Face to Face with… Sniper Twins

"Since meeting at high school and collaborating during college, writer/directors Barry Flanagan and Dax Martinez-Vargas have worked in-house at MTV and recently signed to Independent producing material under the Sniper Twins banner. Utilising and inspiring each other's creativity, they have developed a strong common theme which is amplified in their big budget trailer for the Hard Times of RJ Berger. Writing and directing their own material, they have realised a unique ability to produce work for world-famous brands and clients, whilst marketing themselves at the same time. Here they talk about breaking through red tape, humour as an essential life ingredient and the Sniper Twins sensibility.

So tell us what you've been up to recently?

Creatively we've been playing around and remixing other peoples' commercials to make statements about the oil spill in the gulf, also working on some MTV promos and our next Sniper Twins music video which will be coming out this month with MTV. The video is all about being responsible with money. We've also been doing a bunch of music video treatments for other bands. Also Barry has been going to a lot of weddings.

The Hard Times of RJ Berger trailer has colour, comedy and modern relevance. How far would you go as to describe it as a typical Sniper Twins piece?

I think the RJ Berger spot could be a very typical Sniper Twins piece, but the truth is that we had a healthy budget and some good prep time and that isn't a luxury we get very often so it sticks out a bit on the reel as being extra slick. As far as our sensibilities are concerned, we really always strive to make things as big and cinematic as possible even if the joke we're making is a small one. We enjoy it when people walk away chuckling not only at the joke but at the fact we went to such great lengths to say something so stupid.

You have an all-American traditional sense about your work, how far would you agree with this and how would you yourselves describe what you do?

It's hard to really see the 'all-American' thing being that we've been based in Texas and NYC for so long, but we imagine from a European perspective there is something very American to the work. We've always liked to think of it as British sensibilities with American energy. We certainly like the British Office wayyyyyyy more than the American re-make.

You talk about liking the creative freedom working on your own projects and having nobody to answer to, but what's the working relationship like at MTV and Independent?

When we say 'Nobody to answer to' we're really talking about not having a lot of red tape, but unless you are independently wealthy and making video art purely for yourself there will always be boundaries to the creative control you have in the directing field. Every shoot we've ever done has been a collaboration and when you get a great writer, DP, editor, or any specialist on board that has strong opinions and passion about how they can improve the spot, we welcome it. What's paramount to us is having people who are genuinely passionate about making the project the most creative, cool, and stand-out that it can be.

MTV is amazing for allowing us and the other promo directors a lot of creative control and we're spoiled for that. But when you cruise through the best work on shots you realise there are some fucking amazingly talented creatives out there who we would be stupid not to relinquish creative reins to, and now that we're working with Independent and BRW we're really excited at the opportunity of meeting and working with them. Red tape will always be there, but the best-case scenario is when you have the best team of pros in each area collaborating to break through and make projects that stand out from the pack.

How important is humour in your work and lives in general?

Humour is hugely important to our work and lives. If done well, it's really the best way to tackle communication in almost any arena. It lightens the load and makes people more receptive to what it is you're trying to say. Jon Stewart is the shining example. The Daily Show is often portrayed as the main news source for young people. Although we haven't really answered these questions in a cheeky way, most of our day-to-day dealings in life and work are dry and sarcastic and maybe that's the reason we're not often asked to make wedding videos.

What's it like doing stuff for a serious purpose, such as the safe sex PSA?

It's all the same really. It's whatever gets the message across to young people in the most effective way. For us at MTV, humour is often the approach, and that's a lot of fun to do. But if we're ever asked to scare the shit out of kids so they don't try crystal meth for the first time, you better believe we will do it and make it great. Anybody who can do comedy well probably has a dark side, and when you explore that from comedy writer/directors you can get some good stuff. The Indebted spots are more of an example of something with an eerie tone that bums you out. However the aesthetic and dollar sign device used sort of lightens the load, though maybe not enough, since the truth is we're in deep shit as far as this debt crisis goes.

What's been your favourite project and why?

For me [Barry] I actually think the Safe Sex PSA [Be an Authority] eeks out as favourite because it was under the guise of a serious dialogue scene between a father and a son but with a comedic take away. I think that's one area we'd like to do more; deadpan dialogue spots that play as humorous, and the more production value we can add to it, the better. For me [Dax] our latest music video for our new song, Keep it on the Cheap, has been really awesome because the process was like some of our earlier stuff where it was less planned and everyone was trying out screwball ideas, from nutty homemade camera rigs to different lo-fi shooting formats. Plus, Rob Collier was back in the mix singing the chorus and everyone seemed to genuinely not get sick of the song as we played it over and over all day. Plus, it has a positive message which is nice. Independent

We understand that Barry was the original rap presence, but you both rap in your videos. Would you say that working together has brought out more creativity in new areas?

Yes. The projects we do together are often the best because each of us brings something different to the table and we keep the other in check; like cheap vodka we're double distilled. But also we're two people and sometimes there are good ideas that come from either side that are very much one person's baby and it would be silly to restrict an idea that one of us is passionate about just because the other doesn't find it as fascinating. Together or separate we have a Sniper Twins sensibility that we both sign off on.

What's been inspiring you recently?

ffffound.com is always inspiring. Everyone looks at the site, so we know we're all looking at the same things, but it's nice to know where other people's minds are at and naturally, you're going to think in a way you might have not before after seeing a certain idea. Though we saw the Banksy movie earlier this year [Exit Through the Gift Shop], it still lingers, and there's many things about it that inspire us as we slowly roll through this year. Lately, with the BP stuff we did, I suppose we keep seeing ads that make us cringe and ask, What Would Banksy Do? How could we tie into something relevant and in turn give something back to people that they actually find meaningful? Also, seeing crap is always inspiring. It makes you motivated to get out there and release something you know will stick out from all the crap.

What have you seen/heard or watched recently that would be relevant to shots readers?

Just watched A Town Called Panic. That was real fun and nutty. Got to see a workshop rehearsal showing of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Mormon Musical due for Spring2011. It's really funny and really inspiring as it's irreverent comedy in the musical genre. The YouTube channel shmoyoho is pretty great. They did the bed intruder song and mommy & daddy song and some other musical remixes of web videos. Also StSanders YouTube channel is good. He remixes a bunch of music so that it sounds horrible but looks believable. These things are pretty great for shots readers because they are simple and effective ideas that make you laugh which the ad industry could always use more of.

What does the future hold for Sniper Twins, are there any interesting upcoming projects we should look out for?

Our new song, Keep it on the Cheap, which is long overdue, should be coming out this month or next. It's our most lively anthem track to date. And the video was made for cheap. We are also buying a few how-to books on screenplay structure to brush up on the stuff we forgot from film school.

Check out the RJ Berger spot below:

"