The Director & The D.O.P

Our first ever director guest: Scott Otto Anderson (Photoplay) breaks down the Rugby World Cup 2027 campaign for World Rugby — a Mad Max: Furiosa-style epic where a dust storm reveals itself to be hordes of rugby fans in nation-themed vehicles.The twist? It was heading for a huge VFX / virtual-production build until Scott pivoted to something far more tangible: 1:10 scale miniatures. Driveable remote-control cars, finished by traditional model makers, shot at the actual Furiosa location. He explains the gravity-scale physics that make toy cars read as real, scoring each nation's vehicle with its own audio cue, a lizard named Miss Lizzy, and the 25 solo pickup days the client never sees. Then a rare director-to-director conversation — the "20-minute expert," the editor's-mind advantage, and why you should keep post separate from production. Plus Hot Takes: coffee-order justice, the word "senior," call-sheet snobbery, and whether colourists deserve a trip to set. 00:20 Intro 05:36 The Breakdown: Rugby World Cup 2027 08:21 The pivot that won the pitch: miniatures 16:25 The gravity-scale physics of toy cars 29:30 Ms Lizzy 39:28 On being a director 46:55Hot Takes 🎙️ New episodes weekly.#thedirectorandthedop #commercialfilm #vfx #miniatures

It's the ad every Australian has seen a hundred times and every Australian director secretly wants to make: the Qantas in-flight safety video.EP Catherine Terracini (Elastic) breaks down what it actually takes — 136 deliverable versions across aircraft types and languages, chasing grounded A380s around the world, shooting in real cabins with the air-con off, and a resident falcon in the hangar. Oh, and the catering company's kitchen that burnt down at 9:30pm the night before the first shoot day.Then a great conversation on what an executive producer actually does — and why the most valuable word a producer has is "no" — before both hosts explain how an electrician-punk-singer and a broadcast editor ended up behind the camera.Plus maybe our most energetic What We Watch yet: a stunning South African stout ad, Will Ferrell's surprisingly cinematic golf comedy, and the Extraction oner.00:25 Intro04:30 The Breakdown: the Qantas safety video09:00 136 versions and the language matrix23:30 The kitchen burnt down29:48 What an EP actually does35:21 How we got here (origin stories)44:35 What We Watch🎙️ New episodes weekly.Qantas Safety 2026 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjkvOYzFjYAfrican Time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9hTHc4_sqQExtraction BTS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwn0J2OVDG4The Hawk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSRJ6PXHx88#thedirectorandthedop #commercialfilm #advertising #qantas

Liam breaks down Human Fking Wrecking Ball — the most personal thing he's ever made, and it started as a lens test.Asked to shoot a test video for Sigma's new autofocus cine lens, Liam refused to make the usual soulless lens-chart reel. Instead he drove to Wollongong, spent two days shooting UFC prospect Colby Thickness on a single lens, and — when the footage refused to become the slow mini-doc he'd planned — turned it into a 59-second punk promo, screaming the vocal track himself into a mic in the bush with his young son on headphones.It's a story about the rush of pure creativity, why three colliding deadlines are the only reason the thing exists, and what it actually takes to make something that's 100% you.Then, Life of a Freelancer: when to make passion projects, why Ethan doesn't, why short production windows beat long ones — and the genuinely hardest part of leading your own project (it's feeding people).00:24 Intro05:26 The Breakdown: Human Fking Wrecking Ball06:26 The lens test that became a promo12:33 From mini-doc to punk video17:22 Screaming it into a mic in the bush28:33 The grade34:40 Life of a Freelancer: passion projects🎙️ New episodes weekly.#thedirectorandthedop #passionproject #cinematography #filmmaking

Matt Taylor — founder of Milkmoney, now an agency EP in branded entertainment — breaks down Rivals, a TV series funded and driven by Rexona that pitted Australia's top athletes across codes against each other on Hamilton Island. Matt takes us inside brand-created entertainment: how you balance the "value exchange" so it's neither eight half-hour TVCs nor an ROI-free show, why flying athletes to an island beat any stadium, and how you shoot eight episodes in a four-day window with 155 people and six camera units. Then the personal stuff: running an independent production company ("it's like riding a lion"), selling Milkmoney, and becoming a grip assistant at 50 during his non-compete. Plus Matt turns the tables with a great question — where's the opportunity in all this industry chaos? — and Gear Chat on the Cadrage / Sun Seeker update. 00:20 The loud shirt 05:32 The Breakdown: Rivals 12:03 The value exchange 26:32 The athletes and the 4-day window 32:42 Why Australian TV is all FX6 38:12 Running a company: "riding a lion" 39:50 Selling up and becoming a grip at 50 46:58 Gear Chat 🎙️ New episodes weekly.#thedirectorandthedop #brandedentertainment #advertising #commercialfilm

