Cannes and Emmy Award-winning American director Saman Keshavarz joins Engine stable
Engine today announced that the multi-award winning US director Saman Keshavarz has joined their stable.
Keshavarz, who burst onto the world stage winning awards for TVCs and music videos he shot for Canon and Cinnamon Chasers’ Luv Deluxe while still at art school, has been described as a creative genius by those he has worked with.
Says Engine EP Adam Wells: “Saman is a truly unique creative force. His personal take on non-linear storytelling really is like nothing you have ever seen before. Saman also uses a very quick, off-the-hip shooting style which makes all of his work incredible engaging for the viewer. We are delighted and very excited to have Saman on board with Engine.”
Last year Keshavarz won the 2010 Clio Best Commercial, 2010 Gold Addy, 2010 Emmy Outstanding Commercial and 2010 YDA Cannes Silver for the TVC Game of Digital Freeze Tag he created and shot using Canon EOS and Powershot cameras.
Meanwhile the music video he shot for Cinnamon Chasers’ Luv Deluxe achieved over 1,000,000 views online within a week, saw the young director nominated and then go on to win the prestigious South by Southwest festival in the USA and was an official selection for both the 2010 Saatchi & Saatchi Directors’ Showcase and 2010 Vimeo Awards.
Says Keshavarz: “I have many influences in my life, everyone from Hideo Kojima, Kubrick, Soderbergh and Fincher to Spike Jonze. This means my style and my work is pretty intense and energetic for the most part. I have a saying with my peers, “I want somebody to watch this and say – Hell Yeah!” But, I guess I like stuff to be provocative, crazy, fun, unique. Oh and I hate cliches. I like breaking classic and tired stuff and putting it back together with more vibrancy and excitement – but most importantly I just want to make compelling work. The Australian and Asian markets are so unique and different in comparison to the UK, European and US ones. I am flattered that a company like Engine is into my stuff and are here to back me up. The Asian market is crazy because it moves faster than anybody else and unless you’re a heavy hitter old school director, not much work reaches them unless you got a company like Engine selling your ass!”
Saman Keshavarz can be contacted and booked through Adam Wells at Engine
12 Comments
I thought Engine were a post / design house ?
Love the optimism but people are not going to take their post work to a company they are now bidding against….
they’re a hybrid production company and post company
3 directors
crazy for engine to go down this line, don’t think we’ll be getting them to quote on post anymore…
Agencies do production
Production companies do post
human ability makes it good or bad
Why are we having this convo? They now have the best of both worlds and last time I looked some of the best people now? I reckon they get it.
Adam r u M&C?
nice serve !
Agencies have editing suites.
Production and Editorial companies have grading suites.
Post companies have directors.
So, what’s the problem then?
The problem?
The ability to specialise is significantly diluted by a short sighted grab for more (dwindling) dollars. But when the lack of expertise is exposed and people/jobs start screwing up, watch those responsible duck for cover. Will the trend last or will it just f*ck up the process?
We’re eating each other (which is kind of weird)
Everybody does everything.
Each can do it all, or most of it all when called upon by clients, or they can collaborate with others when that’s the best creative avenue. Sometimes it’s about the set of relationships already established by the creators of the idea or strategy, and sometimes it’s about getting just the right fit of creative elements. Let’s be honest, however that too frequently in a small market like our own, it’s about making it work for a price. In a community of businesses, all with long histories of working with an against one another, sometimes it’s just about having the opportunity to work with trusted mates.
The firewalls between agency and production company and post facility and digital media provider are all well down now, which just means that the possible options for doing interesting work are greater . . . in theory.
The conditions should make for a more creative working environment everywhere, and in a perfect world it will put more pressure upon all parties to do great creative work, unless of course the increased competition fosters in greater distrust, less open collaboration, and a financial undercutting mentality that cannibalises the entire industry.
It could go either way.
I think what we are seeing with Engine is what has been happening OS for a long time now. There are a heap of studios that offer the entire production solution. Psyop, Imaginary Forces, Shilo, Motion Theory….. from what I can tell are all offering directorial, production, post, animation, vfx and sound under the one brand.
Then you have Digital Domain, Method entering our market chasing our effects work. Meanwhile those production companies dazzled by the big boys are also helping them build relationships that then see them competing with the Directors they are putting up. The DD prospectus spelt the future out pretty clearly, fingers in all the pies.
It looks like Engine have been able to have cake and eat for a while now with some production companies not really understanding that they also competing with them.
It will be interesting to see how models evolve to cope. Will we see production companies and post companies buying one another up to compete as one stop shops?