The Directors: Marc Reisbig
Marc Reisbig is an award-winning film and animation director who has created music videos, short films, documentaries and commercials.
Never one to be confined to a single technique, he seamlessly combines live-action and animation in his own unique mixed-media style, as seen in the spot, ‘Paranoid,’ for Norwegian consumer electronics giant Elkjøp. Marc’s Nordic sense of humour is on display in his irreverent and whimsical films ‘Super draw’,’Frooti,’ ‘Power of Song,’ and Jose Cuervo, ‘Date More Human.’ In his beautiful spots for Walmart, ‘Growing Up’ and ‘America’s Cart,’ he switches gears to develop a more cinematic and anthemic style. His visual and emotional storytelling can also be seen in work for Ikea, United Airlines, Sony Playstation, Facebook, Microsoft, Volkswagen Kirkens Bymisjon, KLP, Infinitum, and Citroen. Marc earned his undergraduate degree from London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and his master’s degree from the Royal College of Art. His graduation film, ‘Time is Running Out,’ was an official selection at more than forty festivals worldwide.
He is represented for commercial work in Europe and North America by 1stAvenueMachine and Bacon in Norway.
Name: Marc Reisbig
Representation: 1stAveMachine (USA/UK) Bacon Production (Scandinavia)
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to work on them?
Marc> I love when I get a script that makes me laugh or has genuine human insight or just something I haven’t seen before.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Marc> I always do a brain dump right after reading the script the first time. This includes good and sometimes bad ideas and random thoughts about the execution of the spot. This becomes a document I keep building on throughout the pitch. It is only a fraction of those thoughts that make it into the final treatment, but you only get one chance to read a script with fresh eyes.
I am always looking for ways to make the treatment stand out. I may play out the action on an iPhone or use existing footage to make a proof-of-concept film. I’ll then run it by the team to make sure we are on the same page. Sometimes, I have gone out and photographed single actions to prove their value; for instance, my daughter trying to fit a huge balloon into her backpack for a humanity film.
I also love GIFs to highlight an action, expression or camera move that will fit the spot. It is amazing how useful those one-two-second clips are to pinpointing exactly what I am referencing. We just have to make sure it doesn’t look like a newspaper from Harry Potter.
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?
Marc> If it is a brand I don’t know, of course I do a bit of digging. I find that agencies are good at steering us in the right direction, if they want it to be a departure from what the brand has done before or if it is following in a tradition, visually or conceptually. The more I know about the brand profile and goals, the easier it is to tailor the film or films. But I always start with a core concept and present what I think is the best execution, and then fit it to the brand’s 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?
Marc> That is a difficult question; it varies from project to project. The ones I spend the most time with are definitely the DOP and the producer, so those relationships need to be solid.
On some jobs, I get sent just a core concept, or it’s an experimental project. The agency and I develop the script together. The collaborations with creatives and creative directors have been key and a lot of fun. Other times, I collaborate with the actors. If there is a spot that performance will make or break the film, I love spending time exploring who the character is with the actors. And then other times, it can be the art director. I guess I am concluding that making commercials is a team sport.
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?
Marc> I am always a sucker for a twist in the tale. Where the spot subverts the viewers expectations. And because I started in animation and VFX, I love magic realism - mixing real life and the fantastical. Anything that is truthful, magical or surreal, but not all in the same spot. My approach is playing it straight, even if it is a Tesla flying off into the sunset.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Marc> That I am average height. When meeting clients and creatives for the first time after numerous zoom meetings, somebody will almost always say, “You’re taller than I imagined.” I am not freakishly tall, but above average at 6’ 4” (193 cm).
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Marc> I only hear about them secondhand, and when I do, it is never followed by good news. But that is my very limited personal experience. There are probably great cost consultants out there.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Marc> I remember I was shooting with my team on top of a mountain in Mallorca, and we were supposed to shoot a scene where it was crucial that there was an epic view. On the day, it was bright and sunny, but by the time we got to the top, there were dark clouds covering the whole vista, and it had started to hail. It was so windy, the talent could hardly stand up straight. We waited, but it was getting worse and worse. Then, we saw and heard the lightning and thunder. And it was getting closer. The DOP pointed out that we were standing at the highest point and had a lightning storm rolling in over us. We scrambled down from the mountain just in the nick of time. The solution was very traditional. We didn’t have time in the schedule to go back or scout a new spot.
