Most spec spots from young directors are, let’s face it, mediocre at best. They may be fun, bold and show a lot of promise, but are rarely worthy of commercial airtime. However, one look at “Maddie,” a spec spot for Chevrolet, proves that director Lloyd Lee Choi is anything but “mediocre.”
The story of a woman’s lifelong friendship with her golden retriever was initially submitted to a contest for a chance at an Oscars commercial slot. “Maddie” placed fifth, so it didn’t get its TV debut, having instead to make do with a bevy of international media attention and a mere 2.6 million online views.
“The way he told that story, there wasn’t a wrong shot in the whole thing,” says John Farquhar, founder of Rain 43. “It was beautifully put together; it looked as lush and as expensive as the most expensive car commercials out there. He built character and used all the right dialogue. It worked really well, and for a spec spot, that’s incredible.”
Farquhar saw the spot online and reached out to the Ottawa-born, Vancouver-schooled director, and even promoted him a bit to a handful of Toronto production houses. The timing of that endorsement was perfect.
“I met Lloyd in L.A. a couple months ago,” says Tasha Litt, a partner at the new Toronto/L.A.-based Descendants. “My business partners and I were on the hunt for exceptional young and unsigned directorial talent to launch our new production company with, and Lloyd’s name quickly rose to the top of our list.”
Litt was impressed even by Lee Choi’s earliest work, often shot with friends and no budget. “He has this unique ability to turn a narrative into more than the sum of its parts,” says Litt. “Through intimate, beautifully captured scenes, he’s able to draw an audience into a film in a way that’s truly engrossing and visceral.
“But it’s not just his reel that made him an attractive candidate for our roster. He’s got that perfect balance of ambition and humility that we look for—and it gives me a ton of confidence in him as a new director.”
That confidence is certainly on display in “40-Love,” a short film Lee Choi shot for Unilever’s Cornetto brand for its “Cupidity” campaign. The story, of a budding romance between a tennis star and a line judge, was Lee Choi’s first shoot in L.A. and included singer Lily Allen. If that pressure wasn’t enough, at almost nine minutes in length, there were plenty of chances for the 27-year old to make a bad shot choice or misfire on a music cue. But just like “Maddie,” there isn’t a wrong shot throughout. The film certainly pulled more than its weight when it came time for Cannes judges to award the entire campaign a Silver Branded Content Lion.
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