Brothers Kevin and Michael Goetz first teamed with fellow student Michael Goode on Michael Goetz's 16mm grad thesis at the University of Southern California's film school in 1999. The resulting trio, Goetz and Goode, went on to shoot spots through Copper Media, Los Angeles.

Mike Goode, third arm and DP, left the troupe in April, but the Goetz Brothers continue to direct tightly-shot cinematic nuggets. Kevin notes that while the trio's approach to handling all aspects of production, from lighting to catering to post was a must in film school, success over the past two years means that's no longer as much of a selling point.

"With bigger commercials, we're no longer taking it all the way through post sometimes and as we started getting into using some bigger names and better talent in the DP area, it became the three of us directing one actor," Kevin says.

Mel Gragido, co-founder of Copper Media in Los Angeles, made the decision to keep the Goetz Brothers on board after the break-up, commenting, "Mike was a talented guy and a really strong technician, but I felt the creative soul of the team was with the brothers." Goode is presently looking for representation as a director.

The trio's first commercial illustrates the ambition the Brothers plan to maintain as a duo. The piece was a high-concept, multi-set spec spot for Porsche, shot with the help of friends, families, neighbors and luck.

The commercial shows a Porsche transported back in time, where a confused valet is met by knights on horseback and taken to a medieval village. The hero is anointed the new King when the villagers learn he has the power to stop the car from honking and flashing (that is, to turn of the car alarm) by remote control.

The elaborate execution, including period costume, horses, numerous extras and complex storytelling, impressed Gragido. He officially signed the trio after seeing their follow up spec in the spring of 2000.

"Dream" shows a Mercedes dreaming while parked in the garage for the night. Magical touches frill the spot with childlike wonder. A frail old lady first parks the car in the garage, carefully stopping where the windshield taps a ping pong ball someone has strung from the ceiling. When she returns, we catch a twinkle in her eye when she sees the windshield wipers are moving. The entire execution shows a heavy Spielberg influence and won the Best Spec award at the 2000 AICP show.

"The first movie I can remember seeing is E.T. and I was five years old when that came out," say Kevin Goetz, now 25. "I remember walking out of the theatre and being completely blown away, and the reason is because Spielberg tells a story so well with the camera. You see it now with directors like Michael Bay, David Fincher, Kinka Usher.... Their films are so pretty but also moving and their shots are always moving."

The first team project Gragido produced was "World War I Soccer," a spec spot for Adidas. This time the boys got all of their friends and family into army gear and shot a WWI scene that erupts into a football match between the two feuding sides. The spellbinding results confirmed their entry into the commercial world.

Two years after signing with Copper, the Brothers are shooting two days a month. Most recently, they shot "Father and Son" for McDonald's through DDB, Chicago, which shows a father and son gloomily recounting a bad day. The smaller, more intimate piece was a chance at working closely with actors.

"When I saw their Adidas spec spot I literally would have thought it was done by Leagas Delaney, London and shot by Frank Budgen," says DDB exec producer Greg Popp in praise of Goetz's work; DDB soon returned to them with work for Michelob Light.

While not all directing teams last, there are some notable sibling duos in the feature film world, and Mike and Kevin plan to work together indefinitely.

"The other day we uncovered some old Super 8 footage. I must have been six and Mike maybe nine or 10 and we were doing scenes from Star Wars. It's been in our blood as far back as I can remember."

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