The Directors: Roman Daniel Rütten

Roman Rütten brings a unique and personal perspective to his creative journey and embraces diverse collaborations, celebrating the richness of backgrounds, orientations, and skills. His global work has honed his craft across genres, from documentaries like GUIDED FRAME to sleek lifestyle spots like YOUTUBE MUSIC, to narratives like LIFE OF A STRANGER, and animation - his original field of study. Roman's true passion lies in crafting compelling human stories, often with diverse and inclusive casts, evoking genuine emotions. He treasures authentic connections formed through his work and his ultimate satisfaction lies in touching lives through his films, a drive that fuels storytelling pursuits. His work includes brands such as Garmin, Sonos, Oppo and Google.

Name: Roman Daniel Rütten

Location: New York

Repped by/in: 1stAveMachine

Awards: British Short Film Awards 2023 (longlist), Berlin Fashion Film Festival 2017, Nowness

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

Roman> I think what makes commercials so interesting for directors is the fact that scripts can be so different from each other and sometimes require their very own approach, which gives us the opportunity to experiment and try out new techniques. But personally, what I look for first is heart. Inside of all the messaging that we need to communicate, does it have space for a human story, something relatable?

Second is passion and courage. Do I feel in the way it's written that there is a desire to take a step into the unknown and work together to create something that we are both proud of? If I see either of the two, that’s enough to get me very hooked. It's funny. I usually like to sit with a script for an hour or two before I commit to the pitch. Besides the expected creative anxiety that most creative people feel, I just like to read it a few times then step away, have a coffee and see what happens in my mind. This period is very important personally and about finding if there is a connection to the idea and to myself. It is an important part of my process, because if I don't feel a personal connection, I feel it's dishonest to commit to it. 

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

Roman> When I decide to commit to a project, I like to see what ideas come to me, even before the call with the agency. This helps me think of call questions and make sure we are all working on the same frequency. After the call, if they like my initial thoughts, I go into a period of pure research (I do get researchers involved, but honestly I prefer to be really hands-on and pull references myself.) The research part is crucial to the actual ideation and execution, because this is the time you have with yourself and the idea. Then I drop a few images into a deck with a skeleton outline, which makes it feel as if things are coming together and also helps take away that creative anxiety, enabling me to dive fully into the writing process. I like to keep it loose enough to spur my imagination, yet detailed enough to paint a picture on how it all comes alive.

Occasionally I even walk through key moments in the story page by page. It's difficult, but if I’m successful, the client is excited because they can 'see' the film. Sometimes I do this in tandem with a test or a mood film, time permitting. I just want to show the client that I am really excited about the idea beyond words.

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

Roman> Trust. It sounds so simple, but trust is really the scarcest currency there is in any relationship. If I feel 100 percent trusted, it empowers me to be the best version of myself, and ultimately affects how the final ad comes together.

In terms of crew, I surround myself with people that have no ego, but are extremely hard, passionate workers. In the beginning of my career, I was much more controlling, and while I still think control is needed, it’s also crucial to make room for ideas. I give the same level of trust to my DP, crew producer, etc. We can establish this kind of working environment where we can just jam based on what comes up during the shot, almost like a band where everyone plays their instrument but the song really just develops when all come together in harmony. Of course that doesn’t mean you don't need to prepare, I'm German after all and preparation is everything, but you have to leave some room for magic to appear.

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?

Roman> During my career I have worked in a wide array of genres, from the early days when I was in animation and product, into mixed media and ultimately into lifestyle. Now my focus is on more narrative projects that touch me on a human level. That’s why I shot my short film 'Life of a Stranger' at the end of last year. I needed to show this work on my reel. I did an 18 min ensemble short a few years ago in Brooklyn, but since then I was so immersed in commercials and lifestyle that I felt the film was needed. It is the only way to expand your horizons, by going out and making your own short films. In the case of 'Life of a Stranger,' it was really well received, and even though the run time is only a little more than four minutes, it made it to the long list of the British Short Film Awards and won some smaller festivals against longer and bigger shorts.

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

Roman> I think the biggest misconception is just that people love to put you in boxes. They see your reel and think that is all you are. I think it's human; we like to apply patterns. But all my life I have been trying to break out of those boxes. I see myself foremost as an artist and storyteller; the medium is almost secondary. I obviously have a special love for films, but I also do photography on an old Hasselblad or Leica, make music in Abelton, do 3D in cinema and paint in oil.

LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?

Roman> I respect them, but I don’t like them. But I also have to say, I am usually not the one writing the budgets in the final numbers. At least the way I approach the work relationship again is based on trust and respect; I think if the motivation is to rip someone off by overcharging them, you already burn all your karma points before the project even starts. I prefer to have the feeling we are all a team, and we’re here to make the idea look the best we can by problem solving together.

