Ava Himmel

Unaffiliated

What was your first professionally directed work and when was it?
I was hired to direct scenes of a Sizzle reel for an up-and-coming writer to pitch his feature Puppet President in December of 2021. It starred the writer himself as well as William O’Leary. It was an exciting opportunity, and the first chance I had to direct something that was both paid and not self-produced.

How did you get into directing?
I started on the other side of the camera as an actor, with a primary focus on commercials. Through my experiences on set, I learned a lot about creating grounded characters and properly navigating comedic beats. For over a decade now, I’ve also worked as a casting session director. My job revolves around reading treatments, deciphering the director’s vision, and directing actors through the audition process – so they can execute said vision. This has taught me so much about how to communicate with fellow collaborators in order to bring the story to life. It has also been a great space for learning how to tell stories efficiently without losing the heart of the piece. Along the way, I realized I was ready to take these skills to the next level – sharing my own visions and directing the whole commercial.

What is your most recent project?
My most recent project has involved creating a human and bringing her into this world. I recently took a hiatus to have a baby and (perfect timing!) have just started coming back to pursue my other passions.

What is the best part of being a director?
Collaborating with other creatives to manifest something that was once just an idea in someone’s head. I liken directing to captaining a ship. It’s your vision – you know where you want to go and how you want to get there. But you can’t sail that ship alone. You need a great crew to bring their expertise and help get you to the final destination. And, if you’re open to it, not only will they bring your vision to life they’ll make it so much better in the process.

What is the worst part of being a director?
I haven’t found one yet. …But maybe the fact that in the US, commercial directors are not typically part of the editing process. I understand why it works that way, however I love being part of the creative process from beginning to end. So it’s a little sad to walk away before all the pieces are fully brought together.

What is your current career focus: commercials and branded content, television, movies? Do you plan to specialize in a particular genre–comedy, drama, visual effects, etc.?
I have a real passion for commercials, and I will truly nerd out about them if given the chance. I love the challenge of efficiently telling a full story in 60, 30, 15, even 6 seconds. If you can make people laugh, cry, or feel some strong emotion, within such a condensed time frame, that is master filmmaking at it’s finest.

Currently I make my living wearing a lot of different hats (commercial session director, actor, teacher & coach for commercial auditioning) but all of them are in service to elevating commercials to the next level. My favorite genre to work in is comedy. I like making people feel good, I love a good misdirect to surprise the audience and keep them engaged. And, probably because I started as one, I love working with really talented actors who bring grounded relationships to sometimes heightened situations.

Have you a mentor and if so, who is that person (or persons) and what has been the lesson learned from that mentoring which resonates with you?
My mentor in the commercial directing world is Jordan Brady. It’s rare to find someone as warm, kind, and giving as he is (especially in this industry). He genuinely is rooting for me to succeed.

Right away I found we have very similar philosophies on commercial making. He has taught me many lessons; from technical filming process tricks to the business side. The most important thing he taught me; crucial for any commercial director to understand, is at the end of the day, the commercial we are all lovingly working on together belongs to the Ad Agency. It is their budget and their baby. As directors we are merely mid-wives. It is a big perspective shift, a great ego check, but a really important dynamic to understand.

Jordan’s overall willingness to openly share his nuggets of wisdom through his history of both positive and negative experiences has given me insight into what is really valuable in a commercial director. Thanks to him, I have the confidence to know how to navigate challenges as they arise.

Who is your favorite director and why?
I have many directors that I admire for many different reasons, so it would be impossible to pick just one. Jodie Foster and Elizabeth Banks are both strong female directors who started their careers as actors. They took the leap to behind the camera when very few women were doing so.

Julie Taymor makes visually beautiful pieces of art. She finds unique and creative ways to tell a story that could, in other hands, be very boring.
I love the comedic voices of writer/directors Leslye Headland and Amy Heckerling. They’re both bold, unafraid to be different, and very funny.

In the commercial world I’ve worked with both Jordan Brady and Nick Ball. They are, without a doubt, super talented and fantastic comedy directors.

What is your favorite movie? Your favorite television/online program? Your favorite commercial or branded content?
Ok commercials first… there are too many good choices! I’m really loving the new KFC “Chicken Tender Wars” campaign that just came out. Super funny – very well done! Hands down, insurance companies have some of the best commercial campaigns out there. Progressive’s “Turning into your Parents” spots are brilliant. Geico’s “We love our new home but…” plays on words make me laugh every time. And State Farm’s original “Jake from State Farm” and “She-Shed” are classics for a reason.

When it comes to TV, I love quick and witty dialogue and watching amazing improvisors show off. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, New Girl, The Other Two, and What We Do in the Shadows are some of my faves over the last few years. I would mention The Bear but the show gives me more stress than laughter.

My comedy film go-tos are: Wayne’s World and Clueless.  If we are talking drama, Revolutionary Road is a beautiful heartbreaking movie that has really stayed with me through the years.

Tell us about your background (i.e., where did you grow up? Past jobs?)
I’m from Canada originally, where I was raised on a steady stream of hockey, Kids in the Hall, and SCTV. I’ve called Los Angeles home for about 12 years now. Although I miss Canada, you really can’t beat the 75* days of an LA winter!

I started my career as an actor, in front of the camera. That was my original reason for heading to California. For my day job, I began working as a session director and would run auditions, chiefly directing actors in their commercial auditions. This job has provided me with a decade of training and an incredibly thorough understanding of the commercial making process. I discovered such a love of commercials along the way, that pursuing the big fame of film and tv lost its appeal. I continued acting in commercials and began to share the knowledge I was gaining with others. About 8 years ago, I began teaching commercial auditioning classes to actors. A year and a half ago, I created a club for commercial actors where we provide audition coaching, on-going training, and industry events to help build their relationships within the commercial world. However, these have all been side projects, building towards what I truly love most of all – directing commercials.

Contact

Website: www.avahimmel.com
Contact Ava via email here