The Directors: Emile Rafael

Nourished during his youth in Prague by both the bohemian landscape of central Europe and the large-scale Hollywood productions often shooting there, Emile Rafael’s passion for filmmaking and art took root early on. Those childhood encounters have now blossomed into a career as a celebrated director and artist, flourishing in the creative hothouse of London. 

Emile studied to be a cinematographer but quickly made the leap to directing by creating dynamic videos for the likes of Katy B, X Ambassadors, Jamie N Commons, and Stubborn Heart. His love of fine art, visually stunning VFX and documentary film heavily influences his voice as a director, pushing him to seek out visual boldness and human truth in equal measure on every project.

Emile is a frequent collaborator with Nowness, and works with I-D on an array of projects. His work has been featured in SHOTS, The Beak Street Bugle, The Reel, 1.4, and Little Black Book, among others. His video for MØ’s “Walk This Way” earned him the trophy for Danish Music Video of the Year at the Danish Music Awards. Emile was also shortlisted for the Next Director Awards at D&AD with his short film, His Heavy Heart, profiling legendary comic book creator Alan Moore.

As a musician, Emile transcends between ambient and more beat based, melodic techno worlds. His interest is making music as analogue as possible, stepping away from involving a digital audio workstation.

In his spare time he paints and creates art objects, with a number of exhibitions in London galleries.

Name: Emile Rafael

Location: London, UK

Repped by/in: Agile Films UK, Arts&Sciences US, The Salmon Canada, Soup Films Germany, Gang Films France/Spain, Fab Directors Italy, Mr. Frank Holland, Oslo Assembly Norway.

Awards:

Kinsale Sharks - Gold “Not Gonna Break Me / Jamie N Commons” 

D&AD - “Alan Moore / His Heavy Heart”

Danish Music Grammy Awards - Best Music Video “MØ / Walk This Way” 

AdForum Best Car Ad of the month - “Jaguar / Show of Force” 

Vimeo Staff Pick “Sue and The Mole Man House” 

London Short Film Festival Official Selection - “Pstereo / Emilie Nicholas”

ADFF Film Festival Showcase - “Frank Gehry / Creating Feeling”

Le Book Short Film Award - First Prize Jury’s “Stubborn Heart / Penetrate” 

ADFF Film Festival Showcase - “Ian Simpson / In Residence”

ADFF Film Festival Showcase - “Yves Behar / In Residence”

Radar Music Video Awards - Best Up & Coming Music Videos “Saturday, Monday / Headshake” 

ADFF Film Festival Showcase - “Kulapat Yantrasast / In Residence”

London Short Film Festival Official Selection - “Saturday, Monday / Headshake”

Ascona Film Festival - First Prize for “Partition” Short Film

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

Emile> Scripts can be so varied and it’s hard for me to put my finger on exactly what makes one stand out from another. Sometimes it’s that it’s been extremely well developed which can have an instant pull as you begin to visualise how you might execute it. Other times the opposite might be true, and it’s actually the openness of the brief that feels exciting. Both can spark a creative response for different reasons, either with the invitation to lean into the ideas presented and develop them, or to bring something entirely new from one’s own ideas and shape that into a response. 

The scripts I also find interesting are those that land and yet seem a bit different to my other work. They feel like an opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone and I think that can be very good. I’ve noticed that often when I’m slightly nervous in a creative endeavour, it’s actually a good indicator that something original will evolve.

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

Emile> The initial call with the agency is always crucial. Knowing that the creatives will have spent months sometimes developing a concept with the client I like to know the whole back story of how they got to the present iteration and how within that we can shape it into a really great piece of work. Immediately I like to share my ideas and references and hear theirs, and hopefully that then morphs into a really great conversation. When it’s going well you can immediately feel a sense of collaboration and commitment from all sides. It’s so much easier to develop something well under those conditions.

The director’s main job is to set the overall tone and visual language. From establishing that everything else comes into razor focus. For me the treatment usually ends up being incredibly detailed, so much so that I feel I’ve actually made the film in my head many times over with the only thing stopping it becoming real being the actual go-ahead.

LBB> If the script 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?

Emile> Very I would say. I think it’s important that whilst keeping the film and craft sensibility in mind, one also remembers that we are in the art of selling a product. For me having some understanding about the history of advertising and its approach is important. It helps to see where great ideas might have come from and how they’ve been shaped into exceptional ads. Those contextual references can really help me when it comes to speaking about a project from an informed perspective with a creative team and client. 

Knowing the type of business the company is operating in can also empower me enormously to speak in a common language, communicating my ideas in a much more effective way. That alone can quickly establish the mutual trust and respect you want, them in me and me in them. Certainly it helps enormously when everyone is on the same page, speaking the same language, and all very excited. You become a united front. 