ECD Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt (Le Truc, part of Publicis) joins us to break down the strangest, most complicated shoot of her career: Heinz "The Pickle." The idea — put a man in a giant pickle costume and send him into La Tomatina, Spain's tomato-throwing festival. The budget — tiny. The plan — barely held together.Kat takes us through a bribed balcony, a GoPro stolen within five minutes, her accidentally filming her own tomato-covered face, and a three-hour turnaround to get it onto breakfast TV. It's a masterclass in earned media, adaptability, and why the idea is the only boss. Then: how Kat picks directors, why real-people work is back as a pushback against AI, and why AI previs is killing creativity on set. Plus Hot Takes — the word "industry," paid treatments, and the spiciest take we've ever read out. 00:20 Intro 05:54 The Breakdown: Heinz "The Pickle" 15:10 Everything that went wrong 23:50 How earned media actually works 31:10 How an ECD picks directors 46:20 AI previs vs creativity 50:10 Hot Takes 🎙️ New episodes weekly.#thedirectorandthedop #advertising #commercialfilm #creativedirector

1st AC and focus puller Louis Lau joins us to break down a two-minute single-take beach safety PSA for Surf Life Saving Australia — Angus Sampson delivering an unbroken monologue while a dozen actors, a Polaris buggy and a Westpac helicopter choreograph around him. The brief called for Australian summer sun. They got rain, and shot it anyway.Louis explains what a focus puller actually does (it's not what you think), why the week of prep is harder than the shoot day, and how to win an argument with a producer over a $200 line item.Then the real conversation: after thirteen years, Louis is stepping away from camera assisting to become a DP. The golden handcuffs. The humble pie. And why, as he puts it, nobody cares that you were a great focus puller.Plus What We Watch — Air New Zealand, VW's Forever Golf, and an unresolved argument about Spider-Noir.00:00 Cold open00:27 Intro05:29 The Breakdown: the 2-minute one-take13:15 Steadicam vs gimbal14:40 What a focus puller actually does24:08 Arguing with production over $20033:25 Leaving a 13-year career behind52:30 What We Watch🎙️ New episodes weekly.#thedirectorandthedop #commercialfilm #cinematography #focuspuller

Tokyo. London. Mexico City. New York. All of it shot in Sydney, in two days. Ethan breaks down Lenovo "Play-by-Play" — a global FIFA World Cup campaign for Shutterstock Studios — and Liam asks the questions he'd have asked if he'd been on it. Why Sydney beat LA and Melbourne. What got cut when grip ran out of room. The one shot worth protecting. Why the client asked for it to feel like a documentary. And why Liam thinks the grade needed more colour. Then we launch a brand new segment: HOT TAKES. You sent them in, we have to take a side. Bidding against an agency's in-house team. Stills vs motion. Residuals for the creative team. And whether a bland pho is even pho. 00:00 Cold open 00:21 Intro 06:12 The Breakdown: Lenovo "Play-by-Play" 09:40 Why shoot a global campaign in Sydney? 12:32 The grip compromise 18:35 Liam doesn't love the grade 28:25 The $100k question 36:48 🌶️ HOT TAKES — new segment Send us your hot takes on Instagram — the spiciest ones make the show. 🎙️ New episodes weekly. #thedirectorandthedop #commercialfilm #advertising #filmproduction

Freelance producer Henry Richardson joins Ethan and Liam to break down U Bank — a maximalist, three-spot campaign directed by Jesse James McElroy built almost entirely on practical effects: a horse walking through a beach set inside an "office," a man bursting out of a flooded kitchen sink, toast flying on a roof. Henry explains why the shoot pivoted from location to a full studio build, what a "support horse" actually is, and the sink malfunction that flooded a set mid-take. Then, Life of a Freelancer: invoicing timing, Net 90 payment terms, and the worst you've ever waited to get paid.00:00 Cold open00:18 Intro02:55 Meet Henry Richardson04:33 Breaking down U Bank11:45 The horse problem12:36 The sink blowout18:32 Should producers be client facing? 26:00 The $100k question36:49 Life of a Freelancer: invoicing & Net 90🎙️ Follow The Director and the DOP for new episodes every week.#thedirectorandthedop #commercialfilm #advertising #filmproduction

