Danielle Shapira

Agent: the directors network / Production Co: Unaffiliated

1) What was your first professionally directed work and when was it?
Does taking iPhone videos of my cats and selling them on Craigslist count?

2) How did you get into directing?
I was bad at every other position on a film set.

3) What is your most recent project?
The brilliant creative team at Deutsch LA turned up the heat this summer to relaunch Taco Bell’s 2000s fan favorite Volcano Menu. To spice things up, they partnered with 2000s icon and THE Queen of What’s Hot, Paris Hilton, to create a themed advice HOTline.

I was extremely fortunate to direct this dream of a campaign, consisting of (1) 30-second commercial, (1) TikTok, and (1) paparazzi-style video recreating a 2006 TMZ video of Paris leaving a Taco Bell. To say I was s’living was an understatement.

I worked closely with my production designer (shoutout to the amazing Sage Griffin) to build a hot pink and lava red millennium-meets-Taco Bell-inspired Hotline set, dialing up the early aughts nostalgia with corded landlines, bedazzled flip phones, and an inspirational poster of a Volcano that read, “Be Hot”. I collaborated with Paris’s personal stylists to custom-design a purple velour business suit, an elevated take on the Juicy Couture tracksuit that Paris made famous. Our queen sits at her desk, answering phones and enjoying her Volcano Meal, under a beautiful arched doorway, a nod to the Taco Bell arch that’s so signature to the brand.
Could this experience have been any hotter? Maybe if there were Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes on set.

4) What is the best part of being a director?
I get to surround myself with people that are so much better than me at everything and then make the client think it’s my idea.

5) What is the worst part of being a director?
I think on a subconscious level, I became a director because I have an awful existential need for control and precision. So when my anxious a** is not involved in the commercial edit, that sucks. But I’ve learned to cope with it and let go, and understand that if the editor has everything they need, and the client is happy, I’ve done my job.
I can still always grab a drive.
I can still always grab a drive.
I can still always grab a drive.
*continues repeating under breath*

6) 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.?
For now, I really love commercials and branded. I love having budget to do things right. My ADHD brain thrives on these shorter form quick-turnaround jobs– I feel like I’m always being kept on my toes. I really enjoy the opportunity to work with so many different brands, on a variety of campaigns, each so different than the last.
I’m about to launch a crowdfunding campaign for my first short film (it’s taken me a lot of courage to say that out loud) because although I love directing comedy, I’d love to make work that’s a bit more nuanced and makes people feel other things too maybe. I usually gravitate towards darker imagery and tones, I’m just trying to figure out how it all makes sense within the context of my work and perspective.

7) 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?
This is a bit cringe, but my husband slash DP, Matt Sweeney, has been a mentor for me. We began collaborating together about a decade ago, creating and shooting Internet sketches. Since I didn’t have any formal film school training, I approached everything from a writing, story, and character perspective– and he was “the visual guy”. But he’s taught me how important framing and lighting are to the entire process. (I mean, DUH, right? But I honestly had to learn this.) He literally taught me what the Blade Tool in Adobe Premiere was, and how to add a vignette in Photoshop…. though I’m still trying to teach him how to pick up his socks off the floor.

Hope you don’t mind that I plug Matt here: https://www.mattsweeneyfilm.com. Hire him for your projects!

8) Who is your favorite director and why?
DON’T MAKE ME DO IT. Allen, Kubrick, Lynch, Spielberg, Favreau… and hopefully one day soon, Gerwig.

9) What is your favorite movie? Your favorite television/online program? Your favorite commercial or branded content?

1. Todd Solondz’s Happiness is my favorite ever (not sure what this says about me). I also think Rosemary’s Baby and Parasite are perfect films.
2. The Sopranos
3. The Spike Jonze IKEA commercial. Still slaps

Tell us about your background (i.e., where did you grow up? Past jobs?)
I grew up in Rochester, NY to a Spanish-speaking Holocaust surviving family. I went to Jewish day school from kindergarten to 6th grade before moving over to public school and living my best secular life. I was very social as a teen (I spent a lot of time drinking Skol Vodka and sneaking out of my house), but still managed to do very well in school– albeit also earning our class’s highest record of tardies in a single year…. 83.

For undergrad, I went to Syracuse University with goals of becoming a CPA and actuary (LOL). While doing my semester abroad in Hong Kong, I spent a lot of time alone in my 4×6 bedroom watching the films of Don Hertzfeldt and Woody Allen, torrenting The Wire, and becoming obsessed with Banksy hahahahaa. It was then that I realized that making art was something that could be done professionally, and I set out to change my major when I got back to school. Since I was on scholarship, a change of major couldn’t be done so late in the game, so I said, ‘F**k it, I’ll move to LA upon graduation and figure it out.”

Once I landed in film, I realized that my Bat Mitzvah theme was “The Movies”– something I had forgotten about for about 20 years.

Have you had occasion to bring your storytelling/directorial talent to bear in the Metaverse, tapping into the potential of AR, VR, AI, NFTs and/or experiential fare? If so, tell us about that work and what lessons you have taken away from the experience?
I haven’t done any virtual production, but I’d like to explore it! I do use Midjourney for treatments and inspo on the regs, though. I know it’s controversial, but I find it to be an incredible tool to get my vision across– especially on a budget. I think, like all technology, it’s about harnessing these tools to elevate what we’re already doing, and make it work for us.

Contact

• Agent: The Directors Network, Jeff Lewis, Email: jeff@thedirectorsnetwork.com, Abby Grey, Email: abby@thedirectorsnetwork.com
• Unaffiliated with a production Company, Email: daniellealanashapira@gmail.com, Website: danielleshapira.com