The Directors: Truman & Cooper
Truman & Cooper's first playground is music but they quickly take pleasure in making experimental films together. Rather than solving the murder of Laura Palmer, they now create films for commercials, music videos and narrative content.
Truman&Cooper are represented by CANADA in the United States and by Blink in the UK.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Jonathan> The first thing that catches me in a script are the characters. When I read it, I instantly imagine them: how they look, what makes them special, what is their story? Sometimes they appear to me very quickly - crystal clear, I can almost see them. Sometimes, it takes more time. I try to recall people I know, that I have met, crossed paths with, or just observed and they start to take shape. I love this process. Every time a script opens doors to imagining new characters, it gets me excited.
Anthony> Characters are definitely what drive us both. Because we've experienced so much together, the conversation about characters usually starts with experiences we’ve shared and people we’ve met. Whether it be a biker on a road trip through Spain, or the waiter at one of our favourite restaurants, drawing inspiration from real life is always our first approach.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Anthony> Probably because we come from a music video background, the first thing that I would do to start a treatment is to play songs that come to mind when thinking about the film. I’m not really looking for the spot's soundtrack, but rather exploring what the film could be in terms of tone, rhythm, emotion… Music often helps me see the scenes, locations, frames and characters of the film more clearly.
Jonathan> He forgot to mention that he also needs to play them very loud and 100 times in a row, which can be quite tiring, haha! But it’s also a good way to communicate the visual language of the film. Music sometimes conveys intentions or emotions in a better way than words can.
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?
Anthony> We are passionate about every film dealing with stories, characters and emotions. That’s why we also work on narrative long forms. We shot a series called First Love a few years ago and we will shoot another one next year for French TV. We also currently have feature film projects in the works. Even with their shorter formats, commercials are an amazing playground for us. We love story driven films but it doesn’t have to be strictly narrative. Even a vignette film can become interesting and deep if you care about your characters and give them a real soul. On a film for Allianz, there were actually no characters at all, only sets, which we used to convey stories and emotions. We loved the challenge, and are really happy with the result.
Jonathan> All these projects require special attention to casting, which is maybe the stage of filmmaking that we like the most. We love searching for people, connecting with them, understanding them, feeling their personality, emotions, and energy. Most of the time, we find our talent through street casting. What matters to us most is finding people with something unique and special. To feel someone’s energy and to then find the best way to convey it on film is something we find exciting and rewarding.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Anthony> Even if there are a lot of duos nowadays, I feel like some people have a misconception of how it works. At this point, we have been a duo for so long that we’ve kind of become one brain. It means that we now easily adapt our way of working to each project. On some, we work together closely with one another from start to finish. On others, we will divide and conquer different aspects of the film. We have become incredibly dynamic in our partnership, and I feel it helps us approach a wider array of projects.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Jonathan> Wow, there are so many! Because we do a lot of street casting, we’ve had several people get stage fright and refuse to step in front of the camera. Almost every time, we’ve managed to reassure them and bring them back to the party. Only once did that not work, but we ended up using a kid who lived in the house we were shooting in, and he totally nailed it!
Anthony> He did! Also one day when I got very sick on set, Jonathan replaced me at the last minute. I literally slept on set and Jonathan would wake me up to ask me questions. Being a duo has its problem-solving benefits!
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Jonathan> We are in constant dialogue with one another, as well as with the agency and client which allows us to find a solution that satisfies everyone’s needs. Although we always agree on our approach to the project, we are used to the give and take nature of the job, which lends itself well to collaborating with everyone to make the best film possible.
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)?
Jonathan> Before directing, I was a VFX supervisor. I completely put technology aside with Truman & Cooper to really focus on people. But I have to say that emerging technology gets me excited, and I would like to find an original way to use it again, but in a sensitive and human approach. We are on it!
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Babbel - Accent Yourself: Casting was challenging for this one as we needed to find a whole international cast locally in Bangkok. We looked for them literally everywhere in the city, and by all methods. In the streets, friends of friends of the production crew, even asking random taxi drivers that we met in the city… It was then all about capturing their singular energy in only a few frames. It was a very fun one to do!
McDonald's - Be Bold: We are happy about the way we used movement, rhythm and editing to convey the intensity of the characters emotions. This is the type of film where music really guided the whole energy.
Allianz - Protecting You: This one isn’t character driven but we loved the challenge of implying characters, conveying a story, an identity, a mood, just with a still life image.
Orange x iPhone - Rain Girl: Finding the right girl was a huge challenge. We are very proud of her and of how we managed to convey her very original energy in the film.
