Peer Review: Ant Rubinstein

Who are three contemporaries that you admire?

I think Cache Bunny is unrivalled in her niche; everything she does is always so fresh, innovative, and creative. I really respect people who get the whole VFX process and can make epic work without a big production company or post house, and also people who are crushing it in this exciting and disruptive new creator / director format. 

Tom Day is someone I’ve known and looked up to for nearly a decade now, from the very early days of running around filming music festivals together. I’ve always been a couple of years behind him on the journey into commercials, and it’s been really cool to watch and learn from him as his distinctive gritty, energetic style has developed and flourished.

My favourite part of the job is getting to unite all the disparate strands of my interests into a tangible finished thing that other people can enjoy.

Lastly, the late Valentin Petit. Everything he did oozed coolness, always at the cutting edge of creative camera movement and new technology. I loved to unpick and dissect his transitions frame by frame, and I’m devastated I won’t have the chance to meet him in person, but I know for certain his work will continue to inspire for many years. 

Valentin tragically passed away earlier this year. 

Above: Cache Bunny, Tom Day, Valentin Petit. 

Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great direction. 

This Logorama short film always makes me smile. It’s just so microscopically diligently genius, packed with so many tiny details that might only be a few blurry pixels on for a couple of frames but are still there to surprise and delight you all the same. If that isn’t pure craft and great direction, then what is!?

I saw this Billie Eilish x Beat Saber film last year and just thought, wow, this is a really good commercial… it’s such a nice balance between art, choreography, performance, and VFX, all the pieces just fit so nicely together, I wish I’d made it!   

I’ve always been passionate and deeply interested in basically all the creative processes - art, photography, music, design, animation…

The Most Vicious Cycle - I think this is such a phenomenally powerful piece of filmmaking; the mixture of digital and practical effects, the craft, and attention to detail throughout. It must be such a daunting challenge to direct a project as raw and intense as this one.

Cash In Cash Out Zoeptrope Music video - This was just a piece of work that I was utterly transfixed by. It’s such a cool concept and so well orchestrated. I imagine the challenge with directing anything like this must be getting all the stakeholders aligned and trusting the vision when it’s such a laborious and complicated (& expensive!) process to get the final result. 

What do you like most about the work that you do?

My favourite part of the job is getting to unite all the disparate strands of my interests into a tangible finished thing that other people can enjoy. I’ve always been passionate and deeply interested in basically all the creative processes - art, photography, music, design, animation… and I think my style of VFX-heavy filmmaking is the logical culmination of all these explorations. 

I think engineering and filmmaking are intrinsically linked - you’re making a thing and creatively solving unexpected problems along the way to get there as efficiently as possible.

I’m very grateful that my job now is about drawing on these different disciplines, to knit them together with the help of diverse experts who are all aligned on making the thing that’s in my head come to fruition!

What was your journey to becoming a director?

I started making films at university, mainly making promos for events and parties. We did some great stuff, like sending a stuffed toy into space on a weather balloon for the Ski Trip 'launch' video and staging a shark attack in the river for the Surf trip… This led me to a job at Red Bull Media house, doing much the same thing, filming silly events and parties all over the world. 

Since then, I started working with UNIT9 and it’s just been a gradual process of growing my reel, and working on bigger and better projects with a bigger and better team around me.

How does your background in engineering intersect with your filmmaking practice? Is engineering a helpful skill to have in the film industry?

I think engineering and filmmaking are intrinsically linked - you’re making a thing and creatively solving unexpected problems along the way to get there as efficiently as possible.

I think a lot of the best creative people I know are deeply scientific in their approach.

What I do often relies a lot on new technologies or building camera contraptions, so there’s a lot more crossover than for some directors. I think a lot of the best creative people I know are deeply scientific in their approach, in how they break down a shot and really get into the nitty-gritty technical specifications required to achieve something. 

I think it’s a shame there tends to be a big distinction between arts and sciences at school; a lot of the greatest visionaries and innovators have been both artists and engineers, Da Vinci being arguably the GOAT of both. 

What is one thing all directors need?

Having a good grasp of what you can and can’t fix in post is pretty invaluable!

Who was the greatest director of all time?

I wouldn’t want to say that someone is ‘the greatest director’ because I think filmmaking is more of a team sport than a solo endeavor. For me, equating the best creative work as the product of one visionary director is a real disservice to all the amazing people who enable them. 

 I think directors really need to see social media not as a lesser art form but as an exciting frontier to explore and embrace! 

I’m sure the people who are able to make the best work time and time again really are the best communicators and leaders, but I don’t know what it was like to be on the inside of a ‘great’ production, so I don’t think it’s right to always attribute the success to the director alone.   

Did you have a mentor?

I’d say my mentor was (and still is) Youtube! I’ve learned pretty much everything I know about cinematography, filmmaking, and VFX from unquantifiable hours consuming video after video, sifting through this ever-expanding repository of human knowledge. I couldn’t be more grateful to all the kind strangers who have chosen to diligently share their insights there.