The Directors: Jose Ho-Guanipa
With a background in music videos and VFX, every frame of Jose’s directing work is infused with energy and character. His more recent projects focus on visual storytelling in the world of sports, seamlessly blending influences across various cultures and genres. Jose’s work has won industry recognition from organisations such as Shots, Shoot Magazine and the One Club.
Name: Jose Ho-Guanipa
Location: Los Angeles
Repped by/in: Nimble Beast
Recognitions: Shoot NDS, Shots, 2x CDDP Finalist, 2x AIR Diverse Director Showcase, Promax BDA, 3x One Club One Screen Finalist, Epica
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Jose> I really gravitate towards stories that share deeper human truths and are universally relatable. I want to make work that empowers people from all walks of life and brings them closer to one another. I think we all have much more commonalities than we do differences, regardless of our differing backgrounds and points of view.
A great script has a strong concept that can be easily distilled into one line, feeling or even a strong singular image. It’s our job to grab people’s attention and keep them interested, so I’m naturally drawn to dynamic visuals and a sonic framework that leave a lasting impact on the viewer. I’m also a sucker for tastefully integrated VFX. That’s what excites me as a director, anything that’s powerful, anthemic and moving.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Jose> Without being derivative, I usually like to deep dive on references. They can come from anywhere — doesn’t have to be a commercial, film or even an image. I also like trying to boil things down to first principles. The core concept and what the idea is aiming to achieve, from a storytelling standpoint and in terms of emotional impact.
What are the basic assumptions and truths presented? How can we poke holes in them? Free association also works. Take in an idea and go through it and write down whatever pops into your head. Then collect these bits and explore them further and further, eventually stitching everything into something coherent and seamless.
Once the treatment is done, It’s important to simplify things and remove as much as possible, boiling everything down to its core. I want my ideas to be clear from a standalone visual and verbal perspective.
Even if the person doesn’t read any of the words they should still be able to understand what’s communicated by the imagery. And if we removed all the visuals, they should also still be able to understand the idea through a few key words alone. Keep it simple and clear. Assume right off the bat that people are only going to have time to skim your presentation.
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?
Jose> It’s very important to do your homework and ask the right questions. I always want to have context when I’m going into a project or fleshing out an idea. There’s no point in trying to force a square peg into a round hole. What’s the client and agency’s primary end goal here? Where is the brand coming from based off their previous work and where are they trying to take things? What are they concerned about or trying to avoid? What do like or want?
It’s only after understanding these key points that I can bring my own ideas to the table. It’s also a lot harder to push back on an idea or suggest a new approach if whatever new idea I’m proposing doesn’t further the bottom line goal and move the ball forward for everyone. Ultimately, I want to help clients solve their creative problems, both the ones they know they have and the ones they’re not even aware of yet.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Jose> I think the most important relationship you have to maintain is the one with yourself. If you don’t have a strong north star internally you can really lose the plot. You have to have a strong sense of both what you want to bring to the table and get out of the project. It also means knowing how to be a good creative partner and how to listen and communicate well with those around you in a constructive friendly manner.
Knowing how to build trust with your collaborators and knowing how to lead with empathy and by example are also super important. The days of toxic directors with huge egos are long gone and it’s was never sustainable in the first place. If a director can’t interact with others respectfully, then they probably need to do some self-work.
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?
Jose> I really enjoy telling stories that blend and cut across various cultures and genres. That being said, I’ve recently fallen in love with athletic work. As a lifelong multi-sport athlete and professional sports fan have always had a passion for the competition of sports. There’s something special about the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat as well as the many other life truths you learn when you give it your all and compete as an athlete.
I’m also drawn to the dynamic energy of that world and the backstories of the athletes. We all have something to learn from them and they can inspire every single one of us in untold ways. Sports, much like filmmaking, truly is a universal language and you often find people that would never otherwise be friends sharing a close bond over their love of the game.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Jose> I’ve spent my whole life and career trying to avoid being put into a box. People have this innate urge to pigeonhole creatives and human beings in general. It’s something they do subconsciously and most of the time it’s done without malice.
Because my first name’s Jose, people have made the assumption that I’m only able to do Hispanic market work or that I was born in South America, neither of which are true. In fact in addition to being of Venezuelan heritage, I’m also half Chinese. And I was born in Montreal, Canada, also speak French and three other languages and grew up in the suburbs of Southern California. I don’t think they’ve made a box for that yet.
I’ve also encountered this type of reductive attitude with the work itself. Coming from the hip hop video world, at first, no one wanted to take a chance on me as a director in the advertising space. After creating my own opportunities, things finally opened up, but I still see a strong urge to pigeonhole directors down to one style or genre, especially at the initial stages of their careers.
If we’re being honest, someone with my international and multicultural background is much more reflective of what the general market in the US is looking like today and headed into the future. To ignore that fact would be to deny reality. I’m not going to be satisfied being relegated to working as a niche player. I can assure you I’m not a one trick pony and am here to stay and do major international and general market campaigns.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Jose> Relationships with agencies and clients are all about trust. So you need to build that from the get go. Firstly by listening and understanding what they want and are going for and making sure they feel like they’ve been heard. Secondly, by bringing a human element and just getting to know everyone on a personal level and coming prepared.
If they feel confident that you’ve done your homework and are paying attention to them and the work they’ve put into selling this idea, they’re going to feel seen, heard and most importantly respected. And they’re also going to trust you.
Beyond that, like I mentioned previously, context and motivation are important. I need to know what everyone’s north star is. Sometimes different stakeholders are going to have different objectives for the project and that’s okay.