James Griffiths is GM of Creative at Bring, Universal Music's in-house creative agency. In this episode he breaks down Coke Studio — a campaign spanning Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, built around two original songs designed to connect, nine custom-built sets, and a final surprise collaboration between five artists. We get into how a campaign this complex gets briefed, why the director was left deliberately room to interpret rather than execute a locked vision, and the moment with five minutes left on day one when the entire shoot nearly came down to a guy with an electric saw cutting open a fridge. James also on what people don't see in a project like this — the eight or nine months of work before a single frame rolls, and the tension between music culture moving at rocket pace and a brand the size of Coca-Cola that simply can't move that fast. Plus, it's episode 10. We made it. In Gear Chat: the Sony Rialto 65 — 65mm cinema in a backpack. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open 00:20 Intro — episode 10, we made it 05:41 Meet James Griffiths, GM Creative at Bring / Universal Music 06:48 Coke Studio — the project overview 08:10 Two songs designed to connect across two markets 11:22 36 million views and a fandom that knew the lyrics before launch 14:10 Nine sets, two days, two countries 16:34 Choosing an Australian production partner for a global campaign 18:36 Briefing a music video vs a 30-second ad 22:48 Has anyone bitten off more than they can chew? 24:59 Do the product shot first 35:06 Can you make a career on music videos 42:06 an extar $100k? 48:34 Liam's K-pop pitch 51:43 Gear Chat — Sony Rialto 65 56:00 Wrap-up

Erin McBean is Executive Producer at Infinity Squared. In this episode she breaks down Mountain Dew's "Do the Dew" campaign — a green screen shoot built almost entirely on AI-generated backgrounds, until the client's legal team said no three days before they rolled. We get into how the production pivoted, why a smaller budget sometimes gives social content exactly what it needs, and what happens when you push back on an agency's creative approach before a single frame is shot. Erin also on the pitch process — competitive pitches on shrinking budgets, jobs that get cancelled after three production companies have put in weeks of work, and why that needs to change. Plus where production is actually heading in 2026. Erin's been at Infinity Squared for five years and has watched the industry shift faster than it ever has. In What We're Watching: a punk band trashes a Denny's and it becomes the best brand ad of the year. And an AI campaign that convinced the entire internet — including Ethan — that Nike had just made the greatest sports ad of all time. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open 00:22 Intro — episode 9, running out of outfits 03:05 Meet Erin McBean, EP at Infinity Squared 04:10 Mountain Dew "Do the Dew" — why this project 05:00 Car park budget, not Sydney Park 07:38 AI backgrounds — building the whole concept 09:18 Client says no to AI — three days out 13:00 The casting — Caleb gets painted green 14:15"Bite off more than you can chew and chew like crazy" 23:21 The pitch process is broken 25:06 The rejection/dating parallel 27:05 Where is production going in 2026? 31:08 What do you wish people knew about the EP role? 38:17 What We're Watching — Denny's punk band ad 40:54 The AI Nike campaign that fooled everyone 45:31 Wrap-up 📷 Instagram: @directorandthedop #commercialfilm #filmmaking #advertising #executiveproducer #director #cinematographer #podcast #thedirectorandthedop #behindthescenes

Marcus Friedlander is a colourist working across commercial production in Sydney. In this episode he breaks down the grade on Nike "Run Your Run" — shot in one day in Southeast Asia, multiple cameras, and a director who walked into the grade and asked him to push the look further. We get into what density actually means, how to unify footage from different cameras in a single working colour space, and what happens when a client asks you to make something more poppy and you've already hit the legal limit of the farm. We also talk about the colourist being involved earlier, why the DP needs to be in the grade, and the new piece of client feedback nobody quite knows how to decode yet — "we don't want it to feel AI." Plus — our very first listener question. Yun from Sydney asks how to work with a colourist for the first time. In Gear Chat: Cooke AP3 Anamorphics. 1.5x squeeze, user-interchangeable mounts, tiny, and about to be everywhere. 00:00 Opener 00:26 Intro — e-bikes, cyclists, North Sydney Bears 02:48 The Breakdown with Marcus Friedlander, Colourist 03:43 Nike "Run Your Run" — why this project 06:09 Look development — seeing it with fresh eyes 07:31 Technical challenges — one day, multiple cameras, harsh light 14:21 Working colour space — unifying different cameras 15:33 The gatewave — making digital feel like film 20:20 "We don't want it to feel AI" 21:33 Make it pop" — decoding client language 24:58 Director's cut workflow — backing up before client notes 27:32 What colourists wish production understood 28:40 The DP needs to be in the grade 33:05 Marcus's question for Ethan 37:50 First ever listener question — Yun from Sydney 42:37 Gear Chat — Cooke AP3 Anamorphics 47:44 Wrap-up

