Venice production house Wild Plum is proud to announce the addition of Vance Malone to its directorial roster. Malone is a veteran of the commercial world, bringing his expertise in lifestyle filmmaking and acute attention to detail to every project. Since joining Wild Plum in March, he has already directed multiple spots for clients such as Home Depot, McDonald’s, and Mercy Health Systems.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Vance as part of our family,” says Executive Producer/Partner Shelby Sexton. “Not only is he a tremendously talented filmmaker, but he is also one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet.”
Malone’s long history with Kitty Monaghan of Monaghan Talent Rangers led him to Wild Plum. He was struck by the freshness and visual quality of their work and intrigued with the prospect of a partnership. “Meeting with Shelby and Tanya felt like catching up with old friends, and I knew working with them was going to be a great fit.”
Wild Plum Executive Producer Tanya Cohen was immediately drawn to not only the quality, but also the breadth of the director’s work. “Vance’s portfolio is about as diverse as you can get and it makes creating reels a pleasant challenge,” she says. “He can handle nearly any genre and consistently produces exceptional quality work, regardless of the subject matter or visual style.”
For Malone, though, the diversity of his commercials all point back to one overall theme. “Authenticity is at the heart of all my work,” the director says. “I believe that if the story has a true human connection, it will resonate with the viewers. So that’s the measure of how I select all of my projects and that’s what accounts for my diverse taste. The story can be outrageous or sensitive or everyday…if it’s believable and I find something beautiful in the project, then it’s something I’m drawn to work on regardless of the genre.”
Malone’s impact has already been felt, with six projects under his belt in under 3 months. “Working with the production team at Wild Plum has been amazing,” Malone states. “They put everything they have into the story and project, and I love working around that kind of energy.”
In addition to his commercial work, Malone has a passion for short films and documentary filmmaking, having his work screened at several festivals over the years, including Sundance. He regularly will direct new shorts, seeing the relationship between this type of storytelling and commercial narratives as mutually beneficial. He’s currently working on a new short film set in the world of motorcycle racing. He is looking forward to being able to tell a unique and compelling story while being able to fuel his passion for motorcycles and riding.
“Commercial work requires a very specialized set of skills,” Malone says. “You’ve got 15 to 30 seconds to tell stories that move people, so they’ve taught me to be economical in how we get the most out of every moment. It’s clearly influenced the way I approach my short films as well. Audiences are a lot smarter than we often give them credit for. They can very quickly fill in the blanks and take leaps that might at first seem impossible. Playing to smart audiences is what drives me to explore better and more interesting ways to tell stories, whether in the form of a commercial or in the form of a short.”
He continues, “I also use my short films to explore new techniques, technology and styles, and to take risks that can maybe scare clients in the commercial world. Then once I have the finished short as an example of how those approaches can work, clients are more comfortable with me using them in my spots. It removes a lot of the risk for them and helps build confidence in our relationship