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

Emile> I would say it’s the creative directors and the agency producers. When those relationships are solid and you resonate on the same wavelengths, it can often lead to the best outcomes. Once you have those bases covered you can push through most of the hurdles with the desire to make something that feels big together.

But communicating well is everything in a commercial. I try not to leave a PPM with any unanswered questions and will often make animated storyboards, pre-viz visual effects and anything else that feels relevant at that point to best aid the process. 

Otherwise if there is a misunderstanding on set and suddenly there’s a crew of 100 people standing around waiting while we discuss something in the video village, that feels like a big failure on my part and all those to do with the creative execution. I try my very best to avoid that.

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?

Emile> What stands out for me at the moment are the projects that intentionally call for a great level of craft. Lately that’s been projects that have a human centred element at the heart of their story. Practising increasingly in the visual arts as a painter, I’m curious to see how I can bring that to the table. Something that not only looks beautiful, but has a beautiful story within it.

Being an artist I find I think a lot about how much advertising borrows from art and how art informs and supports it. Indeed the relationship between the two feels very close. As with the best example of an artwork its power lies in its visual presence and crucially in its intangible pull. Somewhere between the two, in the invisible gap between object, artist and viewer lies the artistry. That can be the very thing that stays with you long after it has gone. 

I like to think that I am striving for that in my film work, eager to create something similar, something that has this resonance and leaves an unexplainable imprint upon you, even putting you in a certain mood after you’ve seen it.

 
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Emile> That’s a strange one. I think I’m generally pretty open minded about the work I receive and really try to approach every script with genuine curiosity. I think some people find it hard to pin-point my work, although I’ve never personally found it a problem. I truly believe there are some projects I’ve got because the creatives have been able to see how I can approach different types of spots from a fresh perspective.

The other misconception I hear a lot is that my work is dark. Sure, there have been some very moody films, but there are many that aren’t and are actually quite vibrant. I’ve often wondered about this while thinking about why. Perhaps it’s the first piece one sees that colours one’s whole impression of a reel. It’s amazing the ability our brain has to compartmentalise and pigeon-hole. I mean I do it myself with crew reels.

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

Emile> On one occasion we were filming a car ad. We only had the car for two days. Because of numerous technical failures on the day resulting from the electrical grid, we had to keep extending the shoot time. The second day ended up being a 26 hour shoot, instead of the usual 14. That was an epic marathon. We survived it. Just. I think the gaffer went straight to another shoot, he was a madman.

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

Emile> I like to be as transparent as possible and go in striking with as much conviction as I can over what our central idea is and why a certain decision has been made with that in mind. I love a good tagline and it really helps to see whether that pay-off is going to come across and help shape those decisions.

Of course there comes a time when the client or agency may push back, as can often happen, but I think as long as I know I have done my best to communicate the rationale for doing it a certain way then I can live with that. Ultimately whatever decision we arrive at together becomes something we all have to work with. You just have to trust that you all came to that point for a good reason.

At the end of the day it’s as much the agency’s/clients idea as mine. There is no getting away from the fact that it’s a collaborative process. As long as you are strong in your conviction and do your best to communicate your intention, then you’re doing the best you can to protect the original idea and intent.

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?

Emile> I think it’s really great and long overdue. There should be no barriers to diversity and we will have a much richer palette of stories and world views as a result. I believe, for example, we are moving into the age of women and we will be much better for it. We’ve certainly made a big mess in our patriarchies. I believe this is why we’re in such tremulous times right now. Men are starting to feel like they are losing their grip on power within the very male-biassed systems that we have all grown up in. To see those being dismantled around us is probably slightly terrifying for them. The faster this change happens, the more peaceful and richer our societies will be.

I’m also very active in mentoring and try to do it as much as I can. I have been a mentor to someone in Chicago for over a year now as part of the AICP mentoring scheme. It’s been a very rewarding experience to see their career gain a footing and grow from the very, very beginning.

LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time? 

Emile> Zoom has done great things for calls. Previously, when it was done only over phone lines without seeing the person or people you were talking to, you had no idea who was there on the other end. It felt very detached in that way. I couldn’t tell if my ideas or jokes were landing, and it was so much harder to tell if we would vibe together well, which is a very important thing to gauge from the off-set.

Of course nothing can replace in-person directing, but remote shoots have also come a long way. Sometimes on projects when you are dealing with multiple shoot locations or celebrities it can be impossible to be physically in a different location at the same time, maybe right across the other side of the world, and in that sense it’s really opened doors. When I was recently doing the Palo Alto Networks spot in America, it was right at the tail of the last lockdown. I had to quarantine in Mexico for two weeks so a lot of prep was done then and then there were days we would be shooting in LA, to then sleep for about two hours and remote a shoot in London and then another in Spain. None of this felt very possible just a few years ago. We just need that stream quality and frame accuracy sorted, which my dear editor friends are working on. Their company Nebulo is going to do that for us, they talk about exciting things like the 360 view of the set right from your laptop, basically having the same experience as you would in a video village while remote.