Steph Pringle is co-founder of Chicken and Chips Casting. In this episode she breaks down the NRL "This is How We League" campaign — a hybrid process mixing trained actors with community and street casting, built around one of the most articulate diversity briefs she's seen in her career.We get into what casting directors are actually doing on a project, why the callback process is disappearing and what directors lose when it does, and how emerging directors should be thinking about building those relationships.In Life of a Freelancer: how Ethan and Liam crew up — and their first real disagreement about crew loyalty.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Cold open — first fight teased00:23 Intro — episode 702:29 Meet Steph Pringle, Chicken and Chips Casting05:20 The NRL "This is How We League" — why this project08:46 The bilingual brief — specific without box-ticking09:45 Street casting vs agent-driven process11:32 Finding Dang — the gut feeling moment12:21 Car acting and eyeline technique20:43 The callback process — what directors are losing26:35 What casting directors wish production understood28:05 How emerging directors should approach casting directors29:55 Loyalty — building a reel then moving on34:13 Life of a Freelancer — crewing up37:30 The first fight38:25 Wrap-up FIND US🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4aYJx1Y3tfx8nXvSMnzOfp?si=9d077fcf64074702 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDirectorandTheD.O.P 📷 Instagram: @directorandthedop Follow Steph @anditsstephaniepringle + Chicken and Chips Casting @chickenandchips_ #commercialfilm #filmmaking #advertising #casting #director #cinematographer #DOP #podcast #thedirectorandthedop #behindthescenes

Russ Tucker is ECD at Omnicom. Ten years ago he wrangled an uncommissioned Intel short film, a real robot from Swinburne University, and the Sydney Opera House — with no agreed budget and a TEDx premiere date closing in fast. In this episode Russ breaks down Being a Robot Usher. We cover live-coding a robot on set, engineering interviews so the Opera House staff unknowingly described the robot as their colleague, and why the best shot of the whole shoot was the one nobody planned. We also get into treatments — what ECDs are actually looking for, where confidence tips into cockiness, and who really wins the argument over which director gets selected. In What We're Watching: Expedia "Nothing" (dir. Lope Serrano, DOP Tim Lorentzen, production CANADA), Nike "Run Forever" (dir. Rodrigo Inada), and two Netflix documentaries redefining found footage storytelling — Perfect Neighbor and The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open 00:23 Intro — episode 6, 50k views across social 04:51 Meet Russ Tucker, ECD at Omnicom 05:46 Being a Robot Usher — how it started 07:41 Hustling the Sydney Opera House 10:30 Jordan the robot-deer — live coding on set 14:14 The glass door moment 15:46 Engineering the interviews — they had no idea 19:59 Treatments — confidence vs cockiness 22:43 How much does the DOP actually matter in a treatment? 23:55 Who wins the director selection argument? 24:45 What ECDs are actually thinking at the monitor 27:20 Where do you find references nobody else is using? 29:38 What We're Watching — Expedia "Nothing" 33:22 Nike "Run Forever" 35:00 Perfect Neighbor + The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson 39:30 A confession — the camera we forgot to roll

n Episode 5, Ethan and Liam break down ESPN Have a Sick Day — an Australian Super Bowl promo for Now We Collide agency with Mint Films, produced by Henry Richardson. They get into why Ethan wrote a treatment for a job that didn't ask for one, how they found lead actor Jack William Newell through a casting tape that made the decision instantly, shooting a loose unscripted performance style with a rigid sun-driven schedule in an open street, and what it felt like when Liam lost it laughing trying to hold the Ronin steady on Jack's very first take. Then the story nobody knew was coming — a shoot postponed the day before because of the Bondi Beach shootings. How that call was made, who made it, and what it cost everyone to show up a few days later and find the energy to make something joyful. In Gear Chat — Iron Glass, a Ukrainian company doing some of the most interesting vintage lens rehousing work in the world while their country is at war. Why vintage lenses are having a moment, and what the new Air Series mirrorless mount rehousings mean for smaller camera packages. 0:25 Intro — MacGyver mic stand, 25K social views, guest updates 3:37 The Breakdown — ESPN Have a Sick Day 5:53 Writing a treatment when nobody asked 11:40 Finding Jack — the casting tape that ended the process 13:56 Liam loses it on the Ronin — first shot of the day 16:00 The trumpet girls scene 18:38 Shooting in a city — 3, 4, 5 suns 32:51 Outro The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work. New episodes weekly. 🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP) #commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

