Director Jeff Bitsack Takes a Humble Approach
Former JWT ECD Jeff Bitsack has his hands on the work in his new role as a director with hybrid production company Humble.
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Director Jeff Bitsack Brings an Agency Perspective to the Humble Gang By Anthony Vagnoni
The result, which won a Clio, can be seen in this case study. By the time the campaign wrapped up in a little over a month, it had generated 17 web clips, over four and a half million online views and tons of news coverage. The first truly ‘viral’ work for the brand, it also forged a budding relationship that came full circle when Bitsack left the agency world several months ago and signed with Humble as a full time director. Humble is a production company of a slightly different stripe. It offers full service traditional film production, but adds on the type of services that makes it more of a studio. For example, it keeps on tap a stable of writers, animators, editors, art directors, creative directors, musicians and designers, all of whom have teamed in various ways to produce work as varied as music videos and TV commercials to broadcast promos and TV program openings. It’s not unusual to find this kind of working arrangement in a larger motion graphics or animation studio, but rare to find it in the confines of what’s primarily a live action production company.
Meanwhile, the work of the Humble directorial roster runs the gamut from fashion and beauty work for such mega-brands as Pantene to tons of comedy to documentary style work to graphics and animation (check out director John Hobb’s stop-motion New York cityscapes for Ikea here and here). Hobbs, like Bitsack, is a former agency creative. In addition, the studio has also worked with agencies to provide production support and crew for projects that agency creatives are planning on directing themselves, which is how it got hooked up with Bitsack. For example, producing a couple of Captain Morgan campaigns for Grey that were directed by the agency’s Director of Content Production, Nick Childs. Bitsack’s varied career fits in perfectly with the fluid Humble approach. In addition to his experience at JWT—which includes heading up creative for Jet Blue, Domino’s and other accounts—Bitsack has also worked at Wieden + Kennedy, Cliff Freeman & Partners, Merkley & Partners and O&M. He’s also freelanced at Toy, BBH and BBDO.
Given his background—and the oodles of production houses he’s worked with over the years—why sign with Humble? “We had a relationship that resulted in a very successful project,” he says, referring to the Domino’s work. “But first and foremost it was the people. They’re a very talented group at Humble without a lot of attitude, and I respect them. And Eric had a lot of faith in me and gave me lots of encouragement. So it was an easy decision.” Another thing that appeals to him is the model that Humble was founded on—a collaborative environment with lots of tools and resources available within the group. “This is what a lot of production companies are trying to be, yet we’re actually doing it,” he says of the company’s in-house capabilities in everything from editorial to design to graphics. “It’s the bringing together of lots of talent to produce work in a very hands-on manner. It allows me to influence and collaborate on all aspects of a job, from conception to edit, post and effects.” Bitsack says that the Humble matrix reflects how he used to work when he was on the agency side, in that he was able to keep closely involved in a project as it made its way from the conceptual stage through to completion. “I’ve been a creative director for a long time, and this suits the way I like to work,” he says. “On top of that, clients are looking for a more streamlined process. It’s really the way things are headed.”
Bitsack’s directing work includes not just the Domino’s web project but also a funny little promo campaign for Food Network that he did before signing with the company. His biggest project to date with Humble is a series of spots for Starburst out of the New York office of TBWA\Chiat\Day starring the brand’s current mixed-up spokesperson, Lee Dong Fergus, the Scottish Korean, whose curious ancestry is meant to typify the candy’s contradictory nature of being both a solid and a liquid all rolled into one. He was asked by the creative team—Jonathan Mackler and Jim LeMaitre—to help out with the ideation phase of the campaign. They kicked around ideas on characters and dialogue, and they came up with the idea of a guy dressed in a cucumber suit who loses his temper because a water fountain won’t work. Get it? He’s an ‘uncool cucumber.’ The idea was pitched by the agency, okayed by the client and then shot. For Bitsack, participating in the creative process like this—and then getting to actually execute the work as well—is why he made the switch to full-time directing in the first place. “I love making stuff, I love learning and I love collaborating,” he says. “The higher up you go in advertising at an agency, the farther you get from the process and the product. I want to keep making stuff, and I want to keep my hands on the work.”
What he’d also like to do is explore other genres—he’s big on comedy, he admits, which is not unusual for directors coming out of agencies, given the emphasis most shops put on the genre these days. But he wants to explore a wider palette of narrative styles, and is also interested in taking on non-fiction projects in the documentary space, most likely for some form of social cause. “It would be nice to get involved with something that has a real human aspect to it,” he says. Berkowitz seems to think that Bitsack is well-positioned to do just that. “What I like about Jeff is his combination of experience, instinct, timing and passion,” he sums up. “He has this great ability to connect with people, and his credibility and confidence are going to help us grow in so many ways. He’s really jumped in and is totally committed to this. We know the outcome is going to be great.” |
Specifically, it was a pizza shoot—a Domino’s web video project out of JWT, where Bitsack was an ECD, that first connected him with Berkowitz, the forward-thinking owner and Executive Producer of 
The studio’s work in the music video space, coming from its directing collective called 
His brand experience includes ESPN, Fox Sports, Mercedes Benz, Sports Illustrated, Activision, Pepsi and Nike, among others, for which he’s produced work that’s been recognized by The One Show, D&AD, Clio, Cannes, ADC and other global competitions.
“It’s really a super efficient process,” adds Berkowitz, who points out that not all Humble jobs utilize everything the studio has to offer. But when it’s appropriate, directors like Bitsack can sit and conceptualize with the entire team, which compresses the process and allows them to put more of a stamp on the work. “It helps us develop a shorthand that builds stronger relationships,” says Berkowitz. “The end result is always something that’s benefitted from having multiple creative people contributing to it.”
Going forward, Bitsack would like to use his role at Humble as a launching pad for growing as a director. First off, he’s interested in working for some of the better agencies in the business, and he’s getting there, as his recent Starburst assignment shows. He also just wrapped production on an Activision spot out of Droga 5 and is prepping a job through Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners.
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