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Brian Neaman: A Few Of My Favourite Things
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The Yonder Content comedy director reveals the trading cards, talented children and tiny Charles that keep his creativity fuelled.
Comedy director Brian Neaman began his career as an editor at Crew Cuts before stepping behind the camera.
Now a director at Yonder Content, he brings sharp timing to campaigns for brands including Pepsi, HP, Hershey’s and Volvo, and co-created the online game show Roe v. Bros.
Here, he shares the trading cards, talented children, and tiny Charles that keep his creativity fueled.
The Guitar
I’ve been playing my kids’ Yamaha ¾ acoustic a lot lately, for when I need a break but still want to stay focused.
I like the nylon string sound - and that it makes me feel like a giant.
I’m currently learning some John Prine ditties: That’s the Way That the World Goes ’Round and Paradise.
I saw him in concert with my mum a few years ago, before he passed, and I’ve been inspired ever since.
The Kid Creation
One afternoon, my 8-year-old daughter complained of being bored.
Nothing new there, but I was on a self-righteous parenting kick and said no to TV.
Thirty minutes later, she proudly handed me a tiny UPS truck she’d made from a cardboard box she dug out of the recycling bin.
Still one of my favourite "no screen time" victories.
The NBA Figurines
Because deep down, I’m still an 8-year-old too.
My Charles Barkley figurine was actually rigged to be a Christmas ornament for a FanDuel Santa Barkley shoot I directed a couple of years ago - though unfortunately, it never made it to the tree.
To the victor goes the spoils, as they say.
I’m a long-suffering New Jersey Nets fan (thanks to moving to Brooklyn for me!) - hence the Keith Van Horn toy.
The Simpsons Toys
The Simpsons was must-see TV in my house growing up.
Fun fact: I was president of my high school’s Simpsons Club.
My duties included recording episodes on VHS, editing together montages for school assemblies, and selling some truly excellent long-sleeve T-shirts.
I had a massive binder full of episode guide printouts and all sorts of nerdery.
Totally obsolete today, thanks to the internet.
The Trading Cards
Dock Ellis is a baseball legend - he once pitched a no-hitter on LSD.
(Not on purpose; he thought he had the day off.)
His card is a reminder never to complain when I’m feeling less than 100%.
And then there are Garbage Pail Kids - a lifelong obsession.
Scary, funny and weird.
As a kid, I plastered a wooden chair with all of the stickers.
I wish I still had that chair.
And now my kids keep sniping my cards.
The legend lives on.
The Fish Tank
I had my first fish tank in college - a sizable 45-gallon setup I got on the cheap - but sold the fish when I moved to Australia for a year after graduating.
Recently, when my kids started asking for pets (and with our family’s fur allergies), I hit up my parents’ basement to rescue and revitalise the old tank.
So far, only two fish have gone to the great beyond.
We currently have seven Mbuna cichlids and a Synodontis catfish named CatJoe.
The Bird By Bird Book
Anne Lamott is always a good read.
Her "bird by bird" philosophy has saved me countless times, whether I’m drowning in directing prep work or sorting through mountains of footage.
It comes from advice her father gave her brother when he was overwhelmed by a school report on birds: just take it "bird by bird".
Basically, break down daunting tasks into manageable steps.
Her book Traveling Mercies is priceless as well.
