Sam Templeton Wishes Agencies Took More Out-of-Category Punts on Directors
As a self-taught filmmaker, Sam Templeton's distinctive approach is imbued with a personal and intimate visual style that resonates across diverse creative landscapes, from music and fashion to commercial film. His keen eye for detail and penchant for gritty storytelling infuses his work with a raw authenticity that captivates audiences and leaves a lasting impression.
Returning to Aotearoa in 2023 after a transformative six-year sojourn in Berlin, Sam brings with him a renewed sense of vigour and a relentless drive to push creative boundaries. With each project, he endeavours to craft compelling, engaging, and relatable stories that transcend conventional norms and resonate on a deeply human level.
Name: Sam Templeton
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Repped by/in: Supernormal, NZ
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about?
Sam> I’m currently working on a film project about a well-known Kiwi artist, which is really exciting. I studied fine arts at university but haven’t practised much since I graduated, so this feels like a real return to my creative roots. Being in the studio with him is a beautiful experience -- the smells, textures, and processes are all very meditative. He’s also a real character, and his art is fantastic, so I can’t wait to share it once it’s done.
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director?
Sam> I think there’s definitely a sense of gravitation toward authenticity in the media space - commercials and films alike, which I love. It’s not entirely new, though with the rise of social media, influencers and the like, it kind of got lost for a while there. The audience is looking for something they can relate to and identify with, whether that be via diverse casting, locations or scripts. That’s not to say a commercial can’t be a spectacle, with all the production bells and whistles, but the audience isn’t going to feel a deeper connection with anything that feels fake or forced.
I think this ties back to where we are as a society right now -- we’ve never been more connected with our access to technology, yet simultaneously, it’s so easy to feel disconnected. So, by presenting something which offers a genuine scenario with relatable characters and emotions, you’re much more likely to elicit an emotional response from someone who is looking for that.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Sam> One crucial thing that separates scripts for me is the creative team behind them. I find it much easier to get excited about a script if the people who developed it are also pumped about it. This will often lead to a much more collaborative experience, where no idea is a bad idea and you work together to elevate the script as much as possible - both from a story and a technical standpoint. At the end of the day, I want to get as much out of every opportunity I get, so having an agency team that is open-minded and enthusiastic makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Sam> Whenever a script comes in, I’ll read it over a few times, then sit with it for a while, allowing the big picture to marinate. I find when I try to force ideas to come out, they often don’t, or if they do, they’re ordinarily pretty trash. The good ones always appear with a bit of time and TLC, typically during a run or a long shower: my two most meditative spaces. Once I’ve got a good handle on my approach, I’ll flesh it out in more detail, but I’ll always be looking to bring one or two ideas to the table that make the creatives think, “Ah that’s amazing, why didn’t we think of that?!”
I’ve spent a lot of time going back and forth on the best ways to approach a treatment over the years. When I first started treating, I had no idea what I was doing, so I would track down decks from other directors and take the best elements from each in an attempt to adapt them to my style. “Good artists borrow, great artists steal,” and all that.
After a while, I realised that I was fortunate enough to be on a pitch not because of these other directors' work but because I was my own, so I should just be myself. This was a revelation for me as it allowed me to settle into my own skin and approach treatment from my perspective and experiences.
LBB> If the script is for a brand or market that you're not familiar with, how important is it for you to do research and understand the strategic and contextual side of the ad?
Sam> If it’s something new for me, I’ll always want to do as much research as possible before getting into it so that I know I’m coming at it from the right angle. It’s so easy to swing and miss if you’re ill-informed - something I’ve experienced in the past for sure. It’s important to know where the client is coming from, why they need to create this campaign, how the agency arrived at this specific place with the creative, how they see it connecting to the target audience, and why this audience will care about the product.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Sam> The most critical one for me has to be my relationship with the DOP. They carry a lot of responsibility for bringing the vision to life, and they’re invested from very early on in the process. Having a DOP who you gel with is hugely important too - someone who you generally get along with but also trust entirely.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre, subject matter, or style you are most drawn to?
Sam> Looking back at my body of work, there’s definitely a trend toward the sports space, which is kind of funny as I’ve always been one of those guys who’s definitely not a ‘sports’ guy. This grew organically from a connection between my personal journey as a casual runner and the beginnings of my filmmaking career (I got my start when I was based in Berlin, shooting and making little edits for a social run club that had a partnership with Nike at the time).
