Sunday, May 23, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEVADAN AT WORK: JEFF LESTER, Director, co-founder Big Picture Studios

Big Picture boss aims to get viewers to drop the clicker, savor the moment

Big Picture Studios co-founder Jeff Lester, shown at his office in April, followed success as a television and movie actor with success as a director, overseeing commercials and short films. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

The challenge of television commercials, those 30-second mad scrambles for viewers' attention, is getting people to stay. Laugh, gasp, listen, the ads seem to beg, just don't click the remote. Getting the viewer's finger off the remote is film and commercial maker Jeff Lester's challenge, one he gladly accepts.

Lester, president of Big Picture Studios, a Las Vegas production company, has a particular affinity for commercials, having acted, directed and produced them for decades. Commercials were an inspiration for Big Picture, Lester said. He wanted to create better local ads, ones with big-time polish and feel.

The 48-year-old Lester, who founded Big Picture with his wife, Susan Anton, said he always figured he'd make movies. Starting at age 10, he said, he'd round up kids in his San Mateo, Calif., neighborhood and make short films. He worked the Super 8 camera, the kids served as the cast.

Commercials helped launch Lester's career. As a teenager he was in many spots, hawking soda, jeans and fast food. Those ads led to bigger show business jobs. Lester had television roles in the 1980s series "Walking Tall" and "Once a Hero." He had film roles in "In the Cold of the Night," "Star Trek IV," and "Little Drummer Girl."

After acting came directing and producing. Lester conceived, wrote, directed and produced the "Shorts Show," a show about short films, for Robert Redford's Sundance cable channel. In 2000, he directed "The Last Real Cowboys," a short film he helped develop, starring Billy Bob Thornton. ("The Last Real Cowboys" is viewable on Atom Films' Web site, http://www.atomfilms.com)

These days, Lester said, he's busy developing three films and planning a so-far untitled television series. Penny Marshall will direct the series. Anton will serve as executive producer.

He and Big Picture have also kept busy with commercials, completing a shoot in Oregon for the Spirit Mountain Casino and shooting and producing commercials with actor Pat Morita for the current Disney animated feature film "Home on the Range."

Because advertising is so important, Lester said, companies will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, for commercials, giving directors the financial wherewithal to make the best spots. Lester said budgets for commercials he's shot with Big Picture range from $75,000 to $350,000; the average budget is $200,000.

Making a great ad is like making a great film, only shorter, Lester said; the goal is still connecting with the audience. The best way to do that, he said, is with a good story.

Lester acknowledges some commercials are memorable mostly for their shock or stupidity (anyone remember that gassy horse in the Super Bowl beer ads?) But this is true with movies, too, he said.

"Some movies you want to run out of the theater holding your head," Lester said. "Commercials are some of the most creative stuff, they're also some of silliest stuff. What is important is how well they're done."

Lester said the Internet offers a new channel for sophisticated advertising, a place ads can be longer, riskier and more movielike. The new-style spots are already coming, he said. American Express, for example, has been broadcasting a Web-only spot featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman.

"Advertising on the Web will be a much more sophisticated way to advertise," he said. "And the power is huge."

Question: A lot has been made in recent years about Las Vegas' potential as a place to shoot movies and nurture movie making. Any thoughts?

Answer: I think Las Vegas is a film-friendly place. In the same way that the city has done such a great job creating a positive place to visit, it has also worked to make it a positive place to film. People want to come visit, but they also want to come shoot. It's a fun place. Also, it's cheaper here in some ways than it is in Los Angeles, because you don't get nickel-and-dimed as much as you would over things like parking or permitting. I think the city has done a great job making this a great place to come and produce.

Question: You said you at first thought your stay in Las Vegas would be fairly brief. What changed?

Answer: I came in 1995 when my wife was working with the Rockettes in New York. They'd come to Las Vegas to do a show at the Flamingo. I thought we'd do the show, be here about a year, and then go back to Los Angeles. But in that first year, we noticed the quality of the commercials that were on TV and we thought there was a huge opportunity for a high-end production company. ... That was the beginning.

Question: You said you like Las Vegas' locations.

Answer: If you want to shoot the Strip, there's only one place you can do that. You can't go to New York. You can't go to Los Angeles. You can't go to Rome. And I think as more people discover outlying areas, such as the desert and Red Rock Canyon, they'll discover what a great place those places are to shoot as well.

Question: How is the local talent?

Answer: We've had great experiences. The crews are really great here and I've had great luck casting. I've found great actors here. You might think you'd have to be going back to Los Angeles all of the time to bring in talent, but that's not the case. It's better than you would think.

Question: You said Las Vegas has a great production spirit. What do you mean?

Answer: I've shot in neighborhoods at 2 in the morning, the police are there and it's blocked off and it's permitted. But people will come out of their homes and ask "What are you shooting?" And they'll say, "If you need to use the phone, let us know and you can." They're so friendly. That would never happen in Los Angeles. They'd say, "Why are you on my street? Get out of here."

Question: You said one of a director's key jobs is helping create honest performances. What do you mean?

Answer: When you go to the movies, and you're moved by someone's performance, and you're in the moment with those actors, you don't realize that there are 40 people around them and camera crews and lighting. To have that connection with the audience, you need an honest performance from the actors. And to (give) that honest performance, actors need to have an environment in which they're comfortable and that's safe. As director, I've learned what actors need to make that performance honest.

Question: You said an honest performance matters, no matter how long the entertainment lasts. Commercials would seem particularly risky because they're so short.

Answer: Whether it's a 2 1/2-hour movie or 30-second commercials, you want to make something the audience will love and respond to. That's our constant dilemma. And with a commercial, (the dilemma is) how to make that 30 seconds work in the best way possible. My job as director is not to have someone turn it off, to have the audience watching and engaged.