It's hard to pinpoint the moment at which a director 'breaks through'. Does that moment come from one defining piece of work, or is the process a slow burn? For Brian Beletic, it's been a little bit of both. His journey from MTV and Satellite hip-hop video darling to the A-list has been dotted with several flashes that have each fuelled Beletic's trajectory. His first brush with the big time came in 2001 with Reebok's high-voltage "Defy Convention", which subsequently led to quirky Bacardi & Cola work. Beletic then cemented his position near the acme of the director pecking order with Adidas "Unstoppable" before he was given the opportunity to bring Michael Jordan's classic moments to new life via next-gen ballers in "2nd Generation". And yet, while Beletic's work has changed, for the most part, he hasn't. "I feel like I have a lot of the similar interests as I did a long time ago, and when I look back on the stuff I did then, I still really like it," he says. "It's just that I'm starting to attract bigger projects that are more important." On the eve of his new Dodge campaign ("Fairy" and "Too Tough" via BBDO) going to air, Beletic reveals how he got tricksy with the Jordan recreations, what he hates about computer effects and why most of his earlier music videos wouldn't get made today.

It appears that you've reached a high point in your career. Do you feel like you've hit a new level?
I do. It was a conscious decision a couple of summers back to try to do more sophisticated and cinematic-type pieces. Then I did Adidas, which allowed me to attract those kinds of projects. The Adidas thing wasn't the biggest project I've done, but it was one of the ones where I was able to show part of myself that I haven't been able to in the past.

So, tell me about this Jordan project.
The whole time I was doing it I had my fingers crossed hoping it was going to work because the concept is not a sure thing. A lot of attention went into the subtleties of trying to graphically connect modern day scenes of classic Jordan moments. The more obvious [challenges] were finding kids that could actually do the famous moves that Michael Jordan did only once and asking them to do them over and over for the camera. Plus, there were the complications of NCAA rules where kids that have any intention of playing college ball or have the potential of playing college ball can't be in an advertisement. We did an absurd amount of casting - it felt like [30 days] of searching compressed into an eight-day period.

Do you have a favorite moment from the spot?
Yeah, it's the foul line dunk shot. The footage that I recreated was not from filmed footage. Instead I used the Jordan foul line dunk poster from when he did the slam dunk contest in 1988. As a kid I memorized that poster, I knew every single person in the background. Trying to create modern day versions of all the people in that poster was one of the most fun aspects of the project.

You also seem to be doing a lot of effects work lately...
Someone at Digital Domain gave me a really good piece of advice once. He said that one of the reasons that Fincher's stuff looks so good is that he rides the hell out of his effects team manager. I know what he meant by that. I'm really sensitive to effects that look like a computer has been involved when it's not supposed to look like a computer's been involved. It makes me cringe when you're watching something where they're trying to create impact through authenticity but it doesn't look authentic. Even on the Jordan project, a lot of effort went into making it look effortless.

And there are quite a few effects in Dodge...
And action. I really like shooting action a whole lot. I think that there are a lot of really great action moments in film history, but there are a hundred times more really horrible versions. There are so many clichés and devices that I'm so sensitive to. And I find that when I avoid those, some really great shots are left on the table.

What's up with your movie?
I've been writing it in between projects for the last two years. I couldn't be more excited about it. It's the coolest thing in my life, this script. Hollywood is good at throwing an opportunity your way so you have to make a conscious decision to say no to it. I haven't read a script yet that's more unique.

You haven't been doing many videos lately. Do you plan to do more?
I miss videos. I haven't been doing them for two reasons: scheduling and budgets. Commercials always have me booked up so it's at a point where I don't even get music sent to me, and budgets are getting lower while the cost of doing things is getting higher. It's becoming harder to do videos.

Videos these days seem to be either vanilla, cheesy pop videos or interesting indie videos ...
I think the whole world is getting more mainstream. I think more energy is going into what works to make money. And the world's gotten more conservative.

Do you think any of the videos you made in the past would not be made now, in the current climate?
Yeah, there was a day when music videos were respected for their creative ideas and I think now they're advertising for how someone looks.

Is there an artist you'd love to shoot a video for?

Missy Elliott. Or Ciara, or Jay-Z. I feel like Missy would love my ideas.

VITALS
Production affiliation:
Smuggler in the US; Stink in the UK.
Lives in:
New York, but is a native of Dallas.
Education:
Studied TV Production at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Before that he attended an all-boys Jesuit high school in Texas that was "less Taps and more Rushmore".
How he got started:
Started at MTV in 1997 before breaking out as a director in 1999 with a slew of videos for the Black Eyed Peas - the first being "Joints and Jams" - which attracted the representation of Satellite. Wieden + Kennedy then came calling with a spot for ESPN Hockey ("I think W+K is the agency I've worked with most over the years"), which led to his first real breakout spot for Reebok in 2001.

Smuggler>http://www.smugglersite.com
Stink>http://www.stink.tv