Toronto production house Fever Films North America has entered into an agreement with Pirate Radio & Television whereby Fever will represent the directors of Pirate for TV commercial production exclusively in North America.

Some may be surprised that Pirate, known largely for its work in TV audio post and radio spot production, has directors who can work in live action. They shouldn’t be. According to Rick Shurman, Pirate partner/director, the transition to TV is a natural extension for the shop’s audio directors.

‘A number of us have directed on-camera work before and for all sorts of various reasons we haven’t really pursued careers in that area,’ says Shurman. ‘If a spot comes up that isn’t too challenging from a cinematographic point of view – because that’s not our area of expertise – and is something really narrative or dialogue/performance-oriented, it’s something we’d be adept at because that’s what we do.’

Fever executive producer Danielle Schwartz feels North American agencies working on campaigns that combine TV and radio platforms will be interested in the affiliation because using the same director allows for a level of continuity between TV and radio spots. It also gives Fever a chance to inject the marketplace with some fresh blood.

Shurman says Pirate is certainly not reinventing itself through the Fever deal. Its bailiwick will still be radio production or TV audio post-production. However, if the opportunity arises to occasionally offer their services as live-action directors, Shurman and fellow Pirates Terry O’Reilly, Tom Goudie and Tom Eymundson are up for the challenge.

Because of the amount of time Shurman and the Pirate directors spend with creative teams for radio and post work, Shurman says it is only natural for them to get to know the creatives more intimately than, say, a pure commercial director. Getting to know the team’s tastes, expectations and how they work becomes part of the daily routine. He therefore hopes some agency types will see the value in using a Pirate director because of their proven track record in directing narrative and dialogue performance-oriented work for radio.

‘We do a substantial amount of it, more than probably any film director is going to do,’ he says. ‘We probably do a few hundred spots each a year.’

-www.pirate.ca