A few days later, we were in a studio to shoot other bits for the spot, and we did the scene on green screen and used the the recce photos to recreate it (which were taken under perfect conditions). Not ideal, but the VFX team did an amazing job in making it look great.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Marc> I try to be as transparent as possible. Getting a script approved can take a long time. My take on the script or concept is in the treatment, and as soon as the job is won, we hash out what is the best way forward. So, reiterating what is important and how we are going to achieve it is key throughout the process. It is about protecting what makes that particular project special. And the more we are on the same page, the better it is. And if it comes to disagreements on shots, I always like shooting it both ways.
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?
Marc> I would like to see more diversity behind the camera. The industry seems to have embraced diversity in front of the camera, but we still have a way to go behind the scenes. Different backgrounds means different points of view and more interesting conversations.
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?
Marc> Remote casting is here to stay, even though if possible I like the callbacks to be in person. I am not a fan of remote shooting. It kills spontaneity, especially with the crew.
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)?
Marc> There are two aspects to that in terms of screen format but also all the cutdowns tailored for the different platforms. With the screen format, I have never had any issues. I think we all have gotten very good at cropping the standard 16:9; we just keep it in mind when we shoot. It has been easier to sell in 4:3 (the almost square format), since it is easier to crop to all the different sizes, and it is a nice format if it is a film focusing on human emotion. On the flip side, I very rarely shoot 2:39:1 (the size you see at the cinema) because it is not as flexible when it comes to cropping.
The other aspect of the format is that the cutdowns, which are mainly for social media, are as important or more important than the longer hero film. I would rather shoot a few extra shots or variations to make sure they work as standalone pieces.
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)?
Marc> I love integrating new tech in film both on camera and in the process of making films. I love trying to figure out how to do things in camera, but sometimes that is just not possible, so virtual production looks really exciting. I have used it a tiny bit, and the possibilities and the speed of the process are incredible. I really like when traditional and cutting-edge techniques come together,for instance, in the Jose Cuervo spot, where we sent two robots on a date, to illustrate the awkwardness of first dates especially through dating apps. The dialogue was all created with AI. You learn so much about how the tech works, its limitations and possibilities. We shot it with real robots performing the AI-written script—a perfect match of the old and the new. The other thing that is crazy is how fast it is developing. That project is only two years old, and we had to train chatbots based on real dating conversations. Artificial intelligence learned how to break the ice, how to flirt, and how to connect. Today, we could have just put the prompts in for the conversations in ChatGPT and given different parameters and had multiple scripts in seconds.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Marc> These films all have one or two of my favourite subjects in them. Subtle humanity, surreal comedy, and subverting expectations. These projects all had great potential and were a joy to work on.
1. Elkjøp - 'Paranoid'
This spot for Scandinavian electronics retailer Elkjøp was great fun. It was one of a series of films about if you don’t like it just return it. Done as a cinematic pastiche of scandi-noir thrillers with mixed media thrown in to heighten the paranoia.
2. Jose Cuervo - ‘Date More Human’
I loved the concept of sending chatbots on a date. This was a really fun collaboration with an AI specialist, professor Miguel Espada. The result was both as awkward and funny in a surreal way as I had hoped for.
3. Walmart - ‘Growing Up’ (director’s cut)
This is a director's cut based on a few spots I made for Walmart. Humanity and reality were key. It was a long shoot with a great cast. We covered almost every age up to adulthood, so centering it around that time with your kids being precious seemed natural.
4. Infinitum - ‘Reverse Recycling’
This is a film for Infinitum—Norway’s recycling scheme for cans and bottles. The recycled material is used to make everything from headphones to electric cars, which is the premise for the campaign. This was the long, more cryptic version for cinema. There were multiple short versions that followed each of the characters that explained the concept. A fun idea with photorealistic, yet delightfully surreal, VFX.
