Who’s gone where? From where? And when? As the Revolving Doors spin, we put the spotlight on spot-makers on-the-move…

Toronto’s Industry Films has signed a deal with L.A.-based commercial production company Little Minx to represent director/DOP Malik Hassan Sayeed and director Andrew Dosunmu exclusively in Canada.

Industry head of sales Eva Preger says the addition of the two directors is a major score for the shop.

‘I would say Malik and Andrew have some of the most interesting film happening right now as far as their look,’ says Preger. ‘They are really breaking the mold and pushing things forward.’

Industry recently brought Sayeed to Toronto for a two-day Fuji shoot out of Ammirati Puris, with creative by Debra Prenger and Alanna Nathanson. Sayeed’s mission: to find beauty where you’d least expect it – in a downtown Toronto parking lot.

‘What we’re doing is making a loose narrative, a loose story about a parking lot,’ said Sayeed during a break on set. ‘We are shooting very beautiful, well-composed frames. The whole idea is you don’t know where you are exactly until the end, when you find out you’re in a parking lot. The idea is even a parking lot can be beautiful.’

Fuji looked to Ammirati and Sayeed to make its brand appealing to a younger target, the key consideration when Sayeed mapped out his boards.

‘I interpret the boards into something I can feel and at the same time serve the purpose of what they are trying to achieve in the way that I think it should,’ explains Sayeed, who also served as the spot’s DOP. ‘They want to attract a younger crowd with this and it is all about visuals, so a lot of what we’re doing now is certain kinds of visuals that are striking to the eye of the contemporary young viewer.’

Sayeed says he spent a lot of time in the parking lot prior to the shoot to get a feel for the location.

‘What I’ve seen of Malik is he works in a really kind of organic way,’ says Preger. ‘He comes out to the location and sort of ‘feels’ it in a way. That’s not a very common thing for commercial directors.’

‘I want to be kind of free to grab the best things that I see on the day so it becomes less structured and more subconscious in a way,’ says Sayeed. ‘Obviously it’s not subconscious because I have to make a decision about what I shoot. So if I’m immediately feeling that, we move on. That can be part of the mix as well. I have to feel the location to do the subconscious part of it.’

In addition to his commercial work, Sayeed has served as DOP on many of Spike Lee’s films, and worked with the late Stanley Kubrick on his last feature, Eyes Wide Shut.

-www.industryfilms.com

Gardner signs with Sesler

Toronto-based DOP James Gardner has signed on with Dora Sesler’s Toronto cinematographer rep house Sesler & Company.

The South African-born Gardner has been shooting for nearly 30 years, beginning at age 18. He has been lensing film, television and commercial projects in Canada for almost a dozen years.

‘He’s an extremely accomplished director of photography who falls very much into our mandate of people who do both films and commercials,’ says Sesler. ‘We’ve had a relationship through the years and he is a perfect addition to our roster.’

Gardner, one of the busiest DOPs in town, is looking forward to shooting a broad range of projects under Sesler’s banner.

‘I plan not to get pigeonholed where someone says, ‘He’s a commercial guy and that’s it,’ ‘ says Gardner. ‘Throughout my career I’ve managed to do more than one format and I think that enables you to get to know a lot of people from all different walks of life. The way you shoot a commercial is entirely different from the way you do a movie, and a movie is totally different than how you would do a docudrama. [Representation] really enables you to do more than one thing.’

The award-winning DOP’s commercial reel includes spots for Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mazda, Bell, Molson and Campbell’s Soup to name a few. His reel can be viewed on Sesler’s new website, www.seslercompany.com.

Lightfoot goes full time with Head Gear

Drew Lightfoot has signed on with Toronto’s Head Gear Animation as director/animator and will be a key player in the company’s stop-motion animation efforts.

Lightfoot, who has worked on such stop-motion series as The PJs and Gary & Mike, began his relationship with Head Gear as a freelancer, working on a series of stop-motion station IDs for YTV.

‘I really like the fact that [Head Gear] is a small studio and that they usually tackle projects right from original concepts and take them all the way through, as opposed to just being a little part of the bigger production,’ says Lightfoot. ‘They are very design-orientated. They seek out the jobs that give them the most creative input.’

Currently Lightfoot is working with Head Gear partner Steve Angel on the network packaging for Astral Media’s new specialty channel M-Fest. Next, he will direct some shorts for Sesame Street and begin fleshing out a few of his own long-form ideas.

‘Part of the deal with Head Gear is they want me to produce my own films while I’m here, which I am totally keen to do,’ he says. ‘It’s an excellent venue for me to do that.’

-www.headgearanimation.com

Imported reps Propaganda

Toronto’s Imported Artists has signed an exclusive Canadian representation agreement with the Propaganda Films group of companies. The deal includes Propaganda, Satellite, Extension Films and Propaganda Independent. More details next issue. *