The Directors: Natalie Johns
Award-winning director, Natalie Johns has a gift for translating the intangible essence of a moment onto the screen making her work both immersive and deeply reflective. She blends imagination and reality to create work that is atmospheric and aspirational, yet unquestionably relatable to every viewer.
Those who have collaborated with Johns have witnessed first-hand her singular ability to connect with and elicit unguarded authenticity from luminaries like Annie Lennox, John Legend, and Solange, to influential leaders like Patrisse Cullors and Aung San Su Kyi, and everyone else in between.
Johns has a profound knack for uncovering the universal elements within every story, anchored in truth and fuelled by her drive to understand and connect with her subjects. She brings this expertise to commercials and branded entertainment where she excels at creating an authentic connection between the brand and subject.
Her clients include Honda, Mastercard, Google, Uber, Genesis, Spotify, and Durex.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other? What sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Natalie> It’s Story + Casting for me. Is it relatable? Will it Inspire change? Whose voice are we elevating? No matter how specific or acutely targeted, I believe that storytelling in advertising can and should be impactful. We should be inspiring audiences to realise their potential.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Natalie> Listening is my superpower. In documentary filmmaking I learned to listen deeply to the stories I was told, and learned how to transmute my subject’s experience, strength, and hope into stories that would resonate.
My first meeting with the agency team is where it starts. The boards have sparked some initial ideas—things that I’m drawn to or could naturally visualise, but there is so much more to learn from the people who’ve been thinking deeply about the concept long before I’ve come on board so that’s where it starts. I listen to the language used, the tone of the conversation, I listen to the feelings they describe. I know I’ve hit on the right approach when I start to hear ideas and feelings echoed back at me. I lean into these ideas as a starting point.
I find that as I start to break the boards down into their elements and begin writing, the project calls for what it needs. I go back and forth between searching for references of images in my head or that I'm describing and writing. Sometimes in searching for the right image, I discover a new image that sparks an idea and visa versa.
I have to immerse myself in the subject, imagery, and words for at least 3 days. I can do it quicker, but my sweet spot for a beautiful and well-thought-out treatment is around 3 days.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Natalie> There is no one person - as the director I have to have strong working relationships with an entire team. If we could apply our exceptional ability to collaborate on set to the world's problems I think we could change it significantly.
It starts with the agency creative team. I have to be in lockstep with them and we have to create a safe space for ideas to develop and for deep listening to one another. Essentially, they are in service of the client and I’m in service of the creative that they have developed for the client. We have to constantly huddle and problem-solve together throughout the project so this relationship is a priority for me.
My producing partner sets us up to deliver against the creative. Together we build the right team to execute. They are the litmus test for ideas I want to share, the voice of reason, and a second set of ears on the brief. The producer and I set the tone of the project which is crucial to the on-set experience and making great work.
Ultimately, on set, my job is to get a great performance from the talent. And I start building my relationship with the talent long before we turn up on set. Casting is absolutely critical to a project's success. Working with real people and their stories has honed my instinct for characters who’ll resonate on screen. But working with real people has also meant that I’ve had to learn how to get a performance out of ANYONE. And visa versa.
The extensive work I have done with professional actors and celebrities is always a pleasure, but my job there is to elicit an authentic performance that will resonate universally.
From here every team member is responsible for applying their very specific skill set to build upon the creative. I’ve been working with my team for some time and built a short hand so that we can work quickly, skilfully, and respectfully with one another to execute beyond our clients expectations. These long-standing team relationships are built upon mutual trust and respect for one another’s unique skill set.
Great work does not happen in a vacuum. It is a team of brilliant minds who come together to make something extraordinary.
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?
Natalie> I'm most passionate about igniting the fire within us all. Storytelling in all its forms can do this. Whether I’m working on a perfume commercial or a social justice campaign the same underpinning belief system is driving me.
Each of us has the power to be the change in the world. Each of us has enormous potential to leave a lasting impact and shape the future. Yes, there are stories of incredibly inspiring people who have achieved a perceived level of acknowledgment and success. But in our daily lives, we can impact those around us in how we conduct ourselves, in how we treat others, and in leading by example.
The beauty of the commercial landscape these days is that brands now understand this power and act upon it. Yes, it is for commercial purposes, but we can elevate the collective consciousness with the stories we choose to tell.
This is how we have done it for centuries. I believe we have shifted into a more humanistic approach to brand storytelling which is exactly where I want to be.
