Ruairi Robinson

How did you get into directing?
I did graphic design in college, but to be honest was never pushed about being a graphic designer, I was more interested in making films, and my degree show was a 3d animated short film - the only way I could make a film was to do it myself since I didn't know any actors. That was enough to get me a job doing 3D on TV ads, and I made another 3D short film myself, just so I could continue telling stories—My second short film, called Fifty Percent Grey, was nominated for an Oscar in 2002, which sort of got the ball rolling for me to direct stuff.

Why do you want to direct commercials?
It's a great opportunity to tell short stories and communicate information visually in an extremely streamlined, succinct manner. You have so little time to tell the story, so you have to cut the crap out.

What is your most recent spot project?
Doing a Kelloggs Special K ad at the moment - my last ad was for Thorntons Chocolates, which was a character animation job I did with The Mill in London.

Do you have plans to work in other areas—e.g., shorts, films, features or TV? Have you ever done any of that in the past?
Yeah, very much so. I sort of have a reputation as being the "animation guy", but really I want to be doing live action films, you know, when I'm big. I like doing ads a lot though, so even if I did get to make films, I'd still want to keep on doing ads too.

What do you think is the best part about being a director?
Being paid to do something you actually enjoy doing, and seeing an audience react positively to something you've done!

What’s the worst part?
Worst part? Well as bad as it gets is still pretty good! I guess when people change their minds for the worse. That always stings. Or when people have agendas other than making stuff that's good. Or when dealing with people that don't know the difference between good and bad. (That's making the base assumption, of course, that my subjective personal opinion is objectively correct, all the time, on everything.) Other than that, it's all good.