The Sweetshop has signed Colin Read and will now represent him in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
The acclaimed indie film director made his mark with his feature skate film, Tengu: God of Mischief, followed closely by the noteworthy Spirit Quest. Based in New York and a skateboarder himself, both films attest to the young director’s uncanny ability to blend skateboarding technique into his camera skills, resulting in complex angles and law-defying motion shots.
Read comes from a narrative fiction background, achieving an MFA in creative writing at NYU before jumping fully into the world of skateboard filmmaking. He directed the independent skateboarding films while working as a touring videographer and editor for magazines and companies and now his unique narrative storytelling skills to make commercials with his signature difference.
“I love trying to make things I’ve never quite seen before,” Read commented, “I’ll get an idea in my head, and then carry it around until I get the opportunity to use it. The process of their creation is part of the fun for me.”
Read’s standout visual eye began by concocting intricate and multi-dimensional camera techniques. When hitting the pavement with his board during childhood, he decided intuitively to bring a camera to capture his excursions. A feat not always easy to pull off. Read reminisced, “I tried out unique filming and editing techniques in order to bring something new to the form.” These early accomplishments moulded him into the daring filmmaker he is today.
It was The Sweetshop Asia who found the recent addition to the international roster. “We stumbled across Colin’s Instagram and were impressed with his work right off the bat. A timely reach out caught him checking his messages for the first time in weeks, and after a couple of get-to-know-you chats, we were sold on the possibilities of what we could achieve working together,” stated senior producer, Jennifer Crab. “Colin’s work has a perfect blend of street cool, edge and mature polish.”
Edward Pontifex, managing director of The Sweetshop Australia, added, “Colin is a highly accomplished director who has created some of the most brain-teasing spots, award-winning work for iconic brands (Burberry, Apple, Google) and legendary bands alike (Radiohead, Weezer, Doves).”
Among them is the recent Adobe-commissioned film, Hobby, a humorously study of the many pastimes one would take on during the Covid pandemic and lockdown. It was awarded Best of the Year by Vimeo and entirely shot on an iPhone.
Read has remained driven by the need to expand his craft. A jack of all trades, he’s had quite an eclectic career, namely in cinematography, editing, motion graphics, copywriting, screenwriting, and, of course, directing.
“I try to write my own projects whenever possible,” Read states. “I thoroughly enjoy collaborating with the agency or brand on the script so that it flows and functions in a way that both adheres to the wild concept I have in mind, and hits even harder.”
In his feature, Spirit Quest, Read offered a fresh view of the urban artform with his split-screen transitions and resolution to chase fellow skaters like prey while somehow handling two cameras at the same time for unfathomable jump cuts. This earned him the Grand Prix Award at the Miami Film Festival. Always a challenge seeker, today Read embraces the short form and its inevitable limitations. “No matter how good a brief is, there’s always a way to make it better, to make a script funnier or cut deeper emotionally. That’s what my job is: to achieve the best possible version of the creative’s original idea.”
“I care deeply about ‘personality match’ and after speaking with The Sweetshop’s team, I knew right away that I was at home. I’m excited to get over there and put my spin on some fun projects, with a great team of new friends.”
Discover (or rediscover) Colin Read here.
To work with Colin contact Edward Pontifex or Greg Fyson.
