The Directors: Lorenzo de Guia

Lorenzo is a Filipino-American director, originally from Southern California, currently dividing his time between Brooklyn and LA. But what he really wants to do is soak up some good old British rain.

A background in editing gave him the skills to structure compelling narratives, and stylishly wields his impeccable taste to combine realism, empathy and genuine emotion within sumptuous looking films.

He’s got the chops to direct Megastar Celebrities (Lebron James, Simone Biles, Mark Ronson and Thierry Henry for goodness sake!) but he’s also got the deft touch that makes people you’ve never seen before look and feel like household names.

He’s charming, collaborative, relentlessly enthusiastic and great fun to be with on set, and he definitely won’t corner you and harp on about Tarkofsky for two hours. 

Name: Lorenzo de Guia

Location: UK & Europe

Repped by: Bang TV

LBB> What sort of scripts get you excited?

Lorenzo> This has everything to do with the creative team behind it. You can tell immediately when the agency is excited about a project or concept and have put tons of work into making it shine. When they are excited about a script, it gets me excited about it. I go all in on all my jobs so when I feel that same energy from the agency, it makes the process so much more rewarding. 

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Lorenzo> It usually starts as a brutal mess of disconnected imagery and late night texts to myself consisting of half-thoughts and scribbles. I’ve always enjoyed the process of organising all those images, concepts, and inspirations into something that communicates. 

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?

Lorenzo> While I will always do research, I’m happy to rely on the experts to be my guide here. In the case of most spots, that would be the creative team that has spent months and sometimes a year tinkering with an idea and getting to know the brand. In those cases, I make sure that I ask the right questions to get myself sorted and best prepared for the job. From there, I do what any storyteller does and try to connect those dots to my own life experiences to find my connection to the story.

LBB> Are there any kind of clients that you just won’t work on?

Lorenzo> So far, I haven’t needed to confront this head on. Hopefully there will always be the opportunity for common ground to craft something meaningful. But I’m confident that I’ll know a red line when I see it!

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Lorenzo> This is a tough one. It’s all about relationships, but I think it would have to be the cinematographer. Our medium is visual and the DP is the gatekeeper to that realm. Having that shorthand and partnership with the DP is vital to making sure that the crazy ideas and visuals I have in my head make it to celluloid (or a hard drive).

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?

Lorenzo> I’m drawn most to stories about people. I had this fantastic opportunity to work with a client where the job took me to Mexico, Minneapolis, and India. I got to meet and work with so many wonderful people and learn about their lives, their fears, their hopes…. It left me feeling so grateful for the experience but also struck me with this huge sense of responsibility to tell their story properly. That responsibility at times can feel so daunting but it’s incredibly rewarding when you get it right. 

Don’t get me wrong - I love to do the stylish, visceral stuff you might do with a car client or a sports client. But the stuff that really is lovely to do are the jobs where you have the chance to tell an important story that hopefully, will bring positive change.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Lorenzo> I think all of us as storytellers, especially in advertising, tend to get boxed into one genre. That if we are comedy directors, we can’t tell a dramatic story. Or if we do a lot of sports work, that we can’t do an automotive spot. At the end of the day, any good storyteller understands the emotional journey it takes to bring an idea to life. Finding fresh perspectives often leads to something special.

LBB> Is it more important to protect the idea or to be open/collaborative with the agency or to respect the brand?

Lorenzo> The answer is of course to do them all but I tend to lean towards collaboration. The work we do is (and always has been) the product of many hands. There are dozens of technicians, artisans, artists, writers, producers, and more that bring these stories to life. I have such a respect for the collaborative nature of our work. I do deeply believe in its importance to creating great work but also in the meaningful connection within the unit of filmmakers. 

LBB> How do you feel about mentoring and apprenticeships on set?

Lorenzo> We need more of it in every aspect of filmmaking. As a director, our work is so siloed. For me, when I first started, I had no idea if any of the things I was doing were 'right.' No one really tells you how to do the pitching process, how to make a deck, how to handle yourself on calls, or organise and prep yourself for shoot days. It’s all trial by fire. Which of course works, but there were a few times when I was much younger where I wasn’t sure who or what to ask. You just don’t know what you don’t know. 

I always welcome people to reach out to me for questions about the process. I’ve shared treatments, techniques, and more to any crew folks or up-and-comers who ask. It’s important to be a resource when you can, especially for those looking to break-in. 

LBB> How grumpy do you get about having to deliver tens of different formats and aspect ratios? 

Lorenzo> Ha! Yea well, making something look good in 16:9 as well as 9:16 is always a bummer. It’s part of the landscape though, right? Our work has to constantly adapt to reach our audience so I suppose there is no fighting it. 

LBB> How tech savvy are you and do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?

Lorenzo> I started my career as an editor so I’ve always been a bit tech savvy. Even when the first iPad came out, I couldn’t wait to ditch all the paperwork I would carry on set (which I would constantly lose). 

I’ve tried a few times to pitch LED walls and the volume on jobs but have yet to play extensively in one. I’m excited about its possibilities and how it can open up more ways to capture story. 

Recently, I’ve incorporated some VR into the workflow and I’m just starting to play with Midjourney and Gen-2. My hope is that those things continue to be useful tools but still allow artists to be in the driver’s seat.