The Directors: JAK

JAK (aka Jo & Katie), are an award winning director duo (Est. 2021) working in commercials and music videos. They both grew up in Northern Ireland, but didn’t meet each other until they ended up working at The Mill in London. With Katie's background in VFX/editing and Jo’s in graphic design/creative direction, they are both makers at heart and love being hands-on - editing, designing, photoshopping, after-effectsing - anything they need to do to get the job done. Their work is bursting with charming characters, playful visual tricks and relatable stories with a surreal edge. JAK have directed commercials for global brands such as Cadbury, Panini, EA Sports, FIFA, FREE NOW, Visa, SumUp and English Rugby. They have worked with talent like David Beckham, Declan Rice, Clara Amfo and Katie McCabe, with their eye-catching work attracting over 15 Million views across various channels.

Name: JAK

Location: Belfast & London

Repped by/in: Ireland (Butter). London, Amsterdam + US (Knucklehead)

Awards: Emerging Directors Award 2022 - Best Commercial, 4.1 long list

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

JAK> We are drawn to light and funny scripts, but we get most excited about scripts that allow us the freedom to push the boundaries of the creative. We love the term ‘elevated everyday’ - authentically quirky and lovable characters but in more art directed worlds with an edge of surreality. We also are drawn towards scripts that encourage technical camera movements or playful transitions which leave the viewer thinking - “how did they do that” or more importantly “I need to watch that again.”

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

JAK> We love making treatments. It’s a really vital step in the job process for us. It helps us to get our thoughts down ‘on paper’ and then continuously refine them with each pass. We stress-test the agency script, working closely with them to push the creative as much as we can, adding or adjusting anything we feel could make it better. We also spend a lot of time finding the right visuals (we love GIFS) that capture exactly what we want to make. 

We like to be pretty hands-on with our treatments. With our shared backgrounds in writing, VFX and graphic design, we always write and design our treatments in an engaging and client-considered way. When required we also lean on our skills to create concepts/mock-ups to help clarify and sell the idea. Our aim during the treatment phase is to create a JAK blueprint for the job, visualising it in a way that gets everyone excited.

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?

JAK> Super important. Jo comes from a background in branding and graphic design and Katie has experience in marketing and comms, so for us immersing ourselves in the brand is really the foundation in how we approach any ad pitch. We also feel it is important as directors to be brand conscious - not only with where the brand sits strategically and tonally, but also ethically. We should always be aware of what we are helping to sell. 

Part of our visual research will include looking at what the brand has done before, and scanning through any social channels. If it's a new brand, or a brand that is pivoting into a new space then this will be something we ask the agency in chats early on in the pitching process. We are all about pushing the creative and making great work, but at the end of the day we are selling a product and telling a brand story.

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

JAK> It takes a solid team to make great work, but if we had to pick just one working relationship, we’d say the most important is the one between the director and the talent. Forming a connection between director(s) and the talent is a huge priority, it is a relationship that can greatly impact the overall tone and quality of the final piece. This is why we always request to meet with talent before the shoot day. We think it’s key to build a rapport and to create an understanding that the set will be a safe and encouraging space for their performance. We are all about good vibes on set, our directing style when working with talent is very encouraging and collaborative, allowing them the space to create that magic.

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?

JAK> We love that every job is different, and with each job we are learning more and more about what we do and don’t enjoy. At the moment we are particularly drawn to scripts with a quirky or comedic edge that allow us to be playful with fresh, poppy and colourful visuals. Although we are always looking to push our visuals into a slightly surreal space, we still like to seek out briefs that allow us to add those little human moments that bring a sense of relatability and authenticity - as we mentioned before, we’ve come to refer to this as ‘elevated everyday’. But to be honest, we get excited about any script that allows us the freedom to bring a flavour of ‘JAK’ to the creative. 