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter, and why is it wrong?
Sam> That I can’t do something just because I haven’t done it before. I think this is a common misconception that a majority of directors face, and I do understand where clients and agencies are coming from -- there’s a huge amount of money on the line, so why take unnecessary risks? But, for example, just because I haven’t put a car in front of a camera doesn’t mean I can’t -- especially when I’ve used all the equipment before on another spot and worked with DOPs who are all over the car commercial space. It’s not to say I haven’t had someone take a chance on me before, but it would be fantastic if more people were open and willing to give you a shot -- they might just find you’ll bring a fresh and new direction to the well-worn path.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Sam> I had the opportunity to shoot a product campaign for Adidas and Zalando in Berlin a few years back, the concept being ‘Cold Ready’. We would shoot four talents in an old warehouse space doing various exercises (boxing, running, parkour and yoga) decked out in sleek Adidas apparel, all in extreme wintery conditions - we’re talking rain, wind and snow indoors. In true ‘tight budget’ fashion, the SFX team weren’t given a prep day, so we were left with no choice but to have them show up early on the day to prep, test and organise their various elemental equipment. Showing up an hour late, it then took what felt like a lifetime to finesse the practical effects -- dialling in ground coverage, water droplet density, and snowflake thickness.
When it came time to roll the camera, we were essentially limited to three takes per shot as the producer was breathing down my neck and telling us to move on, so I had to be very intentional with my feedback across the board (camera move, lighting, talent performance and SFX levels) to make sure we got at least one good take in the bag. We ended up using every third take from each shot as it would take several tries to nail all the various elements, but it turned out great, and I’m pretty sure everyone was happy with the result.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Sam> Absolutely. Filmmaking is more accessible than ever now with the technology we have available to us in our hands -- anyone can pull out their phone shoot, but that should also extend to the industry as a whole. Opening up roles across the industry will benefit everyone involved, with diverse representation providing encouragement for younger generations of all backgrounds and bringing in new perspectives, which will only enrich the space. There’s simply no reason why anyone should gatekeep in such a creative profession.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Sam> It’s an interesting one -- you’re almost always having to think in a vertical-first mindset now with the increasing social demands of clients. I try to see it as a welcome challenge rather than something to be pessimistic about.
When composing shots and filling the frame in a way which satisfies both vertical and horizontal outputs, you’re always in a state of compromise -- you’re either compacting subject matter to fit more into a thinner frame, affecting the wider version of the film, or going down a more traditional route knowing that half of what you shoot will inevitably be cut out when they slap the edit into a 9:16 timeline. At the end of the day, you have to stick to what you feel is best for the job, and if the client has an issue with that, they’ll let you know.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology, and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Sam> I’m a big fan of new tech and love the world it’s opening up to us from a production standpoint. I haven’t had the opportunity to work with virtual production yet. Still, I think it would be a fantastic experience -- seeing how other directors have incorporated it into their workflow is inspirational, to say the least. AI is a tricky one and possibly a discussion for another time, but there are a ton of great benefits and use cases for it for sure.
As it stands, I’ve only used it for reference image creation on treatments, and those can be a little hit-and-miss -- my prompt game might need a little more work, to be honest. I think it’ll be hard to replicate authentic storytelling with AI for some time yet, as the portrayal of the human condition is so nuanced, but seeing how it develops over the next few years will be interesting.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Sam>
Nap Nap
A couple question life and love in an unscripted conversation on the bonnet of a car on a summer afternoon. A passion project born out of a desire to try something new - this is a really special one for me. Everyone showed up and did an amazing job, but this could have turned out as something else entirely without the two cast being who they are.
Nike JDI
One of my earlier pieces, but still one of my favourites, was a combination of striking visuals and a beautiful, authentic message about a German para-athlete - Léon Schäffer. It’s all studio-based, so we got really creative with lighting and set design, and the edit turned out great with the build towards the end.
1News Digital
I shot this one when I moved back to NZ from Berlin not too long ago. We were working with a fairly tight budget but managed to pull out some quite technical shots, giving it a dynamic feeling but keeping it restrained and not over-edited. The phone hologram VFX came out fantastic, too - definitely a highlight for me.
Adidas ‘You Got This’
More sports, but what I love about this piece is its simplicity. The stripped-back camera moves (excluding the dolly zoom in the middle) and allows the action to do the talking. I loved being able to play around with some more abstract shots in black and white, too.
