Flooding, Fistfights and Family Ties with Director Conor Byrne

NYC-based filmmaker Conor Byrne has made a name for himself as M ss ng P eces’ cinematic comedy specialist. Drawing the funny out of household names like Microsoft, IKEA, PepsiCo, McDonald’s and more, his work has won Cannes Lions, Effies and D&AD Pencils. His short films, including ‘PORZINGOD’, an ode to the New York Knicks, and ‘LOUDINI’, starring rock band Car Seat Headrest, have played at film festivals around the world and garnered widespread acclaim.

All of this to say, he’s come a long way since being the buck-toothed kid starring in bad insurance ads and meeting NBA legends while visiting his producer dad on set. “I don’t know if that taught me anything about working with basketball legends, but they were very tall and very nice to a young, hoop-crazy, bespectacled, mushroom-cut-clad me,” he says, speaking about his run-in with San Antonio Spurs icons Tim Duncan and and David Robinson.

“It was one of the best days of my life, as is any time I get to work with top athletes. I try to always be earnest and respectful, but also aim to embrace their natural personas and capture something that feels fresh. I may wet my khakis if I ever get to work with someone on my beloved New York Knicks.”

With brands like the NFL, NBA and FanDuel, Conor has now had the chance to direct his fair share of sports stars himself, including Kevin Durant, Peyton Manning and Charles Barkley. But the most important working relationship for him on set is not that between the director and talent - or even with his DP, agency, client or editor. Instead, his most valuable bond is with his producer, and brother, Tyler.

“He’s my filmmaking partner and best friend,” says Conor. “While I can tinker gleefully in my artistic bubble, he has to wear a slew of different helmets throughout the process - budgetary, creative, political, etc. – while still empowering the broader filmmaking vision. The director/producer relationship we have is special; borne out of childhood thumb-wrestling bouts and forged through countless long days on set together.”

Working together for many years, Conor and his brother have seen it all: “Flooding, fistfights, covid positives, Tbilisi, bad coffee, complete changes in creative, celebrity no-shows and diarrhoea from the bad coffee.” Their wildest experience even involved an impending snowstorm that threatened to trap the crew during a VFX-heavy shoot with five live animals. “We shot faster and got the fuck out of there,” he says.

His creative inspiration’s familial ties don’t end with his father and brother either. Explaining how she can turn the most mundane story into a fantastical tale, Conor describes his mother as “the essential comic raconteur” of his life. “Nothing makes me laugh like her,” he adds.

Conor brings this inherited sense of humour to his spots - especially his beloved 60-second format that he says provides a large canvas with which to blend some humanity among the laughter. “The same goes for longer-form narrative work, and with even shorter formats,” he says. “I think it’s all about capturing a single moment - be it visual, performance-based or tonal - that tickles the audience’s belly.”

Searching for these belly-tickling ideas, he shares that the key is to look for a visual hook that is supported by human comedy. Finding that perfect balance already written down in a script, he says, “is like eating a fresh Charleston Chew.” When identifying these ideas in a potential project, however, he often has to remind himself that months - sometimes years - of creative debate, research and different voices have already contributed to the piece. His role, as he sees it, is to listen as closely as possible to those agency and client-side voices and elevate the work to a new level with all of his personal stylings.

“I also like to give a lot of firm handshakes, look people in the eye, and reference Austin Powers whenever possible,” he quips.

As well as whip-pans, Conor’s personal cinematographic calling cards are influenced by the time-honoured filmmaking fundamentals - traditions with which the director is obsessed. Taking inspiration from the masters of cinematic, heartfelt comedy - citing Lubitsch, Billy Wilder, Cameron Crowe, and Alexander Payne as examples - he enjoys the classics: a surprising line read, a simple push-in to a character’s face, or a wide cut to reveal a punchline.

Recently, Conor tapped into this analogue admiration with an upcoming PSA for AdCouncil/AARP made in conjunction with agency adam&eveDDB. “That was a dream,” he says. “We worked with LegacyFX - those folks are incredible.” But despite being admittedly “old school”, he’s certainly no luddite, and enjoys exploring the new horizons being opened up by TikTok. He’s even known to use AI image generation tool Midjourney in the treatment process.

“I’ve also got two features that I’ve written in development that I’m super excited about,” he adds. “But does anybody really want to hear about a commercial director trying to make their movies?!”