Derek Vanlint, the veteran director/cameraman responsible for the cinematography on Alien, Dragonslayer and innumerable commercials, has signed with Toronto’s The Big Film Company for representation as a director and dop. Vanlint, who is repped for longer-form work by Sesler & Company, continues to work out of Toronto. He cites the presence of Big executive producer Angie Colgoni as one reason he was drawn to Big.

‘I just seemed to spark off well with Angie and decided to give [Big] a try,’ says Vanlint, who adds he was also attracted to the boutique feel Big offers.

For Colgoni, the signing of Vanlint was the result of a string of coincidences, which all began with a recent Saatchi & Saatchi job for Tide.

‘[Saatchi] requested I bid Derek as the director/cameraman on the job,’ Colgoni recalls. ‘It was then I got to meet him and see this high professionalism in action. It was a difficult shoot and after meeting Derek I realized he would make this whole process completely stress-free – and he did.’

Vanlint says the pot was sweetened by the many familiar faces roaming the halls. Over the years, Vanlint has worked with Big directors Chris Sanderson and Carl Harvey. In fact, Harvey worked as Vanlint’s camera assistant shortly after Vanlint moved to Toronto in the early 1980s. Because of his past relationships with some Big directors and his respect for others, he says he is open to working as cinematographer for any of Big’s directors.

Meanwhile, Colgoni feels having the veteran Vanlint on board will benefit Big’s younger directors. ‘When you have a young director, they should do their first few jobs with someone seasoned,’ says Colgoni. ‘I think they’ll definitely benefit by having him here.’

Vanlint comes to Big with a wealth of knowledge of advertising and filmmaking amassed over a lifetime. On the controversial topic of cross-border spot-making, contrary to most Canadian directors, he feels Americans have as much right to shoot spots here for Canadian clients as Canadians do to work south of the border.

‘I really believe where talent is concerned, there shouldn’t be a border,’ says Vanlint. ‘People should come and go and be allowed wherever somebody is prepared to pay them.’

He speculates that over-eagerness could be the downfall of the younger generation of under-employed Canadian helmers, who tend to over-present when pitching a job.

‘I believe those kinds of resident directors, in order to kind of impress, go in and try to change everything around,’ says Vanlint. ‘It may have taken months for an agency and a client to arrive at a particular concept and somebody comes in who has had the board for five hours and wants to change everything. It ends up with some frayed nerves from the account people and some bruised egos where the creatives are concerned.

‘I think our job as director is to bring our expertise to an existing idea, whether it is abstract or creative reality, and to explain our understanding of the idea and to listen to the gift-horse who has dreamed up the idea in the first place.’

As for Colgoni, she needs to make some reels of Vanlint’s work, and is busy weeding through approximately 15 legal-document boxes full of tapes that highlight everything from beer to cars to travel and tourism spots.

Meanwhile, Vanlint says he will continue with feature film work when the opportunities arise. He is still waiting on word from his producer on his feature, The Spreading Ground, which stars Dennis Hopper. Vanlint directed and shot the film last year.

‘Angie and Big are aware that I do have a kind of calling towards longer format, but it’s enough to say that commercials have really been my bread and butter.’ *