The Directors: Dylan Pharazyn
Intimate and observed, Dylan is always aiming for cinematic authenticity. He has a singular aptitude for telling stories with energetic flow and pace, capturing layered human moments with a raw aesthetic. His camera style is dynamic, always moving with and responding to a person’s unique motion, lending his images a visually stunning and free energy. His approach to performance allows him to find spontaneous moments with actors, breathing extra life into his films and adding a beautiful emotional depth.
Name: DYLAN PHARAZYN
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Repped by/in: Good Oil Films
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Dylan> Scripts that have a clear singular idea are always the ones I’m attracted to. But the real excitement comes from knowing all the craft you can bring to the concept, and how it’s going to help that simple idea resonate. I always work hard to make each film a unique piece that people haven’t seen before.
How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Dylan> First, I dive deep into the core idea. I read the agency deck a trillion times. Then I try to have as free a mind as possible, not writing any notes until I’ve really kicked it around in my head and have a solid base of ideas that strike to the heart of what I think the agency are trying to do.
I always look at references last, after I've considered what I think will be the best approach. I feel like we’re in a world of over referencing and you can get lost in other people's work. I love to stay true to what I’m thinking and look for a few things that help articulate my approach in the treatment.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Dylan> Part of the strength of an idea is in how well it speaks to its intended audience. I need to know as much as possible about the brand and who the film is for.
So to articulate the message to the viewer, I need to know everything about why it works for the brand. Then, my job is to help the agency and brand by delivering something that articulates the message succinctly, and in the most interesting and entertaining way possible.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Dylan> The best work I’ve made has always been due to a great relationship with the agency. It’s their idea, and my job is to bring my craft to what they have already nailed. Of course I want to push it as hard as I can to make the most interesting work, but I’m only going to be able to do that if there is trust. I love to work with creatives who, with their feedback and thoughts, elevate the craft to new heights. Many heads are always better than one!
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Dylan> I’m passionate about visual storytelling that explores a known insight about human beings in a new way. I often make films with an emotional resonance, with an elegant handling of technique. I like realism or more pushed stylised tones. I love magical realism. I love the challenge of bringing new and interesting visuals to these insights. Filmmakers like Juan Cabral and Jonathan Glazer are great because over and over again they have brought a brand new visual language to every film. They also were riffing off (and writing) exceptional new ideas that were simple and clean. Ads used to have this super sharp focus on an idea, and the director's job was to bring their poetic and artistic palette to it. I reckon this kind of focus of concept is making a comeback.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Dylan> I suppose it’s being considered just a visual director. All filmmaking is visual, as much as it is sound or timing... So the visual tag can be a bit limiting. I don’t make generic eye-candy, I try to make work that has a depth for the concept beyond the expectations.
So with all elements of direction, the craft is considered and the viewer gets a new feeling and experience.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Dylan> No.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Dylan> When shooting a big US job there was a scene in a big theme park. The park was still under construction, and we were told that all of the crew and the actors had to wear hi-vis and hard hats for the entire shoot. Even when in shot. I turned to my DOP and said “What do you say, Russ?” He goes “Well that's a f***ed idea if ever I've heard one...”. He’d won an Oscar, so they took the hats off.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Dylan> The fastest way to a properly collaborative process is to respect the agency’s idea and get to the very core of it, with them. This happens on the first call hopefully, or at the treatment stage. Once everyone is on board with my approach the job can start properly and I can run with the process knowing I’m honing it in a way that everyone is excited about.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Dylan> Absolutely. It’s 2024. It’s been a white, straight, male industry for way too long and any and every step is made on our productions to give opportunity to all under represented groups.
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic influenced the way you work? Did you pick up new habits that have stuck around?
Dylan> Everyone got super used to zoom which is cool for everyone’s actual lives, but it also means we rarely get everyone in the same room. Getting all humans into one place is always best for the work. I did a bunch of remote shoots in covid, a particularly great experience shooting in Mexico City, in my PJs from my couch... take me back.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Dylan> It's an interesting time with all of this stuff. Our precious 60 or 90 second ads aren’t always the most important format. Mixed ratios, insta squares, YouTube bumper 10s or 5s... they’re the formats that are going to help the campaign get seen. It's the same as being cool with the stills team on the shoot, you want every part of the campaign to succeed and meet the requirements of the client. That's when the lovely thing you’ve made so beautiful is actually useful. How does it go? ... Nothing useless was ever truly beautiful.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?
Dylan> I started out as a painter, then a graphic designer, then as a 3D animator and compositor... every step used more and more complicated tools. Of course everyone is going to use them once they exist...but AI is different. It’s not really being used as a tool, it’s being used as the be all and end all solution. The problem isn’t how clever the rendered image is, it’s how lazy the person is being... a slippery slope.
AI isn’t going to come up with anything unique, it can't come up with ideas of any merit, it’s a hack. I mean how artificial do we want the world to get? I prefer it when people talk to each other and work through the various problems and have a laugh!
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Dylan> Lotto ‘Mother’s Day’
I'm still proud of this one. A simple idea of a Mother’s Magic, told in this dream-like kids imagination kind of way. I love the in-camera and post effects, it’s quite tricky, but the technique is woven throughout the story.
Mobil ‘Storytime’
A recent one, I loved the simple setup of a dad who works super hard for his family. The kids' story read over the heavy work, visuals had a great juxtaposition... and I'm in love with the photography... and the music.
Tourism New Zealand ‘Pure’
This one is close to me. It was made in lockdown, at that time when we were all stuck in our houses and wondering if we were all going to be ok.
I had the idea to have the VoiceOver read by someone on a video call, to bring all the real human connection to a film that for me had to be real... My dad did the voice, and he nailed it! For me this one has a depth and soul that are all it’s own, an intimate loving message, father to daughter, and in the same breath to the whole country.
Weet-Bix ‘Simple’
I wanted to elevate simple kids' fun, in a way that had power. So the phantom was used to describe the world and the free kids' play moments. I shot the whole thing loose and handheld, with real sync sound, like a beautiful doco or cinematic realism... but then peppered in ultra slow-mo to amplify the emotion of the beats. I haven't seen the phantom and handheld 25fps punked together much before, you don’t clock it, you just feel it.
