The Directors: Hal Kirkland
Hal Kirkland is an internationally awarded comedy writer and director whose comedic approach presents idiosyncratic realities with heart, an earned laugh, and a strong visual aesthetic.
Hal’s innate comedic timing (honed through UCB New York and Hollywood) and love of the casting process inspires pitch perfect performances no matter the genre. He’s wielded these skills to direct commercials and campaigns for Amazon, Uber, HBO, Instacart, and Coca-Cola to name a few.
Starting his career as an advertising creative at Agencies including 180 Amsterdam, W+K, and BBH New York, Hal brings this sensibility to everything he directs.
Name: Hal Kirkland
Location: Los Angeles
Repped by/in:
US/EUR: Unit9
CAN: Kiddo Films
AUS - INFINITY
Awards:
Hal has won 70+ International awards for Writing, Directing, and Creative Direction, including:
Gold Entertainment Clio
Best of Show + 3 x Gold Addy’s
Best of Show + Gold One Show Pencil
10 x Clios
14 x Cannes Lions
Gold ADC Cube
Webby x 3 Celebrity, Music Video, Experience
UKMVA: Best Indie Music Video
Annecy Award: Best Music Video
Grand Prix: YouTube Video Awards
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Hal> I get excited when a script arrives with a great human insight. Something more poignant than “People like surprises”. If the insight rings true, even if it’s set in the world of comedic hyperbole, there’s instantly more to work with. I also love scripts with opportunities for great characterization. Most commercials are over in a blink, so I always focus on casting compelling people and enjoy finding ways to make them memorable.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Hal> As soon as I read the director's brief, I’m already conjuring ways to bring it to life, but before I dive face-first into the treatment abyss, I listen to what the creators of the script have to say. After all, they’ve been shepherding it through the wilds of client feedback, keeping it alive with nothing more than dreams until it reaches production. I started my career as a creative so I know how hard everyone works to get something made.
Next I blend their insights (war stories) and my first impressions to write what other writers refer to as the vomit draft—where no idea is too crazy and everything wonderfully yet inelegantly mashes together as a kind of conceptual Voltron™. This forms the armature for the next few days of refinement.
Did I say refinement? I meant a whirling dervish of research, reference gathering, far too much coffee, an overture to GIF making, rewrites, late-night Midjourney rabbit holes, crude preliminary storyboards, and a few delightful homemade sandwiches—When I’m done, I’m spent. Like I just got rescued from the Matrix and my only reward is that thankless porridge that Neo gets served on the Nebuchadnezzar. Is that too old a reference now? Please say no.
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?
Hal> Understanding the context and strategy behind the script should be inherent. How else can you ensure the concept lands as intended or help shape it to hit harder? If I’m not familiar with the brand or market then I get familiar immediately.
Fortunately the internet exists so there’s no excuses. If the brand is also an IP, I read the book, watch the film, read the script, listen to the book while I’m driving—all of it. While working on Amazon Prime’s Good Omens campaign, I think I read and listened to the book about ten times and that knowledge really paid off.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Hal> If I didn’t write the script, building a relationship with the people who did, be they creatives or creators, is very important.
The entire production process is about trust, and these people are trusting me to realize their vision, so there’s nothing more important to me than earning that trust early. Then, when it comes to shoot day, there are no surprises, and we’re all cartwheeling in parallel as a strangely acrobatic hive mind—and, if it really goes well, with matching tattoos.
Outside of that relationship, I would say the most important person is my Line Producer. It doesn’t matter how complex or crazy a shoot gets; if I have a great line producer, it’s going to be a fun adventure. Shout out to Taylor Bro. Please don’t book him when I need him.
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?
Hal> I love comedy and a rich cinematic aesthetic. They don’t always go hand in hand, but what if they did? Anything that aims to make people’s perennially heavy lives more entertaining or more beautiful is a great place to start. I also like exploring entirely new techniques. Yes, these are rare lightning-strike-type moments, but when they work, they make Gandalf blush.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Hal> I was shooting a music video for OneRepublic in Mexico City. The film tells the story of a blossoming romance between a teenage boy and girl who live across the street from one another. The camera impossibly travels from the boy's room, across the street, and into her room, then back and forth in a four-minute-long single-take involving the choreography of over a hundred people, including the band.
I had meticulously planned the choreography for weeks, but as I started to layer the more complex action, all kinds of things started to go wrong.
