Some philosopher once said something like: For those who feel, life is tragedy; for those who think, it’s comedy. Based on that simple guideline, Sparks director David Popescu can be considered a thinking person’s director, and it would appear, quite a thinker himself, based on his propensity to let his light shine on life’s dark little corners of hilarity.

Popescu distinguished himself in the top five finishers for First Cut this year with a body of work that leans toward dark comedy, and a way with an idea that inspired Sparks exec Andy Crosbie to dub the director the ‘Hitchcock of Comedy.’

That comedy of unease ranges from accentuating the embarrassing moment, as in ‘Rave’ for Cantel at&t, to delighting in the horror of the Watermelon Man for Kellogg’s Pop Tarts. Popescu’s comic sense combined with an ex-art director’s feel for the essence of an idea and the realities of the process, together with a good work ethic going into a pitch have brought the director a degree of not only critical but bottom-line success, says Sparks’ Corinna Lehr.

Popescu’s dance card has been brimming lately, as the director follows up spots for Bell Mobility with new campaigns for Sony, Rogers Cablesystems and Adidas.

‘I like dabbling in the darker recesses of people, of existence,’ says Popescu. ‘Even if you look at the little things, everyday life is full of little tragedies that are so funny if you treat them the right way.’

Describing his own directing style in simple words is difficult, he says. While there is no readily identifiable visual slot, it’s more of a feel and an overall sense of timing and framing that unites his work. ‘Without every spot looking the same, you still want to have someone look at the work and say, `Wow, there’s something going on there.’ ‘

Popescu came by the sensibility honestly, growing up in small-town Southern Ontario fed on a rich creamy diet of bad tv, movies and comedy albums (‘Before there was a name for pop culture, I was into it,’ he says). The predilection for combining horror with the comedy of everyday life was reflected early on (his band was called House of Knives), as was the desire to make funny things.

‘My friends and I were always making up skits and just always making weird ideas come to life,’ says the director.

The Cambridge native took the next logical step and enrolled in the advertising program at the Ontario College of Art and spent the next several years art directing at Toronto agencies including Taxi and Doner Schur Peppler.

‘The greatest thing about working at Doner Schur Peppler was we were making commercials constantly,’ says Popescu. ‘It was like when we were kids: `Let’s make something. Let’s make a commercial.’ ‘

That hands-on nature would translate into the desire to move to the production side as a spot director. While his agency work afforded the opportunity to direct on a few occasions, it wasn’t until a magic epiphanous moment on his way to work one day when he decided it was time to officially don the director’s cap.

Popescu directed his first spots while at Leo Burnett, working through Radke Films, and signed with Sparks in December of last year.

Those early spots included a knife-wielding farmer in the chicken coop for a Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs effort and a tour through a freak museum for Toaster Strudel Pop Tarts. To the Watermelon flavor installment of the Pop Tarts creative, Popescu brought the right mixture of sunshine and horror, with the aggressively inappropriate watermelon father casting a sinister shadow over the happy faces of suburban strollers.

In ‘Rave’ for Cantel at&t, created out of Gee Jeffery & Partners and produced through Sparks, Popescu’s comic touch was applied in a very different manner, where the horror this time came in being exposed as an inadequately plugged-in teen. The scene is ‘My First Rave,’ and the tale of fright unfolds against a throbbing sea of big pants and teen spirit. Suddenly the music scratches to a halt and the deejay announces the name of an unfortunate whose mother waits outside in a minivan to pick him up.

Popescu points to directors like Stanley Kubrick and Terry Gilliam – with a bit of John Waters for sheer weirdness – as influences, and film inspiration ranging from Brazil and The Last Emperor to the 1964 C-movie Spider Baby.

Rather than adhering to one style, Popescu says he favors a mix of references, with the ultimate goal of creating something with the capacity to surprise. ‘That’s the most delightful feeling, when you’re confused – when you’re asking, `Wow, what is that?’ ‘ he says. ‘It happens so rarely now.’

While Popescu goes for the unexpected moment in a spot, his approach and experience minimize confusion at the pitch stage, says Lehr. ‘I’ve noticed it’s easy for him to get right to the core of an idea,’ she says. ‘That’s his agency experience but also intelligence. It makes for an easy process. When he jumps into a project he gets in all the way because he understands the whole process and he understands the responsibility he’s got. It’s not just the David Popescu show, there’s more involved than that.’

Popescu says his agency background facilitates the process of identifying the nuances of a spot and which elements to emphasize on set.

‘I’ve been there when a spot goes well and doesn’t go well. I know what happens after the director has left,’ he says. ‘I’m sensitive to the total aspect of it, not just getting a few cools shots and then good-bye. It keeps everyone in a good mood.’

Popescu says times are generally harder for the up-and-coming director, if only by virtue of the sheer numbers of participants on the scene. But the advantage of that situation has been to force the director to push his own approaches in new directions. ‘It’s forced me to do newer things quicker; I’m getting a kick out of doing a whole bunch of different styles now.’