The Directors: Schildberg
Schildberg is a commercial director and feature screenwriter. He’s a partner at Nimble Beast and has a long track record in lifestyle, comedy, and cars.
Name: Schildberg
Location: Los Angeles/ Warsaw
Repped by/in: Nimble Beast (Company), Little Bird, Rogue Rep
Awards: Effie, Grand Prix Santiago Int’l Film Festival, Sao Paulo International Film Festival, European Grammys (nominated)
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Schildberg> There are many things on the table right now, but the thing that makes me most excited is Nimble Beast, the production company in which I am a partner along with EP Elran Ofir, Jose Ho-Guanipa, The Bonnan Brothers, and Tom Kubik. After many years of being on rosters on both sides of the Atlantic, building something from the ground up with such talented people is truly invigorating.
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Schildberg> More than anything, the fresh approach to the ads themselves by today’s creatives. A lot of trends are just reinterpretations of what has come before. We’re in a time when smart, creative people have so much to work with. This is not only provided by the world around us, but also the amazing work that was made in past years. Never before have we had so many cultural references to work with and when great creatives utilise that, a director can’t help but want to jump on board.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Schildberg> Story and character are the wellspring of all great projects. If the human element is on point, we’ve got a map and a compass. That’s all we really need. The rest (visual style, sound design, art direction, etc.) is just icing on the cake. It’s craft. You can have a lot of fun with craft as long as it serves a clear purpose. When the idea is spot on, it creates something I truly value:
Cohesion. It’s that rare thing that inspires everyone involved to bring their best to a project. The energy on set is one of possibility and that’s when my role as a director is to make sure all the brilliant people around me stay on track.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Schildberg> I’m a very cerebral person. In the past, the most natural approach for me was to dissect the project from different angles. Now, it’s pure intuition. I try to remove myself from the brief, focus on the project, and what I feel it’s trying to accomplish. I don’t try to bring 'my approach', but rather assess where the project want to go and what approach would benefit the spot. It’s best to be malleable and remember that the map is not the territory. How I get there can vary - from hours of research to going on a walk and simply *not* thinking about it.
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?
Schildberg> It’s very important. I immigrated to the US as a kid and most of my life experience was being new to everything around me - places, people, cultures, and things. Stepping outside of my own zone of perception was a very natural and personal experience.
If I am not the target audience for a product or idea, it’s up to me to find out who is, who they are, what is important to them, and why. One of the best things about working in our industry is that we are allowed to be anthropologists in a sense. What could be more fascinating than the people around us?
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Schildberg> The most important working relationship for a director changes by the minute. It depends on whether I’m talking through an idea with the agency, casting a role, adjusting a shot with the DP, or deciding with Wardrobe what colour sweater the talent should be wearing. I feel that the director’s job is making sure that they’re the most important working relationship for all the people turning to them for help.
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?
Schildberg> I have a great affinity for cars. Working on those campaigns was a lot of fun. (I’m a boy. I like things that go fast and make noise.) I’ve also proven that I am adept at telling human stories and capturing the quiet moments - growing up on foreign cinema and attending art school does that to you. But I simply love comedy. It could be cultural or just the way that I am wired, but I think that funny people are the closest thing to proof that God exists.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Schildberg> So far, all misconceptions pertaining to me and my work have been correct.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Schildberg> The best thing about growing up an immigrant is that your parents make you painfully aware of costs. I lean heavily on my producer in those matters. At the end of the day, what we’re doing is making something that costs time and money; A tangible fact we forget at our peril. I’ve always felt that responsibility. But it doesn’t mean you can’t be clever about drawing outside the lines.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Schildberg> When I lived in Europe a few years back, I was put on a Christmas ad for a huge client’s star product. The client, who was also owned the in-house agency producing the spot, was very hands on - a nice guy, but he had the self-awareness of Michael Scott from The Office. After a very long day, we were shooting the last scene, in which a young actress would be giving her mother the product as a Christmas gift. Then the client had the brilliant idea that the mother should cry tears of joy as she accepted the present.
The actress playing the mother explained that she was not informed about the need to cry on cue and did not possess that skill. The make up department did not bring anything to help with the crying either. Since we had a friendly rapport, I half-jokingly proposed to the client that he direct the scene. Perhaps he had a way of hitting a vein of brilliance that eluded me. I assured him I would be next to him to help in anyway I could. He happily took the reigns. The crew smirked as I said “Action”.
His direction was a long speech about the character’s tragic backstory: how the mother and daughter haven’t seen each other in years because of a fight they had over the daughter’s marriage. The daughter moved to another country, but now she’s back and has brought the product as a peace offering. The actors just stood there, but no one was moved to tears. Perhaps it was fatigue or the absurdity of the tale he was weaving, but I burst into a fit of laughter so bad that I needed to take a knee.
Within moments, laughter spread throughout the set. The gaffers, the DP, the talent, the creatives, make up. Everyone, except for the client, laughed uncontrollable for a good two minutes. It was then that I looked up and noticed that the actress playing the mother was laughing so hard… she had tears streaming down her face.
Needless to say, we got the shot and the client went home happy. That commercial became a Christmas staple for the company.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Schildberg> With great precision and during prep. A director’s key role is to be collaborative. A great idea doesn’t need protection. If it does, it might not be a great idea.
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?
Schildberg> I was never mentored. Perhaps, I was unlucky in that respect. That is why I am always glad to share my experience with others. It’s not only the apprentice who benefits from that kind of relationship, and it brings a fresh perspective to everyone involved. No matter what your role, if you’re not learning, you’re not evolving.
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)?
Schildberg> It’s really not that complicated. TV screens are 16x9. Phone screens are 9x16. 70 years ago directors were worried about Cinemascope, claiming that it’s too much screen real estate. Today, we look at it like it’s just another tool in the tool box. If anything, more formats offer more opportunities to think about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.
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)?
Schildberg> Currently, 'new technology' and I are on good terms. We’ve hung out a few times and like each other’s company, but no one has proposed marriage yet. That being said, shooting a desert scene in virtual production while sitting in an air-conditioned studio with access to a clean bathroom that’s only a few feet away has indisputable merits.
I’m excited to see where AI goes. We’re getting to witness the birth of a new way to create. Though it’s still in a nascent stage, I can’t wait to see the possibilities that it will allow us in the near future.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Schildberg> Toyota Rav4 - This entire campaign is very dear to my heart. It was my first time shooting cars and my first time in Spain and Portugal. I’ll always remember how challenging the environment was. We needed to find new locations due to brush fires and the crew really stuck together to make it happen.
Red Bull - One of my favourite shoots. There’s something special about people coming together to make something funny even when it’s very cold outside.
MoneyGram - My first time shooting on two continents. It’s also one of the commercials that I also wrote. The client came to me directly with an assignment to create something from scratch. Word of advice: If the client wants you to come up with an idea, working in a free trip to New York is worth the effort.
Run - I love working with animals. It was also fun shutting down streets in a European capital in the middle of the night. Funny enough, the only night we could do it was the shortest night of the year. We had about six hours of complete darkness to make this happen. Needless to say, prep was very crucial in this case and the crew was amazing. We were so concerned about the well-being of the horses, it seemed that we didn’t need to communicate with each other. Everyone knew the storyboards by heart and we calmly pushed on until dawn. The next day was my birthday and I celebrated by sleeping the entire day.
