Dig for fire

“There is always a way.”

Born in Zimbabwe, Natalie established herself in Europe with stints at the UK broadcaster Channel 4, MTV and Done and Dusted, a production company known for their large-scale event programming. This relationship proved fruitful and the company sent Natalie to NYC to open their first US office. In 2007, she left to start her own company Dig for Fire (www.digforfire.tv)—a new venture in film and music, tailored for the digital age. Natalie has spearheaded/collaborated on numerous projects with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones, Gorillaz, John Legend & The Roots, Lenny Kravitz, REM, Spiritualized, Morrissey and many more. Clients range from indie & major labels to the likes of iTunes, From the Basement, NME Awards, Cake, graffiti artists Stash & Futura, Rock the Vote and Coca-Cola. Accolades include a Billboard Women in Music nomination in 2010 and an OMMA Award, as well as a Gold at the Digital Impact Awards for the FADER +Nikesportswear Pitch Perfect documentary series, which Natalie shot and directed. Natalie also received attention for her direction of both the music video and documentary for “Music for RAIN”– an artistic collaboration for The Replenish Africa Initiative, a foundation devoted to supplying clean water to Africans. Recently, Natalie was invited to direct the 4th season of PBS’s Emmy Nominated international hit “The Artists Den.” Other recent work as a director include Iron and Wine’s music video of “Flightless Bird” for the TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN soundtrack. In addition to her music work, Natalie is bringing her diverse sensibilities to two feature length projects, “If I Ventured In the Slipstream,” a documentary that offers an impressionistic take on independent music and its future, and also BULL RIDER, a narrative feature set in the in the American Southwest that follows a gifted young bull rider on a redemptive journey to the World Bull Riding Finals.

Simplicity with Fluidity. This is the best description you’ll come across from reviewers of his work and it hits the nail on the head. Bucky graduated from CalArts, kicking off his career in graphic design at Girl Skateboard Company. He quickly transitioned to motion graphics at FUEL Inc, but as a then young art director and graphic designer he began collaborating on music videos with people like Roman Coppola and Spike Jonze whose skate video “yeah right” has Bucky written all over it. Everyone who meets Bucky loves him, even the least pleasable man in music, Morrissey. Bucky has directed more than six of his music videos and documented more live shows than he can count. His video credits include names like Pete Yorn, St Vincent, Futureheads and Audioslave. He likes to think this has all earned him the right to be called Mr. Bucky and continues to validate his rock n’ roll status as designer director with his most recent work in 3D ‘Redbull Skateboarding meets Paint”

Helen Downing’s training and continued practice as a classical violinist led to the discovery of her  passion and niche for directing live musical performances. She directs with her ears first and foremost, but her work is almost always marked by a signature femme fatale touch. Credits include Gorillaz Live in Harlem, Newport Jazz Festival for PBS, Peace One Day Gala Celebration. Her obsession with aesthetics and her ability to create atmosphere are seen most acutely in her latest venture as a music video director.  Her other great passion is food, which led 6 years ago to directing commercials in the UK and to producing and directing the series  ‘Jamie at Home’ with Jamie Oliver.

Huse burst onto the music video scene with all his tongue-in-cheek comedy flair winning Best New Director category at the CAD Awards and a People Choice award for Eric Prydz “Call On Me”. After a Promo magazine vote as one of the top ten directors to look out for in 2005 he joined the roster at RSA/Black Dog, where he directed his first commercial for Samsung which scored him Best New Commercials Director at the British Television Advertising Craft Awards. The list goes on, but it starts to sound a little boastful…. These days Huse continues to direct in both music and comedy, applying his comedic sensibilities and tone to his commercials work, and most recently in a comedy short film “The Protege” which he also co-wrote. Not content with conquering the world of moving pictures, Huse exhibited his first photography show with friend and collaborator Dan Wilton in the summer of 2010 entitled “Fuck Off, I Love You” featuring portraits of sixty of their friends swearing to camera. The show was critically acclaimed, featuring in publications as diverse as Vice Magazine and The Sunday Times.

Colin’s ‘northern soul’ and grasp of narrative attract legions of artists to work with him and see his work spanning  advertising, music and documentary projects. Commercial clients have included Adidas, Reebok, Sony Playstaion, Nissan and Alfa Romeo. In 2009 his commercial for the Home Office Anti-Knife Crime ‘Pick It Up’ was awarded a D&AD. In music, Colin has directed numerous films for Polydor Records and in particular for cult music legend Ian Brown. At the 2009 UK MVA’ Colin was nominated for an ‘Innovation Aawrd’ for short film and music video Deadmau5 ‘I Remember’ funded by ‘YourOwnClothing.com,’ starring Stephen Graham. In long form, Colin has contributed to documentaries for Channel 4 and has co-directed a six part observational documentary ‘Drivetime’ for the BBC4. Other accolades for his films include nomination for ‘Bloomberg Best Newcomer’ at the prestigious Grierson Documentary Film Award and exhibits at the V&A and Bilbao Guggenheim.

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard met and began working collaboratively while students at Goldsmiths College, London, UK. Working predominantly with film, video and sound, they exhibit internationally and are featured in collections worldwide, including the Tate Gallery. Their recent projects have included ‘Radio Mania’, a 3D film commissioned by the British Film Institute, ‘Silent Sound’, an ambisonic sound installation scored by J. Spaceman (Spiritualized) and ‘Walking After Acconci’, which gave British rapper Plan B (aka actor Ben Drew) his first screen role. In 2008 the artists were invited by Nick Cave to direct their first music video, which has led to an ongoing working relationship. As well as a series of promo clips and live sessions with the Bad Seeds and Grinderman, Forsyth & Pollard have also produced the 3D audiobook for Cave’s novel ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’ and are currently directing a series of 14 films to accompany the reissue of the Bad Seed’s back catalogue. These films have premiered at film festivals worldwide. Other artists they’ve directed videos for include Gil Scott-Heron, Tindersticks, Fanfarlo, Twin Shadow, Mystery Jets and British Sea Power. Forsyth & Pollard are also experienced strategists, working with record labels in the UK to develop marketing campaigns and digital capability over the last ten years. You can view a collection of all their work at IainandJane.tv. Their collective experience and creative ability is truly unique.

Bryan Schlam is a Brooklyn based director and occasional cinematographer. As a director, Bryan has had work featured on Pitchfork.com, Paste Magazine, The Fader, The Daily What, Vimeo.com, MTV/MTV2 and more. Bryan’s work blends artful, cinematic visuals with intriguing and iconic concepts. He brings a genuine, emotional look to each artist he works with, and this relationship is translated through the final product. Bryan’s videos for Atlantic, Warner Brothers, and EMI have put him on the map, and have made him a sought after director for 2011.

Bryan has most recently directed “Chinatown” for Kitten, and “Why Even Try” for Theophilus London.

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