2014

Kyle Padilla

Kyle Padilla

1) How did you get into directing?After interning at @radical.media in Santa Monica throughout high school, I went on to study film at USC. During this time, I began interning and producing projects for director Ace Norton and ultimately used these experiences, and what I learned from Ace, to jumpstart my own career as a…

Charles Nordeen

Charles Nordeen

1) How did you get into directing?My stepfather was a filmmaker, so I always grew up with cameras around and would even occasionally get to be on set. He would teach me how to shoot and we would edit with multiple VHS tape decks. Growing up with it in my natural setting I always had…

Ari Merkin

Ari Merkin

1) How did you get into directing?I’ve been a CW, AD, ACD, ECD, CCO and agency founder. Over the years, I’ve worked with some of the very best directors in our business. Guys like Tony Kaye, Spike Jonze, Noam Murro, Tom Kuntz, Rupert Sanders, Gerard de Thame. My first spot was one of the last…

Brandon LaGanke

Brandon LaGanke

1) How did you get into directing?I didn’t go to film school. When I moved to New York after college from Cleveland, Ohio, I started in the edit room cutting other people’s features, commercials, and short-form projects. Many times, I would tell myself, I can do better. I learned by constantly making stuff. I would…

Lukas Korver

Lukas Korver

1) How did you get into directing?I worked a bunch of odd jobs after graduating college to buy my own camera gear and shoot little documentary projects here and there. After 4-5 years doing that, it led me into eventually becoming a director of photography on commercials, branded content, and feature documentaries, something I still…

The Kloons

The Kloons

1) How did you get into directing?The three of us have been making each other laugh since we were 18, but after college we found ourselves continually coming up with ideas for scenes and sketches. We were tired of waiting for something cool to happen to us, and had the right amount of courage and…

David Kestin

David Kestin

1) How did you get into directing?I’ve always taken photographs, made music, and written stories. I inevitably began combining these mediums which led me down the path to filmmaking, where I landed as a director, and couldn’t feel more at home. 2) What is your most recent project?My last two short films, The Air Mattress…

Bess Kargman

Bess Kargman

1) How did you get into directing?I thought my interest in shooting was something that developed in my early 20s but just recently I found a photo of myself holding a camera at the age of five (so it turns out I’ve wanted to do this for a lot longer than I ever realized). I…

J + J (Jess Zou and Jing Shao)

J + J (Jess Zou and Jing Shao)

1) How did you get into directing?We’re into a lot of things. Literature, philosophy, movies, music and photography all had their impact on us. Directing is our expression of these interests and influences. It’s terrific. 2) What is your most recent project?We are shooting a web viral for Chinese telecom Huawei. The story takes place…

Logan Hall

Logan Hall

1) How did you get into directing?Growing up, my parents used to take my sister and me to the movies all the time. I fell in love with films and started shooting videos with friends in high school. We made music videos and weird short films. After graduating I originally wanted to study biology or…