In Episode 4, Ethan breaks down Adidas Bound by Legacy — a film for the Sydney Roosters made in collaboration with Helium and Hype Republic, directed by Ethan and shot by Donny Buppapirak ACS.They get into why Ethan chose to light an entire pub from the street rather than inside, how First AD Murray Robertson’s “you get one light” call shaped the entire look of the film, working with rugby league legends who have a 10-minute window, and the Petzval lens choice that gave the film its nostalgic character.Then in Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts. Why Edit 2 is the director’s version. Why Edit 3 onwards belongs to the village of clients. And why directors keep ringing their composer mates asking for free favours long after everyone else has been paid.Plus — Meta and Google both shut us down in the same week. We’re back.---0:00 Cold open — I shut down a pub0:28 Intro — new mics, wardrobe, and getting banned by Meta and Google04:15 The Breakdown — Adidas Bound by Legacy, Sydney Roosters07:14 How Ethan got the job without pitching08:34] Lighting the pub from the street — the one light decision09:55 Working with rugby league legends in tight windows18:21 Petzval lens choice and Peaky Blinders colour references22:56 Jesse Watt — the composer who made the difference24:50 Life of a Freelancer — Director’s Cuts25:10 Edit 2 is the director’s cut28:46 Who pays for the grade and sound mix after the fact32:24 Outro---The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work.New episodes weekly.🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)#commercialfilmmaking #director #cinematography #advertising #filmmaking #australianfilm

In Episode 3, Ethan and Liam break down Changi Taste of Asia — a 12-day, four-country travel campaign directed by Luna for Infinity Squared, with Liam as DOP and no camera assistant. They get into how Luna planned every location digitally before ever setting foot there, why you have to plan spontaneity, how Liam stripped the Sony Burano down to football size to shoot handheld across Southeast Asia, and why Liam nearly didn't take the job at all. Plus the broader conversation on crafted influencer content — what happens when you bring a proper ad crew into that world, and why the result is better than the sum of its parts. Then in What We Watch — Ethan on Ardbeg You Can't Untaste It and the power of a simple, beautiful setup. Liam on Project Hail Mary and why IMAX is genuinely worth leaving the house for. 0:00 Introduction0:30 Espresso, coffees on set, and show intro2:27 The Breakdown — Changi Taste of Asia6:41 Luna's digital recce approach10:09 Sony Burano — stripping back to handheld13:05 No camera assistant — how it actually worked18:56 I nearly didn't take this job21:14 The crafted influencer format23:40 What We Watch — Ardbeg + Project Hail Mary / IMAX27:35 Outro

In Episode 2, Ethan and Liam break down their Destination NSW Central West content capture project with Mint Films — a 9-day, multi-location shoot across regional NSW on natural light only, with a lean crew and no lighting team. They get into how Ethan selects a DOP for a long-form road job on emotional intelligence as much as skill, how Liam chose his First AC Molly Sutherland ("Little Miss Never Miss"), the terrarium approach to directing non-actor talent, why recces are non-negotiable on tourism work, and the key takeaway — always aim higher than the brief. Then in Gear Chat — Liam breaks down the Sony virtual production tracking system using SLAM technology. Camera-agnostic, no external markers, and why he thinks handheld is back. Plus — why we changed the name from The Director and the DP.

In our first episode, Ethan and Liam break down Grant Burge Leave Your Mark — a TVC, social, and OOH campaign featuring Dylan Alcott, where Ethan served as both Creative Director and Director. They get into the Panavision H Series lens choice and why it defined the look, working with non-actor talent who calls their own takes, the decision to bring Dylan's dad on set, and Liam's handheld-on-dolly solution when time ran out. Then in Life of a Freelancer — the DOP/Director coffee date. Who reaches out, what makes it work, and the age-old question of who actually pays. 0:00 Introduction 3:35 The Breakdown — Grant Burge Leave Your Mark ft. Dylan Alcott 7:17 Lens choice — Panavision H Series & Alexa Mini LF 14:14 Working with non-actor talent 18:18 The handheld-on-dolly decision 19:43 What we'd do differently 22:45 Life of a Freelancer — The Director/DOP coffee date 27:55 Tips for the coffee date The Director & The DOP is a video podcast for the commercial production and advertising industry. A director and a DOP break down real projects — no theory, just the work. New episodes weekly. 🎙️ Hosted by Ethan McLean (Director) & Liam Brennan (DOP)