The YDA chairperson talks ability, opportunity and maverick attitudes

Why did you accept the invitation to be this year’s YDA jury chair?

Academy has always developed young talent. This was Jonathan Glazer’s first home. And Seb Edwards’. Kim Gehrig’s… so many people who are now huge names in the advertising industry, and some in the film industry, started – and still are - here. There is always a generation of new talent coming through, and that’s in the title of the company; Academy. It’s in our DNA, so it’s in my DNA.

Not only is it exciting for us to be able to find that upcoming generation of talent, but for them to teach us about what's happening next.

So, getting an opportunity to support the next generation, and also to understand what's being made was really key. Not only is it exciting for us to be able to find that upcoming generation of talent, but for them to teach us about what's happening next.

It’s my hope, with Francois’ [Chilot, YDA President] support, to find a jury that sits both within and also outside of the advertising industry. Financiers, film producers, directors… because it’s exciting for those people to see what's coming through. The commercials industry has fed the film industry, and vice versa. I think it’s becoming increasingly more like that, and it’s exciting for us to share the talent, and to share ideas.

Above: Jonathan Glazer, recently nominated for an Academy award for his new film, The Zone of Interest, is one of many directors whose career began at Academy. 

Do you think it’s harder now for new directors with real talent to gain attention?

There are so many opportunities, which is brilliant [but] it’s about finding those [directors] that cut through. [I would say] there’s definitely a lot more opportunity, I just don't know if there's as much opportunity to build and build [a career].

How do directors get that initial opportunity and then build on that to create longevity? I think that’s the hardest part.

Fifteen years ago, for example, there was ‘the star’; the next three directors everyone was looking at. Now, though, there's the next 25 or 50 directors. If you look at different lists whether it’s in Campaign or Variety or shots, or it’s the YDA, they’ll all have completely different lists. It’s really exciting, and great to see, but how do directors get that initial opportunity and then build on that to create longevity? I think that’s the hardest part.

How important is a director's ability to convey their ideas well, talk about their process and work as part of a team?

The stories I’ve heard, from the 80s or 90s, where you just had a phone conversation and [a director] got the job based on the two spots they’ve done already for Guinness or whoever, and didn't need to do a treatment… that’s no longer the case. [And] I think the toleration of ‘arseholes’ has definitely dwindled, which is great. Nobody wants that in their lives. It’s not necessary, and not accepted. But the days of being able to take risks on set just don’t really exist in the same way. I wish they did because I think that's where the magic happens.

Above: Riordan was a producer on Academy director Savanah Leaf's debut feature, Earth Mama.

Doesn't creativity need some sort of creative risk-taking? 

Yes, but I’m in a production company, so of course I’m going to say that. Whoever’s the head of [the brand] might also say yes but, really, they just want to sell [product]. Also, the possibility of offending people is so much greater now. It's hard for brands to take risks because there's an unpredictability of what the reaction is going to be. So, it’s much easier to play it safe. I think [people need] trust and belief that a maverick director can bring maverick work and that is the thing that will go ‘viral’.

Do you think it’s important that a director has an understanding of different platforms and approaches; of how short form is different to long from work?

They are completely different mediums in many ways, though there’s a lot of crossover; finding a good cast, getting good performances, understanding the importance of music to tell a story. What I found interesting, speaking to film financiers over the last year or two [Riordan produced Savanah Leaf's 2023 feature Earth Mama], is there's great excitement in pulling [talent] from commercials and music videos because what you’re getting from that world is technique. The editing styles and camera transitions, a lot of that is borne out of taking risks in commercials and musical videos, and that's really exciting [to them].

It's hard for brands to take risks because there's an unpredictability of what the reaction is going to be.

The skill in shooting short form commercials is in the editing, and that's why I love a great 30-second ad. I remember Lizie [Gower, Academy founder and former MD] saying, “Anyone who can make a good 30-second ad, that's a real commercial filmmaker.”

And it’s true. Not every ad needs to be three-and-a-half-minutes long. A 90-second version works when it’s smart and clever. If it’s exciting and it’s pacey, like Nike’s Londoner or We’re the Superhumans, you’re on the journey and you’re excited to see what happens next. But very often it just feels like nobody wanted to lose a scene that isn’t necessary. That is a skill in direction and editing, knowing when to lose something, as well as when to extend it.

Above: If it’s exciting and it’s pacey, like Nike’s Londoner, longer commercials can work well, but, says Riordan, "not every ad needs to be three-and-a-half-minutes long".

The YDA has always embraced the power of advertising to be a force for good. Do you think that advertising does enough in that space, or is it not advertising’s job?

I think to say it is advertisings one true job; well, no. I think it’s everyone’s job, everywhere. Whatever job you do, whether it’s the small differences you make in your day-to-day routine, whether it's environmental, or it’s just kindness, or respect, we all have a responsibility to be good to the world.

In terms of purpose-led advertising, [Academy] has always made work for charities that we believe in. Whether it’s the Alzheimer's Society or knife crime, they’re things that we care about. Where I suppose it comes unstuck is when you feel that brands are piggybacking on this purpose. I guess that's a discussion. Are they helping by paying money to get a cause out there? By attaching their brand to it, what's the motivation? I think the general public [can] get annoyed by it.

Above: Academy makes work for charities that the company believes in.  

During your time in the industry has it become more diverse, and do you think we’re heading in the right direction?

I think it’s hard for me, as a white CIS woman, to say ‘yeah, everything is better now’. People from different communities can give their own truths on what's happening. [Academy has] tried to make an effort to tell stories that feel important, whether that's through the writing, or through the direction, or production. For me, it’s really important for it to not be a badge to wear. It needs to be a real truth.

[The film industry is] way ahead when it comes to underrepresented talent and underrepresented stories, and the push and the drive to tell those stories.

If I’m being honest, what I’ve noticed, just in the past couple of years being in the film industry as well as the advertising industry, [diversity is] much better in the film industry than it is in advertising. They are way ahead when it comes to underrepresented talent and underrepresented stories, and the push and the drive to tell those stories. If you just look at the BIFA’s this year there’s Molly Manning Walker [How to Have Sex], Charlotte Regan [Scrapper], Nida Manzoor [Polite Society], Savanah Leaf [Earth Mama], Andrew Haigh [All of Us Strangers]. That's five who are all from underrepresented communities. 

In advertising you try to have the conversation; ‘who is on your list?’. But what I have often been told is creatives get to make one ad a year. So, if they’re making that one ad, they want that top director who has the built reel. The place I find it the most difficult to break in is comedy. People might trust you to tell an emotional story, people might trust you to even shoot a car [commercial] because you can get a car [specialist] DP, or food because you can get a food DP, and that’s where you can assuage people’s fears. But when it comes to comedy it’s just, ‘no, you just can’t do it.’