HANGING WITH: PEP BOSCH

Having moved to Agosto Films earlier this year, Pep Bosch has cemented his reputation as one of Spain's top directing dogs. And with a slew of recent international signings to the likes of MJZ and O Positive, shots.net caught up with the director to find out more about the man in Barcelona.

How long have you been directing for, and how did you get into the commercials world?

I was around 28 years old, and I had been designing packaging for toys, taking photos for underwear catalogues, writing soap operas for a local TV station, and shooting dozens of backgrounds for karaoke videos. I was a little confused about what I wanted. Then I saw this Levi's ad by Tarsem on MTV, the one with the shaving woman. And that was it. Still, it took me a couple of years to get my first commercial done. That sums up twelve years now working on this.

You moved to Agosto earlier this year, how is life at your new home?

I've known them forever. They are a bunch of enthusiastic people with a great interest in doing the best work possible. Also, they're based in Barcelona where I live - previously I was linked to a company in Madrid, and so hadn't been able to shoot at home for years. Kids grow up quickly, and mine started to ask what my job actually was. From their point of view I could be a drug dealer or a vacuum cleaner seller, with my suitcase always packed to leave. I dreamed about bringing them on set. Obviously, then my first project with Agosto was a shoot in Bulgaria…

You've also recently signed to few production companies outside of Spain, are you planning to move more into the international scene?

After that first step of bringing my Spanish projects closer to home, the idea of having more of a chance to travel abroad for jobs followed. I just needed to rearrange my representation around. O Positive in the States, MJZ in Europe and GoodOil in Australia are, for different reasons, companies that I feel very close to. O Positive and GoodOil are small places that do amazing work. The quality of their jobs is creative and well-crafted. MJZ is different as their profile is very well known. I met Debbie [Turner, MJZ London EP] on my first visit to London ten years ago. She also represents the guys from O Positive, so I didn't have to think about it much.

What commercials projects have you been up recently? And what is your favorite type of ads to work on?

I shot a documentary on a guy who works warming-up the audience on a TV show. This was part of a longer project about motivation put together by agency Heimat and Trigger Happy Productions in Berlin. I loved it. It was exhilarating to find out how easy it was with just this little camera and a crew of three to make a piece so funny and sad at the same time. On the opposite side, I've also done a commercial with DDB Barcelona for VW set in 50s America, a satire of movies about teenagers and cars like Grease or American Graffiti. We filmed on a backlot in Sofia with cast, cars and props brought from New York, London, Berlin and Barcelona.

I like shooting all type of things, I just need a challenge. But what I enjoy the most are the impossible, almost unthinkable ones, those that don't exist before shooting and we have to make real in front of the camera. I don't like post production very much, I feel weird shooting something that isn't there.

The end of this year is approaching fast - what are your hopes and plans for the 2010?

After all those changes I already talked about I'm just planning on not changing anything else, and trying to enjoy the current set-up. On top of this I've still not done a truly new media project, a story evolving and changing while interacting with the viewer. That would be a goal.

What have you been watching or listening to lately that you reckon shots.net readers should check out?

I've been listening to my own breathing a lot, because I had a bad cold. Also The Ramones but they're not really a recommendation since they're a medicine everybody knows. Another medicine, but this time very recommendable, is Spanish singer Bebe. Her second album "Y." makes me cry from beginning to end. I think the last album from The Eels, Hombre Lobo, is also sweet and funny, two things I like together. And then Moon and Gigante, both very simple and strong movies focused on what being a human is about.

Have you been involved in any creative projects recently outside the commercials realm?

While not pitching or shooting, in the last few months I've been working on a feature script based on an idealistic guy I met not long ago. The storyline has been pretty simple to built, since I knew all facts. But writing is the most difficult thing I've ever tried and I just hired a writing partner to help me to arrive somewhere.

If you had all the equipment in the world and infinite budget, what would be your ideal film project?

No idea. Usually when something looks this perfect I collapse. Probably I would look for the worst idea and spend the rest of my life trying to make it better.