Fortunately, my first AD was truly epic, so he offered to shot-call while I went down and joined the crowd below (Scott Harris, I will always love you). Only at ground level could I see how people were moving and interpreting my direction. Being right in the middle of everything made it much easier to understand how best to explain what to do and course-correct. After a few takes, it started to work. It’s something I still do for larger set pieces, so I can understand how actors are perceiving the physical space and action that surrounds them.
Fortunately, I didn’t appear in the take we eventually used for the final film. #betterbehindcamera
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Hal> I come from the agency side, so I respect their process. I also speak their language, so I intuitively know what is most important to them, and if not, I know what questions to ask to reveal the source of their concerns so I can help them navigate between icebergs.
It’s equally important for me to protect my vision. There’s a lot of pressure on a shoot for both agency and client, and it's super easy to forget that the Director you chose is there because of your faith in their experience and vision. That’s why continued communication and building that aforementioned trust is so important. As a result, I’m one of the least aloof Directors you’ll ever meet, and the mood on set is generally very relaxed. Dare I say, fun.
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?
Hal> Life, the universe, and everything benefit from diverse ideas, influences, and people. Yes to mentoring and apprenticeships. Yes to helping people start their journey. Yes to helping people forge their way through this crazy world and career. If you’re reading this and you’re looking for advice or even a mentor, find me, and just reach out. I have a mentee right now, and I’ve got room for more.
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?
Hal> The pandemic was a hard time for everyone—it hit production very hard too. I had one of the first shoots in LA after lockdown, and it was safe but very cumbersome. Everyone was doing their best under the circumstances, but I’m sure no one will miss any part of that process. Are there habits I would keep? Only one: never taking any production or job for granted. Not that I did prior to the pandemic, but you never know what’s up ahead. I treat all shoots like they’re my most important shoot.
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)?
Hal> Technology was my gateway to directing. My first music video was shot entirely on webcams. Next came creating an immersive experience at the Guggenheim using binaural sound technology. Shortly after, I moved into creating some pretty complex interactive films before gravitating towards the immersive film landscape, making VR experiences.
While I make more traditional commercials and films these days, it feels like my experience experimenting with technology has come full circle, and there’s no doubt it influences how I approach bringing a film to life. And yet, the more I’ve embraced technology, the more I believe it should always be in service to the story you’re trying to tell—an invisible accomplice that helps the creator inspire nothing more complicated than a feeling or an idea.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Hal> SURVEYMONKEY
It was a dream to work with Giancarlo Esposito. What a gentleman and professional he is. He brought the most amazing energy to the set, and when it was time to be on, he was on. I particularly like this spot because it’s comedic and serious simultaneously. He's essentially destroying an office, yet he's so engaging that it doesn’t matter. I would happily receive a lecture from this man even if I didn’t do anything wrong.
AMAZON ALEXA AUTO
We were working directly with Amazon Alexa Auto for this job, which meant I wrote and directed this spot. I still can’t believe I got away with the Knight Rider dream sequence at the start. While researching the opening shots, I found myself watching huge swaths of actual Knight Rider episodes. Like many shows of that era, it is utterly ridiculous in the best possible way. I also loved the notion of technology empowering someone's mom, so she is deservedly represented as a total badass—an everyday hero. Additionally, I made a synthwave playlist for the clients as a thank you for their brave decisions. If you want a link to it, hit me up.
BLIZZARD - DIABLO IV
This brief came from the depths of the Earth from the always brilliant creatives and team at VCCP. I loved the idea instantly. To celebrate the arrival of a game eleven years in the making, Blizzard was offering to hire a minion called Doomsayer to do your chores while you played. I pulled every cinematic horror trope from memory and found ways to include them before revealing that this scary cloaked demon-guy is actually just doing chores. There was something so instantly comedic about the real horror living in the mundanity of chores you’re neglecting.
UBER COMFORT
I love the simplicity of this commercial. It depicts the universal discomfort that a middle seat can bring to air travel. A continued push forward tells a series of different stories that we’ve all experienced. Funnily enough, we kept on using the song 'Stuck in the Middle with You' in the edit, even though we assumed we couldn’t get it. We even composed an amazing alternative song (thank you McKenzie Stubbert), but when someone very high up at Uber saw the film, they found a way to license the song. That rarely happens, and I will be forever grateful.