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

JAK> We’ve not had the best run of luck with Irish weather on our last few outdoor shoots. We recently did a job for Cadbury and Ireland Women’s Football, and it rained the entire shoot. Torrential downpour type rain - but due to player schedules we just had to bare down and crack on, adjusting the creative as needed (not to mention making use of a lot of umbrellas). The crew did amazingly well to keep doing their thing without complaint so we could get all the shots we needed within the time we had with the players. You know the saying ‘fix it in post’, well for this one that was the case. Using the grade to punch the colours and warm up the scenes, implementing VFX for multiple sky replacements and clean up to hide any raindrop. It all came together in the end - you would never know!

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

JAK> Being a duo, collaboration is in our DNA, so we are always open to collaborating with the agency and client. We are very passionate about our ideas but we aren’t unreasonable. We’ll always present and make it clear what we think is the best route, but we always leave the door open for discussion. 

Don’t get us wrong, we will always try to defend any idea we think deserves to be on the table, but ultimately we see the agency as being very much on our team and trust their experience and knowledge of the client. Our treatments are also notoriously thorough, so if our pitch is chosen, we find it helps ensure we are all on the same page from the get-go. The hope is that ultimately, the trust is there, and that together we can all make the best creative that we’re all proud of.

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?

JAK> Our thoughts are that this needs to happen faster. We are thankful for the space that has begun to be created for ourselves as female directors, but there is still a long way to go to foster a diverse pool of talent. This is something that we hope we can play some small part in, through pushing for inclusivity and diversity on our sets (something we highlight in every treatment). The more diverse the pool of talent the greater the chance for fresh perspectives and new ideas.

We are very keen for mentoring and apprenticeships on set - some of our first experiences in professional productions were through directors allowing us to assist them on set. It’s all well and good to do your research and study the director's craft, but you learn and absorb so much so quickly through being hands-on on a set.

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

JAK> We both are extremely well versed in working remotely - digital natives. JAK was born during the pandemic, so our process developed in a way that fit snuggly with the ‘new world order’. We usually have an ideation period where we bounce ideas back and forth off each other via video call (or in person if we happen to be in the same place). On a follow-up call, we then distil our ideas down into the final creative and begin work (remotely) on the treatment, passing it back and forth. When we win a job, we then come together again, traveling for the shoots. When it comes to post, we love to make use of the remote infrastructure that is now the norm of many global post companies. The pandemic gave us the opportunity to work from anywhere for anyone. Find inspiration and stories from anywhere. It also allowed us to collaborate with the best talent all around the world, in any time-zone. We love it.

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)? 

JAK> We are well versed in the gazillions of aspect ratios and cut downs. To avoid any headaches in post, we’ll always try to gauge early on what formats are key for the client so we can have them in mind as we move through the creative process We are always wary of any knock on effects these formats may have on the final creative, if concerned we voice our concerns to the agency, but in general we’ll always try our best to make it work. Our normal practice if multiple formats are required (particularly the likes of 9x16), is to shoot a series of safety shots with guide bars on the monitor to ensure we are covered.)

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)?

JAK> We are both pretty technically minded and make a point of keeping up with the latest future-facing tech. We are always interested to see if/how it can be incorporated into our practice - again something ingrained in us whilst at the Mill. Last year for example, we jumped head first into Virtual Production, partnering with Taunt, a Design & Animation studio in Belfast, and shot the first virtual production short film in Northern Ireland using the LED volumes. The process taught us a lot about the potential but also the limitations of such tech in filmmaking. 

AI is definitely the conversation of the moment. For us it is really exciting. We are believers that the human element of imperfection in art and film is what makes a lot of that magic, however AI is a tool that can be wielded to aid the creative process. We’ve already been using AI imagery generation to replace stock images for VFX to make it more affordable, but it will be interesting to see how AI functionality will help us in the future to level up our creative process even more. 

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

Panini - Characters + Graphics

Free Now - Transitions + Graphics

Emerald Park - Fun Performance

Cadburys - Talent + characters