On My Radar: Gary Coogan

What the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?

Beats by Dre You Love Me is still the one advert that sticks in my head, even a year later. And, in what was a crazy past couple of years, this cuts through the bullshit with a powerful message.

What website(s) do you use most regularly?

YouTube. I visit daily as a source of inspiration and entertainment relief. YouTube now has everything. I watch a lot of making of’s and live music performances, Hollywood round tables, cat compilations, The Guacamole Song… the internet’s wild.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought?

A sold state hard drive. I use it to store the media files for editing. It has no moving parts like the traditional drives, which use a spinning disc that are easily damaged and fail. It’s the size of a credit card, so I can conveniently plug in on a train or plane and edit on the go.

What product could you not live without?

My phone. I use it for everything these days. The phone element of it is probably only about 5% of what I use it for. I can even pay for an overpriced coffee with it.

What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?

Titane; an extreme, violent, shocking avant-garde French film about a serial killer who has a thing for shagging cars. What’s not to love?

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

Come and See [below]. It’s a 1980’s anti-war film by Elem Klimov, and it blew me away when I first saw it. It’s such a harrowing film, but the cinematography is beautiful, and the way it captures the scenes are so visceral and sensory. Obviously I have to mention the editing - the famous reverse sequence at the end is an amazing sequence that has to be experienced. 

What’s your preferred social media platform?

Instagram. I often go for a quick check up then, boom! It's one hour later! I easily get lost in Instagram stories/scrolling. But it’s a good source to see what’s new in the industry, cat pics from friends, and meme’s. 

What’s your favourite TV show?

Breaking Bad. Need I say more? But I was quite late to the party, I think I only started while season 4 was on TV, but I soon binge-watched it and caught up. 

What’s your favourite podcast?

The Rough Cut by Matt Feury. He interviews film & TV editors, and it’s a great insight into the process. It’s conversational but there’s often some good knowledge, and it gives me reassurance that my approach to editing is similar. Even though there’s no wrong way! I also love The Infinite Monkey Cage, with Brian Cox & Robin Ince. A mix of science and comedy! Anything about the universe I find fascinating. Some of the space facts are out of this world. Pun intended.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

I think I’ve turned into a hermit because of Covid. Pre-Covid though, the Andreas Gursky at the Hayward really sticks in my memory. He’s a German photographer that captures the uniformity of urban landscape and architectural compositions. A fun fact… his photograph, The Rhine II, is still officially the world’s most expensive photograph sold at auction.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

The number of deliverables! From one or maybe two for TV/online, it can now go into hundreds of every flavour for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok... Get those spreadsheets ready! 

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

The 24/7 work culture. It seems to have worsened over lockdown, now we’re working from home these days and can jump on edits in unsociable hours! There’s a tendency to run beyond the normal hours. Of course, we need to be flexible to make the best work we can, but with realistic scheduling that reflects the work/life balance, we can all be happy.

Who or what has most influenced your career?

Not one person, really, but, generally, the people I’ve worked with along my journey in this industry so far inspire me. They’ve pushed me to better myself and think about things from a new perspective. I feed off other peoples energy and that can be really motivating and creative.