With six years of commercial direction under his belt, Circle Productions’ Shin Sugino makes his big-screen directorial debut this month with a 60-second cinema ad for Panasonic DVD Palm Theatre.

The clean, simple spot opens like a movie, tricking the audience into thinking it’s a trailer, and then pulls back to reveal that what they are actually watching is a tiny Palm Theatre floating in the air.

In addition to applying his ‘graphic’ style to commercials, Sugino has had a varied career consisting of fine art, stills photography and teaching photography.

– What kind of things influence your directorial style?

My own stills photography work.

– What inspires you?

The work of Joseph Sudek (a one-armed photographer from the Czech Republic).

– What was the difference between shooting a TV spot and a cinema spot?

Ratio and clarity of detail.

– When teaching photography, what is the main thing you hope your students walk away with?

A way of seeing things and events in their life.

– What is your greatest extravagance in life?

Computer gadgetry.

– What is the most fun you have ever had on a shoot?

Two months in Morocco shooting for Polaroid Corporation.

– Remember the first spot you ever shot? How did you feel that day?

Dentyne Sugarless Gum. Wow, what a scam!