Florence Noble is an advertising kid; her mother was creative director at Saatchi &Saatchi Design in London. Despite knowing the ins and outs (read: rigours) of working in advertising, she began her career as a junior copywriter at TBWA London, followed by stints at TBWA Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg, and Whybin TBWA Auckland. During this time, she also developed a flair for humour in advertising, fuelled by an obsession for British comedy that had been growing since childhood.
Advertising agency life wasn’t her be all to end all, so Florence went to film school, took on a multitude of production roles and became a photographer. Her sketch comedy, Blind Pilot, led to collaborations with Nick Boshier [Bondi Hipsters, Beached Az], including the 2014 Emmy award winning Australian comedy, 7DaysLater, for ABC2 and Meanwhile On Earth. Forence’s short film, Things Are Going Really Well, did the festival circuit including the Melbourne International Film Festival, where she attended the 2015 Accelerator Program. She was nominated for Best Emerging Talent at the 2016 CAANZ Axis Awards and in 2020, she received a comedy scholarship from the New Zealand Film Commission.
Florence’s unique comedic style matured and she built onto it a noteworthy finesse for performance. Commercials also filled her portfolio, work for brands such as Pizza Hut, Bank First, Pepperstone and Ebay among them.
More recently, she attracted the attention of Exit. Florence Noble has been signed for representation and welcomed into the Exit “family”.
The Stable: What knowledge and/or skills did you bring to directing from your time as an agency creative?
Florence Noble: Oh so much. As a copywriter, I always wrote ads to make people laugh. Genuinely entertaining people, while still selling a product well is a real art. It’s also given me an attitude, appreciating what an idea has gone through before it gets to me. And that, essentially, it’s someone else’s baby. Sure, I’m helping them walk, fostering them even, for a month or so. They’re most likely to develop quite a bit in that time – but in the end that baby’s going back and I want the parents to be happy with what they’ve become. Have I exhausted the baby metaphor? I think so.
Oh, and writing skills come in handy.
The Stable: How does your professional photographic experience impact the directing decisions you make?
Florence Noble: It makes sense that lot of directors come from photography. In both mediums you’re trying to tell a story, or create a feeling, in a pretty short space of time. You’re finding ways to make each shot feel cinematic – framing, lighting etc. But also, I was a stills photographer on a lot of film, TV and commercial sets and that meant I observed lots of different directors at work.
The Stable: Why comedy? Where did the fascination begin? How did it lead you into directing?
Florence Noble: I was really into comedy when I was young. Growing up in the UK, shows like Big Train, The League of Gentlemen, The Mighty Boosh. I’d mimic all the characters, reciting full scenes like a proper weirdo.
I started writing sketch/skit and short film ideas in a notebook from quite young. When I had just enough production experience and generous friends who were crew, I mustered the courage to make some. This led me back around to ads again, this time as a director.
The Stable: What do you think are the most important things that a director needs to bring to a commercial job?
Florence Noble: Good instincts. Respect. Patience. Resilience. All the things you need for life. A collaborative spirit is necessary. And a sense of humour. It’s a bit of a crazy game. I don’t think you’ll enjoy it if you’re too precious.
The Stable: What three pieces of work are you most proud of and why?
Oh hard. The sketches I made with Nick Boshier for Meanwhile on Earth. Really enjoyed making those. Especially Chav-tivists and Psychiatrist.
The body of work for Tower Insurance with Bastion Shine, NZ. The scripts were really brave and clever, and we got to make them even more so. We built a new style for Tower at the time and kept it going over years. It’s been really fun, and people have told me how much they enjoy them.
Pizza Hut:
More recently, Go Healthy was a fun campaign. I especially enjoyed Greg:
Oh that’s four.
The Stable: What is it about Exit that drew you to the company?
Florence Noble: It felt right instinctively. Initially I’d say it’s the people. How calm and easy to get along with they are. They’re clearly serious people, who have a good sense of humour. And the quality of the work. That recent campaign by Mark Molloy for Uber Eats with Cher is right up my street. Brilliant and genuinely funny.
EXIT has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. For all director enquiries, contact leah@exit.com.au / wilf@exit.com.au / declan@exitfilms.com.
