The Directors: Niall Coffey

Niall Coffey seamlessly transitioned from a skilled producer to a commanding directorial force behind the camera. His journey began in 2010 with a Canon 5D, capturing sessions and music videos for friends’ bands. Now, he directs impactful campaigns for renowned brands like Patron, Wagamama, Ballantine’s, Nike, Belvedere, TUI, Schweppes, Tanqueray, and VEVO. Niall’s passion for the craft shines through in every project, coupled with his collaborative and joyful approach, ensuring clients return for more.

Name: Niall Coffey

Location: South East London

Repped by/in: Globally by FAMILIA

Awards: Lovie award for Best Director and Lovie Award for Best DOP

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

Niall> I love a relatively simple idea that gives me room to add to it and gives me space to play with aesthetic, camera technique and put a stamp on the script. I like it if there is a little bit of challenge in the script also. It is fun to figure something new out. It is obviously also more fulfilling to feel like the client is wanting to try and do something that isn’t derivative but something that feels new and that I would be excited to see.

I also get really excited about good references attached to scripts or briefs. When the agency and I are picturing similar things in our heads and bringing up similar references and styles, that is a good sign that we are on the same page and it isn’t going to be an uphill battle trying to convince anyone of ‘my vision’. 

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

Niall> If it is something like a 30 second spot I read the script as many times as I need to make sure I can see as much of it as possible from start to finish and in as much detail as I can. Then I think it is about really taking note of what you are seeing and how you are seeing it. I will start thinking about whether I should tweak what I'm seeing stylistically to make it work better for that particular script or brand. Then start making the best decisions I can on those creative options in the time that I have.

Once I have a mind map; Shotdeck shotdeck shotdeck. I love shotdeck. The key word search is really good and I will just start spit balling on keywords from the brief or script if I am feeling stuck or I’m not super stoked with how the script is playing in my head. I will also often be reminded of something I have seen on Instagram when reading the script, then hopefully I have saved whatever spot that was and see if there is a way of adapting that visual technique and making it our own. 

That is all the fun bit. Then it’s the task of explaining what you are seeing in words and marrying them with the references that best help tell that story. That can be incredibly time consuming. But finding the right images is super important and can be a pretty endless rabbit hole. So I like to have as much time as possible to tweak the words and hunt for complementary images. 

I’m certainly not the best at formatting or putting the slickest looking treatment together, so I have been very lucky that a lot of the production companies I have been working with recently have someone on hand to help bring that together and I think making it look slick is a huge part of submitting a winning treatment. Know your strengths. Divide and conquer with whoever you are working on the pitch with if you can.

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

Niall> I think every creative partnership when making an ad is important. As a director it is literally your job to maintain a vision and be liaising with all these different departments and making sure they can picture what the end goal is and how their department fits into that. So I think it is important to make everyone feel invested in the project and that their expertise is being valued and listened to. 

You want people to want to make a stamp on whatever they are shooting. I want people to feel excited and want them to feel like collaborators. A stylist for instance is going to have a much better idea of what to bring to the table and how to push the styling in an interesting new direction, that I might not have thought of, because they style people most days and see trends and I think they will maybe be a bit more sensitive to cliches and help steer you away from them. You need to help maintain perspective of where that department fits into the ad as a whole but you want to create an environment where people feel they can make suggestions. 

I think good directing is really just shepherding other people and their talents to a common goal. If you start thinking that you know the most about everything as opposed to someone who has devoted their professional life to that one role, then you probably aren’t really going to be getting the best out of the people you are working with. I think it is good to think that everyone else knows more about their department than you do and that that is your biggest asset during production.

Also having good working relationships with your agency or client is crucial. You all need to be on the same page before anything else.

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?

Niall> I really like variety. That is one of the things I love about this industry; the different types of jobs you get to do. I really like doco work because telling someone else’s story is really inspiring and you get this real human connection that you don’t really get when making a commercial. But then on the flip side you don’t have as much control. So after doing docs for a bit I start to feel like ‘ahhhh give me something where we can dictate what is going to happen and plan’. And then after doing commercial work for too long I start to miss the fluidity and connection that comes with docos.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Niall> I think everyone feels this same frustration but I dislike how pigeonholed we all can get in this industry. I know that I’m recognised as having skills in a particular area, but I don’t want that to be a limitation for jobs because these skills are transferable to other areas. I think most people in this industry can turn their hands to loads of different types of shoots but often get cornered into one area. I try not to think like that when looking at possible HODs because it can be limiting and a barrier to entry for people.

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

Niall> I think this is one of the most challenging parts about being a director and still something I am trying to be better at with every job. I love collaboration so I am always up for hearing other people’s ideas and thoughts and I think you get the best outcomes by being open to looking at things from different perspectives. But sometimes clients can make some strange creative decisions that you just don’t think work. 

My tactic is really to just explain my vision for a script the best I can and whenever there is any doubt on a certain decision by the agency or client I just very honestly tell them why I think that is the best choice. And if they suggest something I don’t think works I don’t beat around the bush, I will say ‘I don’t like that and here is why and here is an alternative….’ No one wins if you are just a yes person. But I think you need to learn to make that argument and then just accept their decision. At the end of the day it is their money and the final choice is really with them and throwing your toys out the pram is not a good look for anyone. 

It can be frustrating but I have come to see it as a bonus now when I get to make something that both me and the client love, that is the dream, always. But sometimes you need to make compromises and stay motivated.

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?

Niall> I am obviously all for this. I think it is important not to gate keep and to drop the ladder back down and empower as many different people as possible that making a living in this industry is attainable. I don’t think what we do is ultimately that complicated and this should not be an industry that you should need to do an internship to get into or need fat savings to buy a camera or need a university degree for.

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? 

Niall> Just makes me thankful when I am working. The pandemic was tough for our industry and last year was even tougher. The pandemic helped remind me to not take it for granted. I’m very fortunate I get to point cameras around as a job and work with so many talented and kind people. When that wasn’t possible or as frequent it put into perspective what life would be like not doing this. I don’t want to forget that. 

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)?

Niall> I find Instagram a pretty inspirational and a soul destroying place simultaneously. I follow so many amazing directors, photographers and DP’s who get me inspired. So I think it is a great resource. But it is also very hard not to compare yourself to all the massive talents and feel like a hack. 

I do also think that tools like the LED Volume Walls are going to be massive assets in the future and I would really love to start experimenting in that world soon.

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

Niall> I love the spot I did for Wagamama with The 119 Studio, because that was an example of how I wish the creative process on all jobs was. Kelly and everyone at Wagas gave us so much freedom to just get on and make something. The brief was basically ‘youthful and undone (messy)’. They had a couple of dishes we had to feature and the rest was just left to us. We never put a single word to paper on that job. It was super informal, just phone calls, chatting, letting the idea evolve, not being afraid to re neg on a bad idea one of us might have suggested. 

We had a couple other scenes that should have been in that spot but as we got closer we realised we were sort of over complicating it so decided to just nail the simplest form of that idea. You normally never get given that freedom to just let ideas evolve or dump ideas throughout the pre production process. 

The treatment is normally signed off and that is it. You have to make exactly that and I don’t think that is always the most conducive way to be creative . But that was just a really nice creative collaborative process and it ended up being something that we were super stoked with and so was the client. And I rate them so much for just trusting us.