with Adidas, starring US soccer star Lindsey Horan, coincided with the FIFA Women's World Cup.

“I like the urban street aesthetic, the kind of style you see in La Haine”, he confesses. “I think it’s a style that does lend itself especially well to sport - it’s got authenticity built-in”. 

According to Giorgio, that authenticity is the secret to successfully capturing movement on camera. “You do it by not being too considered” he says, referring to his impressive library of work with sports stars. “You have to be immersed, and ready to react”. 

Over the course of his career the director has become adept at creating a positive buzz on-set, the kind that creates the conditions in which brilliant instantaneous moments can erupt. In the world of sports filmmaking, it’s a kind of turnkey ability - of the sort that sets Giorgio’s work apart with a unique flavour. It’s a skill he’s built up organically over time, and he traces it back to a project with one of football’s biggest stars. 

“I remember walking onto a set with [then-Uruguay and Barcelona striker] Luis Suarez”, says Giorgio. “He absolutely had an aura, and being a football fan myself it did feel a bit like meeting some kind of demi-god. But as the shoot went on and things started to flow, I did get this kind of realisation wash over me; like, oh, this guy is actually a human being who just happens to be phenomenal at football”. 

Above: Giorgio’s work with Adidas proved to be a pivotal moment in his career. 

Since then, Giorgio puts a lot of stock into the atmosphere on-set. As a director, he’s a natural-born collaborator: “If you’ve got a fun working environment, I truly believe that feeds down into every aspect of a project, not least the cast and crew”, he says. “I think the best part of everyone’s day should be on-set, hashing out ideas and getting it done”. 

When it’s suggested that creating an easy-going environment might be part of his ‘personal brand’, however, Giorgio takes a different view. “I never want to leave myself locked into a specific way of thinking”, he says. “I don’t want to ever close the door to the idea that my ‘brand’, or ‘style’, could evolve. After all, trying new things is part of the fun of filmmaking”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a filmmaker that’s constantly on the move, Giorgio is uneasy with the idea that he’ll ever have a set personal brand. “The truth is that most directors who are active in the world today are yet to make their best work. For me, that’s a really exciting thing”, he says. “So you have to be open-minded about the fact that your future has the potential to be different to your past. It’s what keeps you energised going forward into any new project”. 

It’s an infectious attitude which Giorgio is able to consistently bring to his sets. On a recent shoot for CME at The Den (the infamous home of Millwall FC), the filmmaker was instinctively able to get the most out of his cast. 

“When you’re working with sports people there are a lot of what you might call ‘curve balls’”, notes the filmmaker. “At the end of the day these are young guys and girls that want to have fun, so keeping the vibes going and maintaining a good relationship with them is my way of making them feel part of the day and not just as an asset for the brand”. Whilst the CME ad is still in the works, it's an approach which shines through the rest of the director's reel.

Above: Giorgio’s naturally collaborative on-set manner invariably helps the director to get the most out of both his cast and his set. 

Another aspect of getting the CME spot right was working with the aforementioned set, under floodlights of The Den. “The limitations of the pitch’s geography really posed some problems as we wanted to give the illusion we were surrounded by flood lights - but in fact, only one stand in the stadium had flood lights so we had to manoeuvre each shot to ensure the camera was always facing that one side”, he recalls. “I’m only as good as my team around me, so working with good people helps in these high pressure moments for sure”. 

It’s not hard to spot the football fan in Giorgio. Like any supporter at the start of a new season, he’s brimming with an infectious positivity and enthusiasm to get his teeth into whatever the future may hold. In fact, bringing that passion to the fore is another trademark quality in his sports-focused work. “Passion is the reason people fall in love with sport, so you do have a kind of responsibility to keep that energy top-of-mind”, he reflects. 

Ultimately, it’s perhaps a good thing that Giorgio hasn’t made a habit out of standing still. And fortunately, with a slew of more great work on its way, it doesn’t look as though we’re about to find out what might happen if he does anytime soon.