Independent film and commercial content studio More Media has brought director, DP and editor Jen Sommer aboard its talent roster. This marks her first official commercial representation as a director. Among Sommer’s credits is notable work for Google that bridges the gap between commercial and documentary fare.
“We love the realness and humor that Jen brings to her filmmaking, and felt it would be a great fit both for her and us,” said Blaize Saunders, executive producer at More Media.
For Sommer, advertising was a natural progression after her stint as a business and marketing professional, combining that know-how with her innate storytelling ability and keen eye. Finding film through photography, she pursued advertising with the express purpose of crafting quirky and unconventional but always heartfelt human stories.
A self-starter since childhood, Sommer parlayed her business mindset and many technical skills into directing, DPing, and editing films for Google. Her most recent brand work is the "Search On" series, wherein she deftly highlights ordinary people achieving extraordinary things with Google’s free technology. Expanding the boundaries of what documentaries can do for branded work, the “Finding Blue Holes” short follows an uncharted scientific expedition to discover three new blue holes across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
This type of purpose-driven work greatly appeals to Sommer, who was initially exposed to More Media for its documentary Chasing the Wind, which she even used as an inspiration for the “Finding Blue Holes” episode. In addition to the "Search On" series, Sommer directed “Find Your Scene” for Google, an Oscar spot that showcased people recreating their favorite movie moments using Google Maps.
