directors & d.o.p.s Feb 2016

Philip Schnurr's love of image-making was established at an early age thanks to his father, a passionate Super8 film-maker. The rattle of the camera and crackle of the projector fascinated him to the point that the camera has now become his third eye.

Philip began doing visuals and video installations in clubs and underground discos where he made his first contact with people from the event and agency business.

Philip went on to do visuals for brands including Sony Ericsson, Averna, Carlsberg and Barcadi. In 2005, after completing his studies in film-making, he founded a>>headscreen for visual concepts. He has since worked for national and international brands and agenies such as TIGI, Alcina, Hochtief, Diesel and Lufthansa.

His individual style, coupled with his empathy and heightened feeling for the zeitgeist has distinguished Philip's work. His passion for fashion and beauty commercials can be seen in his lastest work for M2Beauté.

Philip Schnurr ist represented by Andrea Heberger Creative Pool&Coordination.

Check Philip's latest projects on Xing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

For the past 30 years, Avi Karpick has worked internationally as a director of photography and director, with shoots across both film and commercials in every corner of the world. Over the years, Avi has perfected his precision and pace, focusing on the unique niches that best suit his skills

Avi divides his work into four categories: direction and execution of table-top demos for food products; TV commercial director; director of photography; and underwater photographer and direction.

Avi surrounds himself with a world class team that maintains a flawless work environment. His production team includes a range of highly competent experts, from food stylists and mock-up artists to an advanced special effects units working across three studios in Israel and Budapest.

Avi and his team's philosophy: "in order to serve viewers food that truly awakens their taste buds, we must exemplify great taste ourselves."

Jochen Schmoll is a filmmaker, director and D.O.P. based in Barcelona. He became known in the sports filming scene for his numerous documentaries, commercials and branded content productions for brands like Gore-Tex, Jack Wolfskin and Red Bull. He has directed various documentaries where his skills as an extreme sport D.O.P. and director were essential.

Jochen likes to tell a story with as much personal and emotional depth as possible. Being fluent in German, English, Spanish and French also enables him to put his protagonists at ease, so that he can get to their true essence, even before the camera is rolling.

Whether it is commercial or a documentary, outdoors or in the studio, it doesn’t matter, there are always characters and people that are part of it.

Jon Gwyther’s love for film and story was ignited at a young age in rather unique circumstances. As an eight-year old, night after night he would leave the warmth of his bed and sneak out to the familiar surrounds of a caravan park. The rooftop of the toilet block was his destination and once reached was the perfect vantage point for the local drive-in, which just happened to be a wonderful portal to the world of cinematic stories.

Essentially he is a self-taught Director-DOP and Photographer who has been lucky enough to learn from those who were gracious enough to share. Since these humble beginnings he has grown both personally and professionally evolving to a place where he can comfortably now call the world his market.

This upbeat, nothing-is-impossible attitude has allowed him to work everywhere from Australia, America, London, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, India and throughout Asia; working with some of the world’s largest brands - Ford, Lux, Toyota, Kellogg’s, ING Direct, Coca-Cola, Nissan, St. George, L’Oreal, Perpetual, Tata, and many more.

His directing and photographic style has developed into a selfless and distinct fusion that seeks and blends the intimate nature of character with poignant yet large-scale cinematic environments. The outcome can be best described as an emotive vision where the unique nature of humanity is ever-present.

Academy Award nominated Luke Geissbühler has excelled in many eclectic genres throughout his career.  He has been a trusted cinematographer to the most beautiful women in the world for Victoria’s Secret for over a decade.  With over 25 feature films, 20 documentaries and countless commercials to his name, his achievements include the documentaries ‘Helvetica’ and 'Buck’ as well as Sacha Baron Cohen’s 'Borat' and Patrick Stewart’s powerfully dramatic performance in 'Match’. 

Luke became known the world over when he and his 8 year old son sent a camera to near space in a homemade capsule, as seen in the short film 'Space Balloon’.

A native New Yorker, self-taught engineer and NYU Tisch School graduate, Luke has been called to every corner of the world to orchestrate shoots for OK Go, Adam McKay, The Muppets, Victoria's Secret, Nike, Amazon, Doug Liman, Barry Levinson, Katherine Bigelow and many others.

Markus Stummer is an Austrian director. His career behind the camera began as a camera assistant, editor and copywriter for television before he started directing music videos and commercials.

During his more than 10 years as a director, Markus has mastered a wide spectrum of genres, from documentary realism to visual and cinematic work – all the while holding authentic character performance and poetic storytelling in the highest regard. His obsessive commitment, cinematic sensibilities and deep appreciation of the actor-director relationship are his trademark.

Markus has worked with artists such as Luca Carboni, Heike Makatsch, Lady Gaga and many more and has shot campaigns for some of the world’s top brands including Braun, Mercedes-Benz, Procter & Gamble, Miele, Nestlé, McDonald's and Alfa Romeo.

Markus is recognised for his collaborative working relationship with advertising agency creatives, his thorough understanding and handling of his clients’ needs, and his ability to tell a complete, visually interesting and smart story all in 30 seconds.

