Nonfictionulls Gelb Dreams Of Sushi

David Dreams of Sushi, TV Spots and More

Nonfiction Unlimited's roster, including "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" director David Gelb, looks to take documentary-style advertising to new places.
 

Nonfiction's Gelb likes getting into the meat of a story, even when it's about fish.

David Gelb loves raw fish, and that's how he got into making commercials. "I've always wanted to make a film about sushi," admits the director, who was recently signed by Nonfiction Unlimited to direct commercials. That passion led him to direct and produce his first feature documentary, the award-winning indie film "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."

"Lots of documentary filmmakers might either focus on the story or the images," says Loretta Jeneski, Partner and Executive Producer at Nonfiction. "David is one of the rare few who can do both. He has a rich visual vocabulary and he can tell a story like no other. He's crafted the perfect marriage between documentary and commercials." In 'Jiro,' David tells the moving story of Japan's greatest living sushi master by making the style of the film perfectly match the character. 
 
"Jiro is an elegant master of his craft," says Gelb. "And so I created a story that has elegance, from the music of Philip Glass and Max Richter to the photography and the framing of the three act story, which represents an entire sushi dinner, from appetizer to dessert. I tried to use all the tools of the cinema to bring out the character."

A clip from the award-winning independent film, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."

Recently Gelb broke open his toolbox again for his first commercial production, a campaign for Google. The first spot "Let's Do This for Kansas City" was created for Google Fiber; a new broadband Internet network launched this year in Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas.
 
The second Google spot was for Chrome and it was created by the company's in-house shop Google Creative Labs. The spot, "Awesome Dad," tells the true story of Dallas Clayton, a Dad and children's book author who used the web to share the inspiring book he wrote for his son with people all over the world.
 
While Gelb is busy dream weaving in a documentary format, his colleagues at Nonfiction Unlimited continue shaping content with their own unique visions. Recently, Director Sean Dunne wrapped "Mission Main Street," a series of short films for Chase that profiles six entrepreneurial companies including Green Toys in San Francisco and Diamondback Airboats in Florida.

Gelb's real people Google spot "Awesome Dad" was shot for Google Creative Labs.

After finishing production on his feature documentary "Bones Brigade," the sequel to his skateboarder biopic "Dogtown and Z-Boys," Director Stacy Peralta jumped into a campaign for JWT Detroit for the brand Carhartt.  The pair of spots, "Bush Pilot" and "Dog Musher," feature real Alaskans at work in the great outdoors, wearing Carhartt apparel.
 
Todd Selby, aka The Selby, just shot a slate of documentary shorts for Deutsch L.A. for the "Values" campaign on http://WhyVW.com, which features VW owners who believe the auto maker's values reflect their own, including a triathlon competitor who donates time to help train blind athletes.
 
An ambitious and unusual campaign produced by Nonfiction for Bank of America is the campaign titled "Stories of Opportunity" for Hill Holiday, which was lensed last summer and continues to air. It is a seven spot campaign directed by talent from Nonfiction's roster, including all of the directors mentioned above (except Gelb), along with Barbara Kopple and Steve James.

Stacy Peralta's work for outdoor clothier Carhartt features real working Alaskans.

Each one-minute installment was used as a TV spot and short film for the web and they each can be seen on the bank's homepage. The campaign showcases entrepreneurs and organizations who have been helped by the bank, such as the family that owns the landmark Pink's Hot Dog stand in Hollywood, which was funded by a Bank of America loan in 1939, and the entrepreneurial doctor who founded a Chinatown State of the Art Medical Facility in New York, also helped by funds from the bank.
 
"Ninety-five percent of the commercials we work on now also include a web component," says Jeneski. "With my directors it's a natural. Clients know they are working with some of the greatest working documentarians in the business, so they say let's spin some real stories off this campaign. We've got the real people, we've got the directors. Let's do it, and we do and everyone loves it."

Published 26 November, 2012