"Once agencies recognize your name and style you must destroy everything that you have done because you have to stay new and fresh," says Italian director Federico Brugia, repped by Nursery/BRW in Italy, neue sentimental film in Germany, Lee Films in Spain, Les Producers in France and by Partizan in the US.

"In terms of execution, style and image are very important to you when you are a young director," continues Brugia. "But once you are established, why continue to do the same work?"

Brugia began his path to directing after graduating from DAMS, a Bologna-based university specializing in the arts. He first played with Super 8 cameras before directing short films and low-budget videos to satisfy his artistic curiosity. Then the world of advertising beckoned, creating a body of work brimming with inventive visual allegory.

Today, following Brugia's recent signing to Partizan, the American market is in range and he is prepared to destroy those inventive metaphorical visuals that have brought him an abundance of clients thus far. BMW, Lufthansa, Cable Galliego, Diadora, Visa, Arena and Playtex are some of the clientele that have cruised into the director's field of vision.

Yet as impressive as these spots are, and as challenged as Brugia has been in the European market, Partizan offers him an important stepping stone to a more challenging arena of activity. Brugia is itching for boards containing a well-defined narrative structure, a sometimes aloof component in the majority of boards in his European experience.

"The European market is more about the treatment and beauty of a commercial, and you usually work with models who can't act, so you just don't have the same dialog [as] with an actor," admits Brugia. "The American market should allow me to experience better storytelling and acting. Today in my career I want to focus on my storytelling abilities as well as being appreciated for the aesthetics and style of my work."

Lest we forget, Brugia's aesthetics to date have been nothing less than hypnotic. "Ideal World" for BMW through DVL, Milan bears witness to this claim, as charismatic as any car commercial in recent memory. We open on a BMW within the confines of an ice-swept parking lot, following its exits alongside a dog sleigh into the mythical valleys of a postmodern BMW metropolis. Distant deserts and mountain streams abound in a downtown filled with the haunting music of a Gregorian chant that follows the car's path. The cumulative effect creates an eerie nostalgia in the viewer's mind, due in part to Brugia's approach and execution during the shoot. He also insists on having a precise idea of each commercial before he commences shooting.

"Only when you have a very precise idea of the work can you bring out the best images -- this allows me to improvise on the set," maintains Brugia. "When an agency has a beautiful idea and I am given the flexibility to perform a beautiful execution, I can do everything to bring the creative idea out.... Ideally, you talk about how to execute the spot in pre-production and sometimes you re-write all the boards to fit your style. I never follow boards very closely but try to work as closely as possible with the agency as a whole. To me, this is the most important thing even if you are shooting a little commercial in a small studio with an irrelevant budget."

With live action seamlessly integrated with heavy post-production elements, does Brugia enjoy the dynamics of the darkroom after the essential footage has been captured?

"I used to work a lot on post-production, always retouching and trying to make it better all the time -- now I hate it so I do everything in-camera," answers Brugia. "I am now refusing all digital manipulation in favor of the filmic art and turning back to the heart of filmmaking."

The future holds much promise for Brugia, not only within commercial production, but also in the highly challenging and technically demanding turf of feature films. However, Brugia remains down-to-earth when discussing the subject: "I always say that it is better to do a beautiful commercial than a bad feature. If you can bring your passion and personality to a commercial you can be gratified, as long as the agency will allow you to do that. I am waiting for the right material to come along for a feature and until then will continue to do what I do."

Webfiles>

neue sentimental film> www.neuesentimentalfilm.com

BRW> www.brwpartners.com

Lee Films> www.leefilms.com