GoSee QUEST : an interview with director Trudy Bellinger, London on GoSee

We met up with director Trudy Bellinger in London just as the city was getting ready for the opening of the Olympics. Charming Trudy had just returned from Berlin where she had shot a commercial spot for Bruno Banani. She had previously just returned from an additional film shoot in Prague. GoSee readers are bound to be familiar with her promotions for ‘Britain & Ireland’s Next Top Model’ in 2011 and 2012. Music fans are likely to have seen her videos for big acts including British band ‘Girl's Aloud’ - and if you are into advertising and glam – then Trudy is the girl for you too. See for example her commercial with ultra top model Kate Moss for RIMMEL. And now for our interview.


Do you come from a creative background? How did it all start? I did a degree (BA hons) in Visual and Performing arts at Art college in Brighton (now the university) where I specialised in photography/film and Theatre. I combined the two and created photographic based Art installations in which I sometimes performed. It was very experimental work and was autobiographical in concept - based on the Personal is Political ...exploring my life experiences, being a woman, sex, religion etc ....My work was very outspoken and 'out there' for the mid 80's.

When I graduated i exhibited at a few Art galleries and tried to continue being an artist as well as working in physical theatre. I also worked as an assistant to the late Helen Chadwick, working on her show "Of mutability" at the ICA .I also worked as an assistant to a fashion photographer, worked as a fashion stylist, a photographers agent and a stills producer . I then worked for the Powerstation which was BSB's music channel consisting of 18 hours of TV a day ...I worked here in many roles but mainly as floor manager which led to me meeting a lot of bands.

When the Powerstation closed I worked at a music video production company, Exspencive Pictures and very quickly ended up producing music videos (for directors such as Sam Bayer) and running the company. I was then head hunted by EMI Records and offered the job of music video commissioner and then very quickly was promoted to Head of music video and creative. This job meant I was responsible for all the imaging and visual side of artists including photography and music videos. I ended up shooting a lot of the PR and record cover shots myself ....and eventually, directing the music videos was the obvious move for me after 9 years of commissioning, overseeing and interfering with other directors visions.


How did you hone your skills? (Education, Inspiration, …. )? When I was at college , there was not really a career as a music video director as music videos were a new medium. But doing a course where I could have creative freedom in mixed media of film, photography, theatre, dance and music enabled me to experiment in various media and express ideas in a non-commercial way.

This combined with my passion for fashion and style meant that music videos seemed the natural progression ... they were back then the most creative mediums ... and could set styles and looks which then became trends. It was a creative learning ground for commercials and movies and it gave me the opportunity to really practice my craft. With music videos the director usually comes up with the idea so it really is so much more creative than commercials where the agency already have their idea.

Also working with artists /musicians paved the way for directing a performance out of any talent ... when you are working with real musicians who are neither actors nor models, you have to work a lot harder to get a good strong performance ... music videos combined all my loves and skills ...

When I was commissioning music videos I worked with (and discovered) some amazing directors who inspired me and from who, I learnt a lot. I also realised there were a hell of a lot of clueless directors out there, which gave me the confidence to make the move from commissioner to director.

I also feel that having been a producer and a commissioner, I have seen the industry from all sides and therefore have an understanding and respect of budgets, marketing and business. I still run the music video side of Crossroads Films, developing and nurturing new directors and Executive producing on their jobs. The business has changed dramatically in the last few years and budgets are now so low its very hard for directors to experiment and practice the craft like we did. Now it’s very DIY (=do it yourself) - which is a shame.


Your lighting is your signature, as well as the very dense and sensitive ‘packing’ of your spots. Where does this come from? I think my love of fashion photography comes through in my lighting in that I like everything to have a contemporary feel with a high gloss and an edge ... I am inspired by fashion editorials and catwalk shows as well as movies and Art. When I come up with ideas I already visualise the lighting, the wardrobe, the make up etc. ... I see the elements of colour palette, wardrobe etc. as being as important as the lighting and art direction. I am the queen of visuals and mood boards and on each job give each department specific references of my vision.

