“Directing as a Helping Profession”
by Lindell Singleton
Being a self-proclaimed cinema purist, I never envisioned myself
directing and producing corporate video projects. I studied the
works of filmmakers from Fritz Lang to Oscar Michaeux to Michael
Curtiz to David Lean. Corporate video projects, by and large,
were painful-to-watch, poorly scripted works that viewers endured
simply because they had no choice. The “talking head” was the
predominant creative thrust.
Although I worked for American Airlines in another capacity, I
was regularly directing and producing videos and PSAs for small
agencies with limited budgets and R&B and Rap group producers
with big ideas and no money. Still, it was filmmaking. I was
doing what I loved and what I was trained to do. Creatively, I
was somewhere between Hollywood and Bollywood.
I won an award from WORLDFEST: The Houston International Film
Festival for directing a music video for an R&B artist named
Pierre Starhrre. I kept the statute on my desk at work. A
colleague, working on a training project, came up with the idea
of producing a music video to raise awareness about a major issue
facing the airline: (The proper disposal of spent service items
when working around aircraft engines.) So, I drafted this
elaborate treatment blending country music, rock, and rap. We
shot the project over three days. It was a resounding hit
throughout the company…most probably because it represented
something outside the norm of most training videos. I look back
at that video and cringe… “What was I thinking?”
From there, I began to consult on scripts for other internal
training and marketing videos. I was hooked. I’m reminded of a
story about 20th century salesmen who both went to China. One
sent a cable to the home office and said, “Why’d you send me
here. Everyone is barefoot.” The other cabled the home office and
said, “Send every pair of shoes you’ve got in the factory. We can
make a million bucks over here.” I was like the second guy. All I
saw was an opportunity to bring a different kind of creative
approach to the corporate video world.
My initial arrogance was rooted in this neo-elitism that’s
infected many of my colleagues in the independent film community.
I looked askance on the work that corporate producers were
completing because it didn’t meet some edgy creative standard
that I thought everyone should aspire to. If the simple essence
of the medium is to both communicate and enlighten, corporate
video production is a most appropriate conduit.
Take, for example, our company: Over 80,000 people will see a
corporate marketing or training film. This far exceeds the number
of folk that view the average independent film sans distribution.
I had to face a piercing question. Was I directing and producing
to communicate, enlighten, and entertain, or was I so engrossed
in what “I” wanted to achieve — or telling my stories — that I
lost focus about the greater responsibility that I had as a
director. In the answer, I learned something essential about the
nature of my work.
I longed for the cappuccino and herbal tea zeitgeist of film
festivals and the indie-world—all black jackets, tiny earrings,
with a smattering of Y2K cool. What I instead found for myself
was a world that needed visionary storytellers to help people do
simple things like, be more sensitive to customers with
disabilities, or how to think differently about their personal
responsibility to protect the environment. It’s easy to see these
topics as mundane and uninteresting. The challenge is to ask
questions like: “How can we do this differently?” or “How can we
represent this idea visually? Or how can we use the medium to
simplify the message so it’s clear and uncomplicated?”
If directing and producing is what you’re interested in, be
vigilant in finding ways to do it. Many large Fortune 500
corporations have internal video production teams — but here’s
the unpublished truth. Most of the departments are small
operations with more work than time. Learn the two-column
script format and write something on ‘spec.’ Call them and offer
your services as a writer. Why? Because it’s much easier to
“break-in” as a writer, then make the transition to directing and
producing. And here’s a hint of irony — the work I’ve done in the
corporate world — particularly as a producer — has made me or
more disciplined writer and a more inventive director.
Most corporate projects have a short turnaround time and limited
budget. In August of 2001, I directed a project in support of
environmental awareness. The request came from senior management on a Thursday and we were shooting late the following week. Typically, we seek to allocate three weeks for a project — but it
often doesn’t happen. We’ve got to be creative and fast. Think
about the chaos at most airports — well, we’re often shooting in
this environment. There’s no opportunity to place the airline
operation on ‘pause’ for us to get a shot — we’ve got to find
ways to work around obstacles. That’s why the corporate world is
fertile training ground for the independent filmmaker. After
facing the slings and arrows of some corporate work, shooting an
independent film on nights and weekends with non-actors is a
welcome interruption. Stakes are high in the freelance-directing
world. There aren’t many opportunities to rise from failure.
Given that, I believe the corporate world can be a great place to
develop mastery of the skill.
What I love about directing are its inherent contradictions.
You’re an artist, but also a technician. You’re a counselor, with
quiet active listening skills, but you’re also “Tony Robbins.”
You’re an unyielding despot, but also a servant-leader asking
questions and drawing ideas out of others. Sadly, however, you’ll
probably fail if you haven’t mastered at least one technical
skill associated with filmmaking. I helped to fund my education
through work as a freelance photographer. And, although most of
my work is now in video—digital or high definition — the
discipline of seeing the world the way a photographer sees the
world — framing shots, moving people and objects from the
foreground through to the background — has helped me
immeasurably.
Lastly, remember that you’re a storyteller. Master what’s at your
disposal — the script, the talent, and the technical elements —
then, go serve an apprenticeship in a corporate video training
department. What you will learn is an individual style and
approach that’s galvanized through preparation, a quick
disciplined pace on the set, and the desire to tell great
stories.
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Lindell Singleton is an in-house Director/Producer for Flagship
University (a division of Fort Worth, Texas-based American
Airlines.) His work is regularly translated into several
languages and seen in over thirty-five countries around the
world. He attended Los Angeles City College and UCLA. He has a
degree in Art. His documentary film on JFK– “Voices From
Dealey–People Remember a President” — will be released this
spring. His next project for AA is a series of :60 spots that
will air on video walls and kiosks at New York LaGuardia airport.
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Copyright (c) 2002 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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