Peter Thwaites

“I didn’t know that was directed by you” might seem like a faintly insulting, thoroughly backhanded compliment for a director at the top of his game, but for Gorgeous’ Peter Thwaites it’s high praise. Referring specifically to an uncharacteristically straightforward and performance-led piece – the feel good, populist Barclaycard spot “Waterslide” – it’s a measure of the success he’s gained over the past year in broadening his style beyond the stunning, subtle visual work of recent years.

“It’s only recently that I’ve accepted that I have a particular style or look,” says the affable Thwaites, who’s taking a distinctly low-key holiday on the rather twee Isle Of Wight when we speak, admirably soothing crying children mid-interview without breaking thought. “Before, I thought I did each job separately and of course it’s not like that. We all have things we tend to repeat or like. One thing I’m trying to do is escape those things. It’d be great to be truly challenged and not have a style that’s particularly me.”

Yet he who dares wins, and this year Thwaites, who has circled the edges of the highest echelons of the directing world, reaped the rewards of his directorial departures, anointed with the Directors Guild Of America outstanding directorial achievement award. He self-effacingly admits that it’s still a surprise. Pitted against the likes of Tom Kuntz, Fredrik Bond, David Fincher and Rupert Sanders, the first-time nominee was such a dark horse – even to himself – that he hadn’t prepared a speech.

To be surprised is to do him a disservice though. This year he’s helmed an impressively varied handful of scripts: as well as Barclaycard, Thwaites lensed the ridiculous action/romance comedy “Car” for Impulse through VegaOlmosPonce, an endearing CG cutout girl in Rexona “Paper Doll”, brought quirky charm to inanimate chips for Intel and dazzled with Guinness’ light fantastic “Light Show”.

The latter is typically Thwaites, a visual tour de force that plays perfectly to his strengths as a former DP and demonstrates a key concern in all his work. “The challenge was to do all those things but keep it a human experience. The problem with so many of those things is that so often they end up feeling unaffecting and unmoving and lacking emotional impact because they can be technical… Finding the tonal line when using [CG] is the trickiest thing.”

Going forward his goal is to encourage agencies to send him performance and dialogue scripts. “I’ve always loved telling stories visually, but that doesn’t mean it’s pretty pictures. In fact, just the opposite; there’s nothing worse than inane beauty. Telling human stories and performance ideas visually is what it’s about… We all end up having our taste but I think that can become a default setting creatively and I think you have to push beyond those ideas and put yourself in a position of being uncomfortable.”

Gorgeous Enterprises> www.gorgeous.co.uk
Anonymous Content> www.anonymouscontent.com