You do commercials, music, trailers... do you have a favourite? I enjoy working in all areas and feel that each nourishes and feeds the other. I will never stop directing music videos as I love working with artists and I understand the needs of the label and the market very well having worked as creative director for labels for 10 years. I also love the (relative) creative freedom the director has on a music video ... its nowhere near as creative as it used to be these days but its still alot freer than commercials. Music videos are a shop window to a directors work.

I know that agency creatives often look to music videos for inspiration or for current trends - I won my first commercial (Rimmel with Kate Moss) because of my music video for Body Rockers ‘I like the way you move’ ... The creatives felt that video summed up a cool happening stylish club which is what they wanted as the setting for the RIMMEL spot. My Girls Aloud videos for ‘Sexy NO No No’, ‘The Promise’ and ‘Loving Kind’ were the attraction for me being chosen to do the M&S TV campaigns ... Its important to keep doing interesting music videos and pushing the boundaries. I really enjoy the process of working with an agency and client as well on commercials ... working as part of a team and bringing your own slant to others ideas is a challenge I enjoy.

I particularly love working with Sky as they are very open to allowing the director to bring their own ideas to their briefs and they embrace and appreciate my vision. I totally understand the Sky Living market and have created all the idents and branding for them which I think really reflect the channel. The Next Top Model promos are great as well as again they allow me quite a lot of creative freedom and as such are exciting projects to work on.


Your experience with VIPs? What is Elle Mcpherson like? 100% pro or still a human being? I have worked with a lot of VIPs ...some of them can have diva tendencies I have to admit but most really successful divas like Diana Ross have earned their title and so its acceptable and I got on so well with Diana. Most are really professional and I usually win them over when they see the playback and like the way they look! I am very much a hands on director ... in that I go in and show the talent what to do ... act things out ... I would never ask them to do something I would not be prepared to do myself. The only real disappointment and VIP who was surprisingly difficult and full of attitude was actually a male (I will tell you next time you are in London ;-) !) So far I have always gotten along with the female VIPs.


What are the timing / conditions to book Trudy Bellinger for a spot? Any recommendations for our GoSee readers? Timings to book me?? Changes all the time ....sometimes I'm crazy busy, other times I'm just pitching on jobs and nothing confirmed ... with music videos the turnaround time can be so so quick. For example I wrote the idea for Girls Aloud ‘The Promise’ video (which subsequently won the Brit for the best single that year) and three days later shot it and posted and delivered it a week later. I love working so I always try and fit interesting projects in... I am open to looking at any interesting projects that excite me regardless of budget.


London and the Olympics. Proud or a bit worried? Or both? London Olympics - without sounding like a killjoy, I have had enough of it already. London has created Olympic traffic lanes everywhere so unless you are part of the Olympic family its pretty impossible to move across London without ridiculous delays and congestion. They have also phased all the traffic lights so any ‘normal’ traffic is piled up in horrific queues. Most exterior shoots are not allowed to happen in London during the Olympics and so work over here has dropped off a bit. I am getting out of town, as far away as possible and spending the summer in LA!


Are there any challenges left? Anybody you would love to work with? There are so so many challenges left ...I still feel like I am learning ...especially with technology moving so quickly , there’s always a new camera to discover, new post fx etc. .... I love what I do and the minute I become complacent or feel I am just painting by numbers is when I will be ready to move on to something else ... hopefully that will never happen and I will continue to be excited and progress with my work.

Obviously the next step would be to make a feature film, which I am looking into, I have several projects I am in discussion with including a TV series. I also really want to make more fashion films. I feel that a lot of them just look like ‘behind the scenes’ on a fashion photo shoot rather than stand alone films and this is something I would love to do more of.

