Exit director, Danny Cohen: The king of music videos brings his inventiveness to commercials

Danny Cohen arrived at Exit armed with a powerhouse of directing experience. Cohen still is one of the Australian music industry’s most awarded directors. Cohen has won and been nominated for several J Awards and ARIAs. One of his highlights is Big Enough by Kirin J Callinan, ft. Jimmy Barnes, which he directed. It has achieved more than 65 million views on the artist’s YouTube alone. Over the past three years, he has also written and directed the feature documentary, Anonymous Club, about Courtney Barnett, which made its debut at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2021 and went on to screen at the Sydney Film Festival, then at SXSW to great acclaim. The film has been picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories [We Need to Talk About Kevin, Embrace of the Serpent] for theatrical distribution in the US in July-August 2022. He also began his career as a photographer, which adds another dimension to the way he tells stories.

What making music videos taught him about making great ads, he says, is that the sky is the limit. “In music videos, the budgets are so low you’re forced to think outside the box and then bring it all back to find a sweet spot creatively. I try to bring this mentality to advertising, it’s about how far can we push the creative with the agency and client, then look at how we can bring it back to what would be considered entertaining without alienating the audience. My work is quite conceptual, so it’s about finding the middle ground that still does its job as an ad.”

The move into advertising work was a yearning that built in Cohen over time. Commercials, he realised, matched his creative style. “I love the challenge of telling a story in such a short form. It forces you to be inventive across all areas of filmmaking. It’s exciting when you find agencies to work with that are just as keen to push the creative boundaries as you are. Directing ads excites me because it brings all my favourite creative mediums together. Each department in a film has the opportunity to feed in their experience towards the common artistic goal of telling a story.”

Cohen found his place at Exit immediately. “They feel like family. I love working with them because they really care about storytelling first and that’s where I feel most inspired. It’s also great having support around you. The producers and EPs there, as well as other filmmakers who work in advertising but also in film and TV – there’s such a wealth of knowledge to draw on.”

He also found a kindred spirit at Exit to inspire him. “I’m a big fan of fellow Exit director, Stefan Hunt. He’s a total sweetie. He’s got the biggest heart and you can see it in his craft. I love when director’s work feels like an extension of their personality. He brings his sunny outlook to everything he does, and it results in truly warm and fuzzy film.”

Exit executive producer, Leah Churchill-Brown commented, “Danny Cohen’s work stands out. He pushes the envelope in every dept – story, lighting, cinematography, production design, costume. With his background in photography and the creative freedom of music behind him, he gives everything he does a striking point of difference.

Cohen adds, “I really enjoy the collaboration process. I never want to feel that it’s just me vs the agency and client, all separated. We’re all in this together, and we all want to make something great. So, if you let an attitude get in the way it prevents you from being open to new ideas that could take the spot into a great zone.”

Cohen has just completed directing a new campaign for a major international client. Meanwhile, three of his past films continue to shape who he is as a director.

Anonymous Club: It was a lesson in letting go and allowing the story to come to you. It was challenging on all fronts – storytelling, shooting on film, maintaining perspective. I learnt so much from the experience and it’s made me hungry to continue to make long-form work.”

Kirin J. Callinan – Big Enough: “So many things went wrong on a tiny budget, tiny crew, big idea music video. It was made from a place of peace and love without ever thinking of where it could go (eventually to 65 million views).

Eric Andre – The Birth of Venus: “The photo was so last minute without knowing if Eric would even turn up to the shoot. It was shot in my backyard in half an hour in the rain, in a blow-up pool. So special to see it all come together on all fronts and for it to be used as part of Eric’s promotion.”