Matthew Horrex ACS is great at shooting people, and people doing things. Sports, music, comedy and narrative in any and all forms, Matt has an eye for the human.

After receiving accreditation from the Australian Cinematographers Society, Matt made the move to Asia. Being based in Singapore has opened him up to more varied shoots with some of the most renowned production houses and clients from all over Asia and the rest of the world.

This has led to campaign shoots with Novak Djokovic and Michael Chang in Monaco and Hong Kong, work for Hyundai in Seoul and San Francisco, and worldwide back-to-back campaigns for Pampers and Mattel. With products and food, he has applied his narrative eye to shoots for KFC, TicTac, Kit Kat, Ponds and Canon.

Matthew is available worldwide as a freelance DoP. As a Director within Asia he is represented by Chimney Group Singapore.

Michele Mortara is a freelance director based in Milan. He graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Advertising from the Naba School of Milan.

Michele originally worked for 10 years as a film editor and post-production supervisor, and still edits his own work today. He has been directing since 2008, working in specific areas of focus including comedy, acting, storytelling, visual and branded content videos.

Michele has worked for leading production companies and advertising agencies in Italy including Havas, McCann, Armando Testa, TBWA, DLV BBDO and JWT for clients such as Mercedes, Heinken, McDonald’s, Renault and Bolton.

Paco Herrera is a Mexico based DoP who has worked in the advertising and film industries since 2000. His approach to lighting and framing reflect his Mexican background and the aesthetics picked up on his many trips around the world.

Paco's working methods are supported by his broad international experience, allowing him to transition from guerrilla-style shoots on location working with available light to the most complex sound stage or back-lot projects; from full-fledged drama to documentary, and everything in between.

Fully bilingual (English and Spanish), Paco also has conversational skills in German and French. He is a Silver Telly award winner for cinematography in advertising, and has won six bronze Telly awards for projects ranging from TV commercials to music and corporate videos. He has also received production grants from the Mexican Film Institute.

Fully equipped and staffed in Mexico, Baklight is Paco's production company, handling all production requirements from concept to delivery and solving all crew and gear needs when shooting in Mexico.

Clients include Ogilvy, Junket Productions (US), Concrete + Clay (US), Kamp Grizzly (US), MTV, Red Bull, El Mexicano (US), FFP Film & Fernsehproduktion GMBH (AT), AZB Creative (AU), Anima Estudios (MX), Septime Ciel (FR) and the Mexican Federal Government, among many others.

"If your production is set to film in New York City or Los Angeles and you need a director and production company with significant and award-winning experience working with clients from all over the world, you should consider director Patrick Ortman and his eponymous production company PatrickOrtman, Inc.."

The team creates award-winning commercials, content, and films for clients that range from the Fortune 500 to smaller companies and brands. Some of Patrick’s larger recent clients include BMW, MasterCard and CapitalOne.

Patrick also works with funded start-ups in the finance, technology, and lifestyle sectors.

"Whether you’re an agency looking for a turnkey, high-quality commercial or content production services solution, or a company or brand that needs the same directly, Patrick Ortman and his hand-picked crews deliver, every time."

Simon Waterhouse is an accomplished DOP/Director based in the South Island of New Zealand. He is particularly passionate about the great New Zealand outdoors, and filming in the incredible locations that the South Island has to offer. Simon's ethos has always been to "do more with less", i.e. lean production teams creating beautiful world class content.

Simon acts both as a Director/DOP and also owns and manages his production company Resonate Ltd. A life of outdoor adventure has given Simon an excellent knowledge of locations for filming. Simon, his staff and extended networks can provide almost any requirement for productions taking place in the South Island of New Zealand.

A graphic designer by training and a life observer at heart, Caleb Ming is the Director of Photography at Surround Studio. He is prolific in both still and motion photography for a studio that creates images that tell stories, build brands, and make ideas happen for advertising campaigns, documentaries and films.

Caleb graduated with a first-class honours in Graphic Communications from Loughborough University and has since collaborated with clients such as Singapore Airlines, Google and Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurants, to name a few. He was also approached by Accor Hotels and Raffles Hotels and Resorts to work on images for their new branding campaigns and collaterals.

He also contributes to international editorial titles including Monocle, Krisflyer Magazine (Singapore Airlines), and the Raffles Magazine (Raffles Hotel & Resorts).

In 2015, Caleb was awarded a SG50 grant to work on a heritage film about Chinese culture entitled 'New Huat Kueh'. His work has been regularly exhibited.

Clients incude Bureau of Cultural Affairs Kaohsiung City Government, Concorde Hotel Singapore, DLF India, Economic Development Board Singapore, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, Gallery Hotel Singapore, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nike, Singapore Grandprix, Sofitel Hotel Singapore, St. Regis Hotel Singapore and Werk Advertising.

Editorial clients include An An Japan, Broadsheet Melbourne, DestinAsian Indonesia, Esquire Malaysia, H Paper Singapore, Indesign/ Habitus Australia, Prestige Singapore, SilkAir Magazine Singapore and Werk Magazine Singapore.