Ridley Scott, the English film director and producer, is known for his atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style.
Scott is a visionary director.
His films break the boundaries of style and genre.
He directed such films as Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, The Martian, and Thelma & Louise.
He is in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing.
He has received the highest honor from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for services to the British film industry.
Plus, he shot over 2,700 commercials.
The nature of shooting commercials was critical to his success in film.
Not only is advertising incredibly competitive, but Scott has called this experience his "film school."
When finally directing feature films, the experience of shooting commercials let him know what to do from the jump.
Lenses.
Viewfinders.
Composition.
Camera operation.
You can watch him discuss his advertising experience here.
In speaking with Variety in 2015, Scott said: "We were really inventing modern advertising and modern communications. The big question always to me when making a movie now is, 'Am I communicating?' And if you're not communicating, you won't have a film do business, and our business is about commerce, not art."
A film needs to sell the audience.
Sell the audience the narrative, the character, and the universe.
In the same Variety article, Scott recalled his experience with advertising: "I learned to address the most basic question: Am I communicating, or am I going over your head? And that's what all filmmakers face."
A film director will never get a chance to shoot 2,700 films.
But 2,700 commercials, absolutely.
As a communicator, whatever your preferred means of communication, what can you do 2,700 times so that when asked to communicate once at the highest level, you will know what to do from the jump?
If you want that interview on Bloomberg Surveillance with Tom Keane, have you done the necessary work by doing 2,700 pod interviews?
If you want that opinion editorial to appear in the Financial Times, have you done the necessary work by doing 2,700 blog posts?
What's your film school?
If you need help finding your film school, Caracal is here to help.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
PS: It was Scott’s legendary “1984” Apple ad shown during Super Bowl XVIII that announced the arrival of the Macintosh computer. You can watch it here.
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