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)? 

Emile> I try to embrace it instead of fighting against it. I think the requirements are big these days and I fully understand the need to display the commercial on different platforms. It’s important to understand that that is now very much part of the territory of this work and it’s your responsibility to ensure that the image looks great on all of those platforms, whether it should be a cinema sized screen or someone’s phone. 

It’s hard sometimes when most of the amazing lenses are made for the scope of a film screen. In the case of commercials it is ultimately a medium unto itself. As much as there is the desire to make it look big and cinematic, it also needs to be engaging on every other level and ultimately in whatever mode people will likely view it.

I think there are definitely ways to incorporate it all, from making sure you have different frame guides on set, to having those early conversations with the heads of department beforehand. Different framings can obviously enormously affect those choices beyond just the camera itself.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?

Emile> I think my relationship is a good one. I try to be curious. I find that often the reaction from people used to making things in a certain way in only the medium they are familiar with, is one of genuine fear. We can all so easily become old people screaming at the tracks. But personally I feel that it only lets us rethink the way we do things and question the value of what we produce. I’m ultimately not afraid of it. It kind of excites me. 

For example over the pandemic I really dived into the NFT world and despite what you think of it it definitely brought up some very interesting conversations around the value we put on art despite it being digital. And it turns out that that value can be huge. But then it can also crash the very next day. In my case it was the most I have been paid for any of the artworks I have produced combined into one sum.

Same goes with AI, that definitely makes all the creators shiver. But again I think it’s something that can cut through the noise and really empower us, unlocking things that someone could previously only imagine and yet now can suddenly generate. My treatment images are now sometimes AI instead of searching for that exact same thing from somewhere else.

At the end of the day I feel like technology brings more equality to all of us. In many disciplines, especially in filmmaking, you need to invest such a lot of resources in both money and time to get started and the more accessible and cheaper the creative technology becomes the richer the visual world we will inhabit. So I say dive in feet first.

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

Jaguar. The concept for this one was very strong and together with the creatives we were on a mission to make something that would invoke a mood and leave you with a feeling long after watching it. I think we did a pretty good job on this one.

Oppo. Love this one too. From day one it was such an elegant concept and despite the complex planning, super short production and post-production time and a tonne of work behind the scenes, the output still feels effortless and easy. And I think it really does. It was one of those jobs where we were completely on the same page with the creative team which was led by JB Le Divelec and produced by Charles Renard at FFCreative. The client gave us a lot of trust. I also ended up working with a lot of my very dear friends in Prague. So together with a film that turned out well it was also an experience full of great memories. Good to love what you do.

Frank Gehry x Creating Feeling. Besides meeting Mr. Gehry, our conversation felt life changing in terms of my whole thinking about life, creativity and art. It’s a film I’m very proud of.

MØ. This one similarly holds a very special place. Karen a.k.a MØ is a person you merely have to point the camera at and it lights up. It’s mesmerising to watch how she owns it. Everything about the film fell together in a very interesting way from the location, the casting and simply letting Karen take her place centre stage in doing what she does best. To go on and then win the Danish Grammy for it felt like the icing on the cake. It was a happy reunion. I still remember arriving at the airport the next day, horribly hungover, award trophy secreted in my hand luggage and the check-in clerk spotting it on the x-ray scanner. When he asked me to take out the unidentifiable object - it’s actually phenomenally heavy, a bit like a metal club - he laughed and said he’d watched the awards on TV the night before. He then winked at me, gave me a high five and waved me on. I’m sure I shouldn’t have travelled with it on the plane. 

LBB> Next projects or personal projects?

Emile> Hate to say it, but the pandemic turned out to be a really highly creative time for me, locked away with endless time and no work. Everyone had to find their own way of coping with the horror beyond and I guess mine was to throw myself into all these creative projects that I had either started and never finished or had wanted to do.

It seemed to unlock something. Besides continuing to develop my film projects, I started getting ideas for music. Doing promos over the years and obsessing over tracks for the commercials I always knew there was an impulse within me to make some myself. So during the lockdown I took some of my dusted synths out and long story short I had a label release my ambient music album out there under Emile and Electricity.

Now me and my other director friend Joe Connor have started on a music project called SUPERMODEL that we both must have dreamt for years in our heads. We’re hoping it will grow above sonic explorations and also include a lot of art and moving imagery within that as well.

I’m also preparing my first solo exhibition of paintings, so that will be announced soon.