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Roman> Oh my god there are so many. As I am sure that most people in production know, in the end we always figure it out, but looking back the path to get there can be entertaining. I think my best story was during covid. At this time only Asian countries were in lockdown, which also meant nothing could be easily imported out of the countries, including the products needed for a shoot with a crazy intense two-week timeline from award to wrap. So we had to get a real good smuggler involved, that somehow got what was needed out of the country, but only two products worked for the full shoot. We had to send a PA to the city, and when he arrived where the meeting point was, (an Asian restaurant where no one spoke English) he had to get in a car and was driven to the real meet up point. There he was ID’ed and eventually got the products, but it was a very funky experience. Almost like a movie in itself. The PA did rescue the shoot though and was the real hero. 

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

Roman> That’s a tricky question, as the answer lies somewhere in the grey areas in between. There is an unspoken obligation towards the idea, and the agency to protect that idea and our vision that we promised them, but also we can’t forget who is hiring us in the end. For me, it’s always important to hear people and understand what it is that they want to achieve, and then figure out a way to do it so it's still true to the original idea and the edit is successful. If we can establish a very collaborative atmosphere and team spirit from director to agency to client, it really helps in those moments because we’re all in this together.

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?

Roman> I think this is a beautiful development and an important one. I feel honestly blessed and inspired that I was able to work with such diverse talent and differently abled people over the last three years. It's so important to break stereotypes and give people a platform. I also have mentored live on set. We are in a very pivotal time, and it is crucial that clients help out so we can onboard and train people. But we also have to be careful to not fall from one trap into the next one. In the end it's as bad to feel you only got hired because of a quota. Ideally, we all want to be seen for our own unique souls and who we are beyond skin colour, age or gender. I prefer if people only look at my work and know nothing about me until I come on set. 

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? 

Roman> I was lucky, I only got it once, funny enough when I was trying to avoid it the most because I was up for a job. I did New Year’s Eve with just another couple in a cabin and got it. Luckily the client ended up moving the full shoot which does not happen all the time. In the long run, I think the pandemic made us see how important our health is, and how much we are all connected in the end. For me, I used the time to work on myself as a creative and explore new fields, like music.

For the industry it certainly made remote shoots much more the norm. In a weird way it did bring back trust a bit since we all had to give up control. Maybe, despite all the bad things, this was something positive. I do love to be on set again with all the people and connect beyond screens.  

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)? 

Roman> There was a time when it was a bit crazy; we had to shoot everything for 16x9 and 9x16, and it felt like smartphones killed the close ups. But luckily it normalised a little to an extent where we just sit down and see what’s the priority format and let’s keep the others in mind and protect for them maybe as simple as shoot everything in open gate format. I think in the end the content is much more important than the format, unless you end up cropping a product out; that would be very bad. But generally I think it’s case by case.

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.)?

Roman> Well that’s a hot topic. I need to watch my words. The reason why I am doing what I am doing today is because I have always embraced new technology and used it early on. I think we are in a crucial time, like when computers were introduced or maybe even when fire was discovered. Technology is moving so quickly you almost feel like you’re just chasing and never arriving. It was a little different back in the day, and this endless chase can give you anxiety. So it's important to also know when to slow down. I try to counterbalance this by doing things that require me to be more present, like analogue photography or listening to vinyl.

But it is important to incorporate technology into your workflow early on, and the people who know me know that I am doing this, without spoiling some secrets. But it's important to understand all of this is just one more tool in our toolbox that can be insanely useful. I use AI all the time, from helping me write my feature script to generative fills and so on. But here is the important bit. Just make sure you are not the technology as final product. Because if you are just the tech, you are just a technician and there are many technicians and every result will look the same. What makes things interesting is the imperfections, and I do think the outcry for authentic and human-made will become a big thing later as luxury. Just see what the Leica m11p is doing with image authentication; I think that stuff is interesting and a good example how technology is used to help us navigate between what is real and what is not.

I could go on and on. I see I was mostly speaking about AI because it’s such a fascinating topic that blows my mind. Long story short, all of these are fantastic tools.

Some final words to wrap this up. When I see a photograph or a video, what really captures me is the story behind it. This is a real moment. If everything is abundant and generated en-masse, it sometimes feels a bit meaningless. That’s why I switched to film photography again because you hold a negative in your hand in the end and it somehow feels very good.

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

Roman> 1.) Life of a Stranger - Short 

This short film is a true passion project and I am currently writing the feature version. It shows the more narrative storytelling that I want to focus on, even in commercials. 

2) Google Pixel 6 Anthem - DC

This was a really great project where the client trusted us fully and it really helped me to establish my lifestyle reel and the follow up job. 

3) CIF - DC

I liked this project because I was able to incorporate lifestyle and VFX with the help of amazing Pablo from Bleed VFX, and it shows how something that is usually unsexy and boring like cleaning can be cool. 

4) Oppo - Reno 3

My first smartphone commercial, and my first remote shoot.