The Directors: Chloe Victoria Hughes

Chloe Victoria Hughes is a director creating work that is hyper-colour focused, playful and full of character. Her unique eye for art direction, coupled with her innate sense of humour and cheekiness, make her creations stand out.

Having started her career in creative direction, Chloe has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, and Khalid, directing music videos, commercials, live shows, and full 360 creative. She approaches each project with a fresh and creative perspective, bringing a unique style to everything she creates.

Chloe possesses a wonderful combination of skills and experience in both directing and social media. Her ability to deeply understand social media dynamics adds significant value to each project she takes on and the capabilities she offers. Her extensive portfolio includes campaigns for an array of renowned brands, such as TikTok, McDonald's, GAP and Johnnie Walker. Her versatility and expertise in bringing out the best in every brand are a testament to her skill and dedication.

LBB> What elements of a project sets one apart from the other and what sort of projects get you excited to shoot them?

Chloe> I love it when a project comes in that embodies the spirit of the present moment, ones that effortlessly capture the zeitgeist and ignite excitement within me. Whether it's a trend that resonates deeply, or a clever joke that feels timely and relevant, I find immense pleasure in working on such projects. However, I also love it when I have the opportunity to work on a project where I can really play with the art direction. The process of crafting set builds fills me with genuine joy, there’s something incomparable about being able to breathe life into a space from scratch.

Additionally, the prospect of employing innovative camera techniques within a newly designed set is truly priceless, adding an extra layer of creative fulfilment to my work.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Chloe> I always approach treatments like they are the biggest job of my life, I go all out. I love to start with the idea as a simple one liner, or in the case of a brand I think of the one thing that would make me the best director for this job. It’s about putting my spin on it. When it comes to the design I try and spice things up by adding either drawings, moving references, AI generated images or as many personal touches as I can, to make it as unique and as clear as it can be.

LBB> If the project is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?

Chloe> I’ve been so lucky in my career so far, to be able to work with brands and artists that I've known and loved for years. However, research is so important, to really dig deep into what the brand or artist is trying to achieve. I love to dig deep and seek out (where possible) classic commercials and obscure references to use.

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Chloe> It’s important to have a relationship with every single crew member, but I always think it's good to be best buddies with your producer. Working closely with each other on the entire process is so important. An understanding of budgets and logistics is vital to running a project well, as a producer once said to me it’s easy to come up with a million-pound idea but working to a budget is when you have to be clever about your ideas and the approach. The same one also said, a matching tracksuit on set never goes a miss, which is advice I take very seriously.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Chloe> I'm utterly passionate about advertising, it's woven into the very fabric of who I am. As a child, I had this peculiar desire – or perhaps it was more of an aversion – to simply do nothing, literally nothing. My poor mother was at her wit's end and tried every kids' club known to mankind in an attempt to keep me occupied. My true aspiration was to watch Disney Channel and Nickelodeon for 12 hours a day, and they had some wild adverts. Even at the tender age of 9, I found myself pondering, 'I could make something better than these!' And so, it began. Today, what really captivates me are those ads that possess a playful twist and a touch of humour. It's the kind of content that can summon a grin or a spontaneous chuckle. Whether it's the whimsical world of TK Maxx’ hyper colour, the mischievous charm of Klarna and surreal Uber Eats, or those Lynx commercials from the mid-2000s – they all speak to my sense of delight. As a wise DOP once said to me, ‘we aren't saving lives here so we might as well have fun.’

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Chloe> My, my, my, there have been a few - do I pick the time I fainted on set, the time an artist turned up five hours late or when there was the most horrendous food hmmm, all dreadful. All sorts of things can go wrong on set. However, I pride myself in staying super calm under pressure and aim to come up with solutions no matter the challenge may be.

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Chloe> There always needs to be a careful balance. I come into a project with a huge amount of respect as I understand clients / agencies have been curating and crafting the ideas long before I show up. So, I love to work closely with them throughout the whole project whilst making sure I keep my vision and instincts strong during the process. That's why I really like to go big and detailed at treatment stage, this way we are all aligned from the word go.

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?

Chloe> Diversity and inclusion is number one on every single set I step foot on. As a young woman I have spent my time on set with a lot of straight white men for years, so now as a director I'm in a position to change things. I ensure that every single set I work on is as diverse as can be, for example women, queer and poc’s in all roles but especially HOD roles. I also came up through the ranks assisting and shadowing so, when I can, I really love to have someone along with me on set shadowing and seeing what's going on. I think it's vital to share your privilege and be aware of diversity at all times.

LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?

Chloe> I love all of my children the same, well actually some more than others but with every job I evolve, more and more. One of my favourite jobs was a project I directed with Ellie Goulding and Spar, we had a lot of creative control so I got to work with an amazing team and I just felt like everything came together really well, from the casting, styling, art direction, lighting and so on. I think it’s got that little glint in its eye, and oh yes unfortunately this was the job that I passed out on!

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)?

Chloe> I always come to a project thinking about socials is where this is going to be viewed, so I always shoot everything adaptable to a 9:16 frame because I cannot stand cropping. You always know if something has been forced into a crop and it never quite impacts in the same way. I'm a huge lover of social media and think it's a medium to be embraced as it can add such longevity to a project. I always try to snap my own socials on a shoot and I love it when a brand or artist really embraces the moment and tries to shoot more content on set.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?

Chloe> I'm all for it, I’ve found even basic AI invaluable for helping me write. As a dyslexic girl, spelling has never been my strong suit (literally just checked my spelling on this with chat gpt). I've found AI image creation an amazing tool for treatments to really show clients and artists what something will look like. I mean there's so much to explore, I think it's super exciting to create things on lower budgets that weren't as accessible before. I also really appreciate craft and real in camera creation, so I think personally that will always be my preference but as I say I'm always learning.