Pro Hello: Nate Camponi

I’m just about to finish a feature length documentary that covers the history of Battersea Power Station called 'The Masterplan', starring the brilliant Jason Flemyng, and I also directed a cool piece for US Foods with Picture North.

Nate> I started out as a runner at Chief, the same company that have represented me since day one, while juggling film school at Leeds Met. Eventually, I became an in-house showreel editor and landed a small directing opportunity when I was about 22. It wasn’t quite ‘off to the races’ after that, but I kept building my reel with small gigs until I made the leap to full-time directing a couple of years later.

Growing up, my Dad was a creative director at an ad agency in Leeds, and my Mum worked in fashion retail, so I was lucky to be born into a very creative family, surrounded by strange arthouse movies, eclectic music, photography and art. ‘Paris, Texas’, ‘Jamon Jamon’, 'Badlands' and 'Nikita' are confusing films to get your head around when you’re 12, but they definitely had a profound effect on me and opened my mind to a more unique and less mainstream form of cinema. That meant I caught the creative bug early and started writing movie scripts and decided, after being completely mind-boggled and blown away watching 'Blade Runner', that filmmaking might be something I wanted to aim at.

Nate> I’ve got to admit, it’s been an incredible journey over the past 15 years, full of experiences that I never could have imagined when I first started out. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing clients and agencies, and I’ve been fortunate enough to shoot all over the world in some truly breathtaking places. Every project has been a learning experience, and has pushed me to grow with each new challenge -- something I’m always conscious of. 

I came into the industry as a director at a really pivotal moment -- right at the tail end of the film era, as digital was just starting to take over. My first 10 or 20 projects were shot on film by default, which meant I got to experience what is now known as, I suppose, ‘old school’ filmmaking disciplines. At the same time, I was part of the generation that first embraced digital technology as it began changing how we work, meaning I figured out pretty early how to blend the discipline and patience of film with the speed and flexibility of digital. 

Nate> Anything that involves travel always stands out for me because of the places I see and the people I meet -- that's one of the most beautiful things about what we do. I try to weave in as much of that experience into the project as I can.  I’m obsessed with exploration and learning. Throw me into a new location with some real-world grit and I’m dead happy working in pretty much any genre.

I’ve loved working on the whiskey campaigns for Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniels and Talisker because they’ve all explored the connection between people and the outdoors. 

Car campaigns are always loads of fun, and anything that involves meaty logistics and great storytelling feels exciting and rewarding. It’s hard to pinpoint one, but anything that allows me to create a ‘world’ is the most satisfying to me.

Nate> I’m in danger of sounding a bit too humble here, but I honestly mean this when I say it’s when the cast, crew, agency and client all walk away feeling like we’ve created something memorable, or we’ve overcome something creatively challenging as a team.

Nate> I think people come to me for authentic stories that need transporting to a place that has a more cinematic and elevated feel. I think I’m good at making non-actors or real people look like the hero in their own movie or scaling a location or scenario to a more cinematic level. 

I like to dig deep into the substance behind the visuals, create characters and try to build worlds within the films I make. I like to make ads that are not just visually stunning but emotionally compelling. I also love humour, but I tend to weave that into my work in a mischievous way through the tone or atmosphere rather than doing straight up comedy.

Nate> I find a lot of the work now just looks exactly the same, and I get quite bored by that. I love the power that strong advertising has and how groundbreaking, exciting and cutting edge our industry can be. But, I think our increasing level of visual literacy is in danger sometimes of pushing the industry towards being entirely ‘cool shots first’, which is making a lot of work quite throwaway and soulless. It’s like we get stuck copy-pasting the same visuals or ripping off the last ad we saw. Don’t get me wrong, there are exceptions to that grumble, and I love innovative visual styles, but it’s most effective when it’s built on the strong foundations of a great idea or motive.

Trends will always exist in advertising of course and there will always be a place for sexy ‘style over substance’  but I think we’ve lost a lot of the boundary pushing and the risk-taking that makes a commercial really cut through. 

I often find myself in situations where the agency or client are sending me YouTube links to ads that were made last week as references. Surely we’re more creative than that? Periscope lenses and cool transitions are amazing tools, but they’re not a concept or an idea.

God, what a grump…

Nate> I really enjoy big and bold concepts that give me the freedom to build a world -- somewhere we can break out of that rinse-repeat cycle. Relatively open briefs with a simple, single idea as a jumping off point never fail to excite me because I love to get stuck into the development of the story and world it’s set within.

Nate> Ridley Scott is an enormous inspiration. His work in commercials and cinema is probably the constant in my reference library. His ability to create mind blowing atmosphere and mood whilst still being totally focused on executing the idea is amazing. Tony Scott can never be forgotten here, either.

Then, I go through mini-obsessions and study entire back catalogues of a directors’ early work like a madman. Recent deep dives include William Friedkin for the madness, James Gray for the sophistication, Katheryn Bigelow for the extremes, Oliver Stone for the political rock n’ roll, and John Cassavetes for 'Killing of a Chinese Bookie' alone. I also watch 'The Long Goodbye' about three times a year, too. It’s not all arty stuff, though -- give me 'Die Hard' or 'Bad Boys' any day of the week.

Ultimately, I just love seeing amazing work that almost makes me just as jealous as I am inspired. You have to make every day a school day.

Nate> Being social and exploring. I love diving into music, art and movies, but also conversations -- listening to people’s stories, experiences and ideas. I really value and respect my network and mates. I also think travel is a huge part of my creativity. I try to take pictures as soon as I land somewhere new, as I often discover that when I look back, I can really see how a new place made me feel through those first images. They transport me right back to that first moment. New places, faces, cultures, conversations -- that’s where inspiration comes to me.