The Director Will See You Now - Superlounge Signs Ben Tedesco

His father is a doctor. His uncle and three cousins are doctors. So it should come as no surprise that Superlounge has signed director Ben Tedesco for exclusive US spot representation. The only thing better than having a doctor on set is a director who could've been a doctor, said Partner/Director Jordan Brady. Tedesco's fateful decision to switch from pre-med to film has served him well: in addition to creating several well-received spec spots, his MoFilm Chevy Volt Spaceship experiment took him to Cannes in 2013, where Chevrolet's CMO decreed that the spot would air in the fall, which it did.

It was while shooting Spaceship that Tedesco first met Brady (the director's girlfriend was working with Brady's wife, director Jeannette Godoy). Jordan was genuinely excited from the first cuts of Spaceship' and saw its potential, Tedesco recalled. I met with so many people whose reactions were cautionary: This is such a tough time.' But Jordan and (Superlounge Executive Producer) Dave Farrell have the confidence and belief that with the right amount of work and ingenuity, this can happen.

Ive been watching Ben flawlessly execute heartwarming spots for two years now, said Brady. Never mind theyve been on a shoestring budget, theyre just great stories. I wanted him on the Superlounge team.

Tedesco developed his visual narrative style over nearly a decade in production working for directors like Zack Snyder and Jeff Cronenweth. So many elements must come together in order for a spot to take shape - the look of the environment, the physical acting, and above all I have to find the story within the storyboard, Tedesco observed. In addition to Chevy, Tedesco's initial work has included specs for Campbell's, BP, Dodge and Doritos. Like Chevy, a series of LegalZoom spots caught the attention of the brand and have begun appearing as formal Web spots. More have been commissioned, possibly for broadcast.

Raised in Arizona, Tedesco was pre-med at AZ State until he took a silent film course at the suggestion of a friend as an easy A elective. Though he stopped going to his pre-med classes, he still got As in Chemistry and Biology that semester. A closet filmmaking major, Tedesco graduated in three years (the university's film program launched the year after he left). He relocated to LA at 21 to get some firsthand experience. Courses at LA Film School provided him with knowledge of production and post. From there, Tedesco worked his way up the production ladder, becoming a Production Supervisor.

The end of 2012 found Tedesco at another crossroads. He quit production and went to Europe for three months to realign his priorities. I came back putting my full focus on my directing, he said. Within six weeks of returning to LA, he had shot Campbell's and Chevy - and was off to France for Cannes. He met with production companies in LA and NY, but the connection with Brady was still top of mind. Their focus was more on comedy at the time, which is not the definitive genre for me, or I'm sure we would have worked together sooner, Tedesco recalled. I love telling stories. With a camera I get to bring my imagination to life for everyone else to see. Comedy or drama, that's my approach.

A year to the day after Tedesco's return from his European soul-searching trip, he got the call from Superlounge. As we've expanded our roster, Brady concluded, things have lined up for Ben and for us, which we're so happy about.

Tedesco joins a Superlounge roster comprised of directors Jordan Brady, Daniel Sheppard, Jacob Slade, and Brett Wagner.

###

LINK:	http://news.creativecow.net/story/875504...
	See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines