that win you the jobs

Dale Heslip is one of the rare directors who makes a living working in Canada on Canadian projects.

‘I’m not sure how it’s happened but they keep me busy enough up here,’ says Heslip, who has been with The Partners’ Film Company since early 1992.

Working for a company the size of Partners’ may have something to do with it, says Heslip. There’s no question that he’s getting the support he needs from his production house.

‘I think being a part of a big company lets me do what I do. Most of my jobs are fairly art-directed because that’s my background, and the system here allows me to do that. At a smaller company it would be harder to pull off, simply because of the resources. Tests and preparation can be done without a lot dough (in a large company),’ he says.

Heslip started in the business in 1990, directing music videos for Canadian bands Honeymoon Suite and Crash Test Dummies. Those videos opened some doors to commercial direction and he soon landed on Partners’ doorstep.

Part of the attraction of American directors may be the difficulty in booking them, says Heslip. It’s human nature to want something more when you can’t have it. But, he argues, there’s a lot of talented directors that do great work coming out of the u.s. and you can’t blame the agencies for chasing quality.

In Heslip’s experience, it’s ideas that get jobs. It’s not your country of origin that decides which director gets the spot, but whether your concept meshes with the agency’s idea of how the commercial should look.

‘If you’re the right person for the job, you’re going to get it, whether you’re Canadian or American. Maybe I’m naive, but I believe that if you’ve got good ideas and a good attitude plus some talent, then you’re going to make it,’ he says.

Directors have to decide how much family time they’re willing to sacrifice to work outside the country, says Heslip. He doesn’t want to move away from his family and the city he loves in order to have a career, and he’s happy he hasn’t had to do that.

However, the young director’s not ruling out future work in the u.s. He’s currently looking into u.s. representation.

‘Why seek it out now? I think the answer is board flow. Having an American production company fishing on my behalf can only benefit me because it’ll bring more ideas to play with. You always want to pick and choose. It’s the same with commercials from Europe. There’s a different style with fewer rules and I haven’t even begun to explore those possibilities.’