The Directors: Jillian Iscaro
Jillian Iscaro is passionate about blending fantasy and reality in her work. She playfully explores themes of gender, race, and sexuality, all wrapped in her whimsical aesthetic. Her style combines stylised production design with dynamic camera movements and smooth transitions, always marked by her distinctive post-production touch. Committed to fostering a more inclusive industry, Jillian focuses on assembling diverse talent and crews from various backgrounds to collaborate on her projects.
Name: Jillian Iscaro
Location: NY, NY
Repped by/in:
UK & Netherlands - Form
Canada - L’eloi
Awards:
Spongelle – Silver LA Addy award
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Jillian> I’ve been working on a series of stylised character portraits called Liquefy. It focuses on identity, how we see ourselves, and how our perceptions of ourselves evolve and change. Each volume has a different theme that emerges from collaborating with the subject, crafting a unique visual world for them to inhabit.
I also just finished a short film, Iris, about a florist facing an existential crisis when her AI assistant alters one of her carefully crafted floral arrangements, forcing her to question what it means to create, to feel, and to remain truly human in a world increasingly shaped by machines. Its next screening is in Estonia at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Fest!
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Jillian> I think creatives are just open to a lot of ideas and input right now. There’s a lot of room to push the original boards and really play.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Jillian> I’m all about visuals—anything that lets me dive into a world and bring it to life with imagery gets me hooked. I started out as an editor, so I’m always thinking about how the story will come together on the cutting room floor and want to bring my post production experience to every project. I love crafting stylised worlds for characters to live in, blending compositing and VFX to build a setting that’s immersive and full of personality.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Jillian> Each spot is so different; it really depends. I usually start with doing some initial visual research to help determine the tone of the spot. After that, I’ll literally just close my eyes and envision the entire spot in real time, and I’ll do this until I feel like I have a pretty solid handle on the finished piece. From there, I build out each section – cinematography, pacing, set design, wardrobe, styling, casting, and sometimes outline editing, music, and sound design as well.
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?
Jillian> I’m definitely an instincts first person, so I’ll usually get my thoughts out on paper before I do any research. I want to get my unfiltered, raw, maybe even naïve ideas down before I’ve been influenced by anything else.
After that, I’ll usually do a deep dive into the brand’s social pages, website, and watch a slew of their past ads to see what they’ve been doing over the past few years. That gives me a pretty good indication of their identity as a brand, but also lets me see where I can bring something new to the table and push things.
I also will ask them directly what they love about their recent spots, what wasn’t working, what they’ve been wanting to try out, what’s getting them excited. It gives me a pretty good temperature check on where they’re currently at with their brand identity.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Jillian> This is a tough one. My first thought was the DP, but it might actually be the producer. You need someone who is in your corner who will push the needle with you, and the producer can make a huge difference in the overall outcome in terms of getting what you need. They don’t need to be a “yes man” but someone who knows what is important to fight for.
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?
Jillian> Anything where I can flex creatively and visually. In terms of narrative projects, I love sci-fi, absurdism, and dark comedies.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Jillian> I think people tend to see my portfolio and think beauty, young, fresh etc. Which is great haha. But it’s not a totally accurate reflection of my personality I would say.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Jillian> There isn’t one specific problem that comes to mind, but I think no matter what budget you have, you’re always looking for ways to stretch the money and find economic solves for creative issues. Often it even leads to a better result – I love coming up with practical ideas to execute shots.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Jillian> It’s always a fine line. I think my treatments can stray on the “transformative” side which, to be honest, is not what all agencies or brands are looking for. I’m not super interested in just executing boards – I always want to make something my own. I try to feel out the agency and see if they’re open to new ideas. Ideally what I’m adding is strengthening the creative, but sometimes clients have gotten cold feet and don’t want to “go” for it.
Ultimately it’s their project. I’ll always push for the idea but I also don’t want to alienate anyone or make them feel like I’m not taking their wishes into consideration. If the fight is worth it, I’ll fight.
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?
Jillian> I’ve definitely seen huge improvements in terms of widening the talent pool, but I think the production world is still very behind. When I’m working with my crews I typically see the representation I’d like to see, but there have been shoots where someone else is doing the hiring and I have found it to be quite lacking. I’m definitely open to mentoring. I’ve never had one, but I would love to help show someone the ropes.
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)?
Jillian> It’s impossible to optimise for everything. I usually ask what the hero crop is, and favour that. Most of the time it’s 16x9 (thankfully), but if the camera can shoot open gate, we’ll do that to allow some extra leeway for crops.
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)?
Jillian> I’ve always been open to new technologies. I started using Photoshop to draw when I was 13, and never saw it as a “less than” medium. I’m not inherently against or for any technology, but I do think we need to be pragmatic about implementing it.
I actually just directed a short film about a florist grappling with the existential threat posed by her AI assistant, and I think a lot of people in the industry are having similar feelings. I’m not too keen on fully using AI to generate content. As a tool to augment footage, sure, I’m open to that. But I think there has been a lot of deserved backlash to spots made completely using AI.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why? Include 3-4 links and a sentence or 2 about each piece of work!
Jillian> I still feel like I’m very early in my directing career so it’s hard to pick pieces that I feel solid about, but here are a few:
I wrote Iris based off a single page comic strip I had drawn. It combines all the elements I love – a touch of surrealism, existential dread, technology, and self reflection. We also shot on 16mm, which I’m always pushing to do.
Spotify
A lot of my personal work has this theme of transporting to liminal spaces, and that’s exactly what these Spotify pieces are about – being transported to a different frame of mind by music.
Similar to Spotify, these pieces transport the viewer to a stylised shopping heaven. The original creative was super simple, just a woman in her living room, and I added in the element of opening up the box to see an inner world.
This is one of the first things I ever directed and it’s still one of my favourites. I got to do whatever I wanted, and even though the budget was non-existent, we had so much fun making it.