The trick is to make sure everyone feels like their needs are being met and we’re headed towards the right destination.
The ideas you bring to the table have to take all these factors into consideration. I think everyone deep down knows that the best idea should win. If something achieves the collective goal better than what was originally put forth, when presented with tact and no ego, people will be receptive to it. We all share in the victories. I myself am open to taking great ideas from whoever and wherever they may come.
Who would turn something like that down?
That’s the attitude you have to foster across the board. I also think that shooting alts after covering the concept as boarded and giving the client choices gives them permission to try new things. If something doesn’t work at least you’ve built in optionality.
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?
Jose> I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for mentors and programs like CDDP (founded by Tamika Lamison), the AIR Diversity Showcase, and many more that gave me so many great opportunities early on. My emails and DMs are always open for anyone trying to get advice on how to advance their career in this business.
The biggest hurdle to levelling the playing field is access to capital. It’s easy to put people on lists, invite them to mentorship programs, shadowing sessions and parties. At the end of the day, if they don’t have the will to hire you, the agency is going to just point to the strength of the work and say, “Sorry they just don’t have it on their reel.”
In terms of diversity: in a perfect world, judgment of our creative work would be completely bias free, but art doesn’t work like that since its subjective and inherently tied to identity. I believe there should be efforts made to bring us closer to parity in terms of the demographics of creatives relative to the general audience. People from underrepresented communities should definitely receive support to help shore up those numbers.
The output of everyone’s work, however, should always be quantifiably held to the same standards across the board, minority or otherwise.
My mother was a pioneering multicultural scholar and college professor in the '90s and the work I do will always be in service of that legacy, so I think I have some credibility speaking on the topic. The idea of multiculturalism is to bring different people together and create a level playing field. I also believe fresh points of view are just as important. You have to be able to have conversations with people whose opinions you don’t agree with and have a free forum of ideas.
In the past I’ve found myself in many situations where colleagues have acted resentfully towards me because they believed the only reason I got an opportunity was because I fulfilled some sort of diversity quota, when in truth, I’ve put in my 10,000 hours and then some and my work has been recognised accordingly. There has to be a genuine effort made to thoughtfully address that type of backlash without dismissing it completely or we’re missing the whole point.
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)?
Jose> The best way to create work today is to assume it’s going to be reconstituted in a different million ways. So you have to create something that’s striking and filled with strong hooks and singular imagery. There has to be a sense of intrigue and a wow factor. In other words, it has to be wholly engaging full stop.
That’s always been part of my style, so I don’t think it’s a huge departure from my natural instincts, but I definitely take note of what grabs my attention when I’m watching work on different platforms and mediums. I try to incorporate that into my thinking as a creative.
I spend a lot of time on the internet. If you’re shooting with different delivery platforms in mind, then you should plan that into your script, storyboard and shoot day. You can share the setup for the social clip with the hero broadcast spot, but for the love of advertising, don’t just do a cutdown after the fact when you could have instead written and shot something uniquely designed for social.
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)?
Jose> I love exploring new tech, staying up to date with cutting-edge culture and thinking deeply about the ramifications of tech on society and the way we work as creatives. But honestly, the smartest thing you can do as a creative is think of ways to futureproof your career. Learn to do things AI or new tech will never be able to do.
AI will never know what it’s like to hold a new-born child in their arms, or lose a loved one or overcome insurmountable odds to realise their dreams. As long as the work has some human truth to it and the audience remains human, I’m not losing any sleep.
Some tools really streamline the creative process and make it more efficient, facilitating creativity. How did people pull visual refs before google or some of these visual reference/gif sites? I like using Chat GPT as a creative sounding board and have toyed with Mid-Journey to conjure up pre-vis and visual refs that don’t exist yet, but I’m a firm believer in strong fundamentals. These tools will help you refine ideas but they won’t come up with them or execute them for you… yet (cue ominous dramatic music).
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Jose> New Balance – All the Way Up
This spot is one I’m really proud of and the project where I first collaborated with my Nimble Beast co-founder and executive producer Elran Ofir. It was truly a collective effort where the team was firing on all cylinders and everything went off without a hitch. I knew right away that we’d keep working together for a very long time to come. Elran’s the type of producer that thinks like a director and has the chops to back it up. He’s the rare person in this business that you can fully trust and fully supports you.
I’m a big fan of the architecture of Los Angeles, especially the new 6th Street Bridge, so this is an homage to that and what it represents.
Nike – Master the Struggle
This shoot had many challenges but based off the concept, it couldn’t have gone any other way. Surprises included losing a location less than a week before the shoot and my car getting not ONE but TWO flat tires after the first day of the shoot. Luckily, I have AAA and was able to find a tire shop open after 11pm. It just proves that no matter what forces are working against you, when you are serving a higher purpose and giving your all to the creative process, the universe will always have your back.
Anthem Blue Cross – For Life
This one is really about the people that never give up on what they love, even after they stop doing it professionally. If you have passion for a sport or whatever endeavour you’ve dedicated your life to, you don’t simply stop because just you’ve encountered a setback. It really resonated with me for this reason as someone who’s had a lifelong passion for filmmaking and couldn’t see myself doing anything else with my life.
Hands Free or Die
I was commissioned to shoot this by Crypt TV, which is part owned by Blumhouse and film director Eli Roth. The piece was one of the first ads to go live on their platform and helped launch the channel in its early days. Inglorious Basterds and Hostel are two of my all-time favourite films, so a nod from Eli feels like high praise and will always be near and dear to me for that reason