I would love to work with iconic strong women .... Madonna or Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, or a hardcore band like Die Antwoord (GoSee reported)  .... In fashion / commercials, I would love to do some fashion films for my favourite fashion designers like Rick Owens and Preen ...and perfume campaigns for Chanel, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana ...but then.... wouldnt most people???!!!


Are there many female directors in England? Are they successful? Globally, there are still very few female directors compared to men which is a surprise in 2012 I feel.... In UK there are only a few really successful ones.... I can count them on one hand.... I have always really looked up to Sophie Muller, she has consistently directed great videos over three decades which is amazing and I found her work very inspiring when I was first starting out ... I have recently been judging student film awards and am surprised that the ratio of women to men is still so low.


RCA - we just saw the 2012 graduate show. Have you been, or would you recommend going? I haven’t had the time to go to the RCA graduate show this year but would highly recommend it from the feedback I have had from other colleagues. I think graduate shows are a great place to find the talent of tomorrow ....It is so difficult to follow the old school of growing / developing as a director and learning your craft – a lot of directors these days have to follow the DIY school and shoot and cut themselves with little resources.


If you were to start your career in your line of work today, how would you go about it? I would probably go about it the same way I did ... working in as many areas as possible developing a wide range of skills ... understanding the marketing side of the business as well as the art side of it ... I feel I have a total well rounded understanding of everything ... todays kids learn how to shoot and cut themselves so I would almost certainly learn those skills ... in fact I might learn how to edit now....!!


Any anecdote you want to share? There are so many crazy things that happen on shoots..., some funny, some unexpected gems and others pretty scary.... one incident that still makes me laugh when I look at the outtakes is the first Next Top Model promo I did ...it was for the finale shot where Elle is on the horse and Julian is holding it by the reins - we were really up against it time wise and had to get this shot in one or two takes max....we had 15 poodles and 2 afghans in the shot as well....suddenly the afghan freaked the horse and the horse reared up with Elle on it causing Julian Macdonald to fall over in his high heels....It was a scary moment when the fear of lawsuits etc. flashed through my mind but at the same time (as no one was hurt) it was hilarious. We did an out- takes cut for the NTM website including this moment ...after the initial shock, Julian and Elle saw the funny side ....

I remember doing a music video for Kenickie in Majorca (a girl band in the 90s with the now famous presenter Lauren Laverne as the lead singer) everything that could go wrong went wrong ...it culminated in a speed boat chase across the sea which we had to shoot before sundown so we really didn’t have much time...literally we had time to do 2 run-throughs of the song before we lost the sun...the sea was so choppy all the girls and crew got terribly seasick ...the girls were vomiting over the side then wiping their mouths and continuing to sing ....very professional...especially as one of them had slipped over getting in the boat and had broken her ankle as we later found out....again ...scary at the time but hilarious looking back.

What are your next projects? I always have projects in development ...some will happen... some will not... sometimes the creative process of writing ideas or treatments for these projects is worthwhile time spent as even if these projects don't come to fruition now, they might develop or mature into better ideas in the future! I have a short film I am developing with the screenwriter Lindsay Shapero, a possible drama series I am writing based on my life as a female exec in record label ...a kind of SATC in London music business, a couple of music videos for new artists and a couple of commercials for fashion brands. I have also just pitched a proposal for an online music channel.

I am also looking at co-directing with the amazing DoP Steve Chivers - we share a passion for a similar vision and his work is iconic and amazing. He lit a lot of the early Alexander Mc Queen shows I was inspired by and many early music videos that lead me to want to be in the business.

He has continued to progress and I have been fortunate enough to work with him on the last ‘Next Top Model’ jobs I have done and I continue to be inspired by him ... As well as beauty and fashion, he is one of the best car cinematographers and as there are no female Car directors (despite Women being half the market and influential on the choice of car for the other half) I think a female perspective is long overdue ... especially with a lot of these ads becoming more lifestyle oriented. We think the combination of our skills and talents will bring an exciting contemporary creative fusion long overdue in the automotive market!

The GoSee conclusion: we like the way she moves !