Jana Peck has joined the director roster at Avion Films, coming aboard from Cossette where she was a copywriter. A very respected copywriter. Avion executive producer Paola Lazzeri says when Avion received a script from Peck’s desk it was always welcome.

‘There was always a sense of excitement when you read one of her scripts…you don’t see scripts like that very often,’ says Lazzeri. ‘Her ability to communicate is obvious in the scripts and you just knew it was going to be a lovely story and moment.’

Peck, after spending the better part of a decade on the creative side (more than four years with Cossette), says she is up to the challenge of directing and is looking forward to giving life behind the camera a shot.

‘Over the number of years I’ve lived agency life, I’ve discovered what I really love to do is make television spots,’ says Peck. ‘It kind of seemed like a natural progression for me. I love the process, I love production, I love post-production, so I thought, hey, why don’t I go do that all the time?’

Lazzeri says Avion is already looking at a couple of scripts for its new director.

‘Jana isn’t going to be jumping to take spots just to flesh out her reel,’ says Lazzeri. ‘We support her in that because we want her to go in a direction she is comfortable with, we are comfortable with, and the marketplace is comfortable with.’

Peck says she is hoping her career progresses in the way another Avion director, Ray Dillman’s, has.

‘One of my favorite directors I’ve worked with is Ray Dillman,’ Peck says. ‘I worked with Ray a bunch of times – he shot some of my Saturn spots. He’s a really great director and someday I see myself doing the kinds of things he likes to do.’

Peck believes there is a definite place on the Avion roster for someone who wants to direct the type of jobs she is interested in taking on, namely spots which tell a story, feature realistic dialogue, and have a lighter side to them. She arrives at Avion with an advantage, she says, in that her years on the creative side make her sensitive to the various plights of creative teams.

‘I understand what they’ve already been through, even to get to the point of bidding on a director,’ she says. ‘When they come to me with problems, I’m going to know exactly where those problems are coming from or why they are happening or why a client is posing a certain question. I’ve been through it all on the creative side.’

Cossette vp and creative director Jim Garbutt says he is sorry to lose Peck and looks forward to encountering her on set.

‘I think she’ll do great,’ says Garbutt. ‘I think the learning curve will be pretty steep, but at the same time she has all the tools.

‘I think there is a good chance that at some point Cossette will test her directorial skills. I don’t know how soon that will be, but it is something we will eventually try.’

Although Peck has never directed a tv spot, she says her past experience gives her a leg-up in her new career.

‘I’ve always been excruciatingly picky with who I awarded my jobs to and I think that has helped me out a lot by working with the best people,’ she says. ‘I’ve always been very involved in production. I’ve done a lot of tv at Cossette and other places, and I’ve always been very hands-on.’

Peck says what attracted her to Avion is the way the shop builds its directors.

‘I’m incredibly lucky and fortunate to be here, for sure,’ she says. ‘When I decided I’d like to try this, I talked with some other production companies and found this was the best place for me.

‘I’m sure it is going to be a long road to become a director who is working on good stuff all the time, but these guys are willing to ride it out with me. I feel like I’ve won the lottery.’