Production house kaboom has added directing duo Plummer/Strauss (Justin Plummer, Martin Strauss) to its roster. The signing follows a collaboration late last year on Salesforce’s “This Is A Mask,” a bold, fast-paced narrative about the importance of teamwork to get things done.
“When we commit to directors, I need to believe in the people as much as their talent,” said kaboom owner/executive producer Lauren Schwartz. “These guys are really special–and collaborating on Salesforce only reinforced what I have felt for a long time. Their warmth and enthusiasm is matched with a breadth of knowledge, amazing treatments and impeccable preparation with gorgeous results on screen.”
Messrs. Plummer and Strauss are directing partners known for embracing classic cinematic techniques to create stylized imagery for films and branded content. They met while studying film production at San Francisco State University, united by a mutual passion for visual storytelling. From the first student project, the die was cast and they joined forces as a directorial team.
Strauss has roots at kaboom, having interned for the company during college. He credits that experience as being akin to a graduate program in advertising production. He and Schwartz kept in touch as Plummer/Strauss expanded its creative reach–first with an award-winning short film on the festival circuit and later with branded content collaborations.
Plummer/Strauss made a major splash when gaining inclusion into the 2014 SHOOT New Directors Showcase. The duo went on to direct spots for Comcast, O2, Ralph Lauren, Ben & Jerry’s, Jim Beam, Cisco, The United Nations and Dell. Production house affiliations prior to kaboom for Plummer/Strauss were Raucous Content and earlier Bullitt.
“Joining kaboom is kind of like a homecoming–for me especially–and the feeling of camaraderie and belonging is an important part of the decision,” commented Strauss. “It’s San Francisco roots with a national point of view, which is what we have too.”
Plummer added, “Working on Salesforce together really showed us that we view collaborations and the creative process in the same way. They revel in digging deep into the process and being there every step of the way–partners in a true sense.”
Plummer/Strauss is already in pre-production on a project at kaboom.
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More