LBB> You work on a wide variety of projects, from music driven content to automotive. Historically, the latter was a very male dominated arena – how did you overcome any barriers to entry?
Natalie> The obstacle is the path ;) It’s really hard to compete in the male-dominated landscape in film across the board, but when you are making work that is typically targeted to the men who will buy the product, why compete? I don’t. I’m focused on making work that will resonate universally. Work that inspires and uplifts us all. Inclusive work that is typically story-driven and aspirational.
The car is a character for me, and in seeing it that way, I’m offering something different: a way to connect the vehicle with an emotional experience, with real life and our dreams, with our accomplishments and vision for the future. And when it calls for a specialist in creating dynamic auto / driving experience spots, I work with a DP who can bring their experience to the table to guide us all on how best to achieve this.
LBB> What impact do you want your work to leave on future generations?
Natalie> There is a road map of sorts across my body of work of the lessons and inspiration I have drawn from in my life. I’m telling the stories that I needed to hear, that I wish I had heard sooner. I’m granting myself the permission I wish had been granted to me earlier in life. I’m going to make damn sure it’s not as hard for my daughter to pursue her dreams as it has been for me. This is a natural agenda for women who have been carving their own path in the film industry.
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?
Natalie> Mentorship is critical to a thriving film industry, and diversity of experience breathes originality to the screen.
I work with Global Media Makers and Film Independent to mentor / feedback on documentary work-in-progress from young filmmakers in their program. In doing this I’ve ‘experienced’ parts of the world I may never even get to visit. I’ve learned about cultures and opened my mind to new ideas that I am not sure I would have even considered because these filmmakers have been given the opportunity and mentorship to share their unique experiences.
I love applying my years of experience wrestling with story to help someone else realise a vision. Coming up as an independent filmmaker I had to rely on and nurture my community. To give back and share my experience brings me immense satisfaction. It’s the fun part of doing what I do. And I have always done it.
I recently had the amazing experience of working for my first intern. I met Imani a little over a decade ago, when she wrote to me while studying at SCAD and asked to intern over the summer. Upon graduation, I was able to employ her on a long-form film project with John Legend. She expanded into the music video world, tracking down and working for Hype Williams, and then expanded into the beauty industry.
To witness Imani bringing her vision to life not only brought me immense joy and pride, but also felt exciting to see that the future generation were able to align their values with their professional goals.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Natalie> As a director, I’m being hired for my expertise and approach. I take that very seriously and put a lot of thought and preparation into everything I do. But I’m also not afraid to take feedback. It all starts with the preparation. I like to pitch my treatments twice. The first time to get feedback and the second time to incorporate that feedback. It helps that I have experience working as a creative director too, and that experience has taught me how to develop more than one idea at a time and to work closely with my clients.
On set, I create a welcoming space for the client and agency to share their feedback in each situation. I like to believe I’m a great communicator. I ask questions and am always listening deeply to those who have all been thinking about the project for months before I joined. In pressured situations, I do my best to remain calm and troubleshoot collaboratively. We’re a team and all working towards the same end goal: make something great that resonates!
LBB> 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)?
Natalie> As someone with experience in long-form storytelling, I love the challenge of short-form commercial storytelling. It's a different discipline. I believe both disciplines have influenced one another in my work. My long form taught me about character arcs and development and then I had to apply those sensibilities to say it in one line. It’s not easy, but we have so many ways to share ideas these days, I welcome the opportunity to connect across all platforms. I like to reach people where they are.
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)?
Natalie> New technology is enabling creativity and demolishing the barriers to entry for us all. I’m still a firm believer in the idea that the diversity of human experience breathes originality on screen. And new technology is and always should be in service of humanity. I don’t believe it will replace us, it will simply make more possible.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Fluid - This is the visual expression of an energy I was feeling and the experience of making this was food for the creative soul.
Max Richter's Sleep - This feature doc is created to be experienced. Realising that vision was a huge accomplishment for me and changed me as a storyteller. I was deeply impacted by the concept of the work.
Genesis Audacity of Design - The principles of this campaign seem to be a common thread across many of the stories I’m personally drawn to. Art can cross borders in all of its forms.
Mastercard “Can’t Judge A Book” This was a campaign where the casting was on point. And my role here was to capture the essence of each of these artists’ and weave an empowering narrative from their very personal experiences. I developed the questions and directed the edit to realise the concept. I also was able to incorporate my extensive experience in live music film into commercial storytelling which is always a real joy for me.
