Renegade Films Takes a Giant Step
The Australian production company, a major force in both commercials and TV programming, is getting set to export its first content to US shores. Are we ready for the Renegade edge?
Renegade Films Take a Giant Step
The Australian production company, a major force in both commercials
and TV programming, is getting set to export its first content
to US shores. Is America ready for the Renegade edge?
No, this isn’t the plotline for an explosion-laden Michael Bay remake of “Lord of the Rings.” It kind of sums up the latest accomplishment of an Australian production company called Renegade Films. The shop, which works in commercials, features, documentaries, music videos and TV, has just signed a deal to export its comedy series “Wilfred” to the US, where it’s gotten a 13-episode commitment from Fox’s edgy FX cable network. Signed to star is Elijah Wood, best known for his portrayal of the plucky, tormented Hobbit in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster ‘Rings’ trilogy.
The series is a hoot—it revolves around “a boy, a girl and a bong-smoking dog who thinks he’s a human,” as the show likes to describe itself. Wilfred is Sarah’s pet, and when Adam asks her to marry him, he comes along as part of the package. Kind of like a live-action cousin to “Brian,” the talking dog on Fox’s animated “Family Guy” series, Wilfred is played by Aussie comic Jason Gann, who’ll play the part on the US version of the series. (The “Family Guy” connection is no accident; the US version of “Wilfred” is being Executive Produced by David Zuckerman, who worked on that series and on “American Dad.” Renegade serves as a co-Executive Producer on the show.)
Most TV commercial production companies anywhere would be thrilled to have one network hit series, but for Renegade, “Wilfred” actually takes a back seat to its bigger and better known property, “RockWiz,” the wildly popular rock and roll trivia game show that airs on Aussie network SBS. Created and produced by Renegade, this is not the kind of TV series one typically finds coming from a commercial-oriented film production companies. A studio show, it’s spawned a host of extensions, such as a tour that helped usher Renegade into the live events production game. To date, over 100 episodes of the show have been produced.
“Make no mistake, we love commercials,” says Joe Connor, Executive Producer and co-founder of the shop, which he and his brother Ken, also an Executive Producer, opened in 1995. “But we started this company with an intention of working in areas outside of advertising, and so far it’s been working out great.”
Their commercials work has been as highly visible as their TV work. Director Tony Rogers’ comic “Magic Salad Plate” spot for Four N Twenty meat pies, for example, won Commercial of the Year honors last year from the MADC Awards, sponsored by the Melbourne Advertising & Design Club. The spot introduces a plate with fake salad mounted on it, so that women will think a guy is having a salad with his Four N Twenty pie, hence making him look a little less like a caveman. Over the fifteen years, other Renegade spots have been honored with everything from Cannes Gold Lions to New York Festivals Awards to Clios and One Show Pencils.
Director Jasmin Tarasin, one of the more recent additions to the Renegade directorial roster, reflects the shop’s interest in diversity in terms of capabilities and styles of work. Equally at home with straightforward documentary-style narrative or high-glam fashion work, she’s earned attention both for her Bank of Queensland campaign, which profiles actual customers of the bank, as well as her work for brands like L’Oreal and Pantene.
Both the Connors contend that Renegade’s work in entertainment benefits just about everyone—it makes the company something of a “creative hub” that inspires and energizes the director corps as well as agencies and clients. They point out that Rogers hooked up with the writer and cast of “Wilfred” on a commercial shoot, and that relationship laid the groundwork for the series, which Rogers has directed and helped develop as co-creator.
Ken Connor notes that both he and his brother, who’s older by a dozen years, came up through the production ranks, and at times both have tried their hand behind the camera, giving them a deep perspective on just about every aspect of the production industry. During their careers they’ve worked with many Aussie production houses, Ken says. “It gave us a pretty good idea of how to run one, and how not to run one,” he quips. There’s no clear delineation of duties between the two, says Joe, although in terms of TV work, Ken takes the lead on “RocKwiz” and Joe takes the lead on “Wilfred,” whilst their full-time Director of Development, Peter Bain-Hogg, looks for their next project.
The company also has a full-up factual department, which produces its documentary work, including a number of specials that have run on Aussie networks; it’s headed up by Alex West and Lucy Maclaren, a full-time team that's just snared four prestigious AFI (Australian Film Institute) nominations. Jenny Livingston, who produced the "Wilfred" series (also nominated for three AFI Awards), plays a key role at the company as Roger’s tvc producer a handling many of its major commercial projects, with both Ken and Joe handling other rostered directors.
Is there a Renegade style? “It’s in the name,” says Joe with a smile. “We take on projects that are a bit more on the edge, and we like to think that’s how we’re perceived.” This is particularly true in the work that Renegade develops on its own; Ken likes to point out that Renegade’s TV work often breaks molds in terms of content and style.
The same holds for their director corps. “We look for talent who bring a different look to their work,” says Ken. Many are film school grads who’ve worked their way up through the creative crucible of music videos, then transitioned into commercials.
Renegade’s spot directors have shot all over the world, Ken adds, although the bulk of their work is done for agencies in Australia. The shop represents its slate of talent exclusively there, although Ken says the shop is always open to partnerships that can bring them additional resources in terms of talent and reach.
The crossover between ad and entertainment runs through the ranks at the studio, Ken notes, and it goes beyond Rogers’ work on both spots and TV shows (he’s also shot a feature, a 2007 comedy titled “Rats and Cats” that also starred Jason Gann and Adam Zwar). Tarasin is working on a three-part documentary for an Aussie TV network, and Directors Sean Byrne ("The Loved Ones") and David Parker ("Matching Jack)" have both had features released recently. Nigel Karikari, short film maker and editor, is the most recent addition to the Renegade team, whilst James Teh is about to return from his experiences in Vietnam.
“We’ve always had directors like this on our roster,” Ken says. “They’re filmmakers who work in a range of genre, with versatile skills to boot.”
Another benefit to Renegade’s work in TV is its fluency in terms of dealing with both broadcast networks and clients. For example, its' “RocKwiz” series just concluded a national tour of live events, in which Renegade collaborated directly with sponsors. Ken Connor spent three months on the road with the tour, hanging with dozens of rock musicians, an experience he’s lived to tell about.
Joe Connor points out for the most part, Renegade’s approach to dealing with brands and content is a self-generated process. “We deal in ideas,” he says. “If we come up with one that's suitable for a client, we’re happy to talk to them or their agencies about it. We present a vast array of resources that both clients and agencies find very attractive, should they want to tap into them.”
The success that Renegade has had in the TV field, and the carryover that it has provided to its commercials work, was the result of a calculated decision by the Connors on where they could have the biggest impact. “We won’t just go into a project without being sure about it,” says Joe. He and Ken are well aware that feature films are risky, long-term projects that can take lots of effort and time before you have anything to show for it. TV, they felt, was a smarter way to reach a broader audience, and so far that’s worked.
In the process, Renegade has sort of created its own brands. “WIlfred,” for example, is one of the highest-selling DVDs in Australia. “It’s given us huge audience exposure,” says Joe. Like “RocKwiz,” which has spawned books, DVDs, CDs, a huge mailing list and a soon-to-be released app, it’s a savvy way to connect with both the public and the media business in a country where restrictions on the use of products in TV shows can work against the growth of branded content.
One other aspect of the entertainment success, of course, is that they seem to be enjoying it immensely. “These are all passion projects for us,” Joe sums up. “You really have to be passionate about these things and fully committed to them for them to succeed, and that’s what we are.”
Published 4 November, 2010
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