The Producers signs The Sapphires director Wayne Blair. But why would a big screen director want to work in the 30 sec commercial format?

Directors usually see advertising as a springboard to a career in features or television series. Wayne Blair has a simple answer to why he’s going the other way.

Says Blair: “I enjoy telling stories and I feel I can add something to the shorter format and smaller production timeframes. I want to put my hand up and challenge the status quo.”

For the last decade, Blair’s work has been quietly and successfully repositioning what an Australian story looks and feels like through films that include The Sapphires and Top End Wedding and the ABC series Total Control, Mystery Road and Sundance TV’s Cleverman.

There’s a unique but familiar voice in his work. An often charming reality to it.

Says Blair: “I grew up in country Queensland in the Eighties and Nineties. Up there, you develop a good reality radar. People are straight-talkers and down-to-earth. What you see is what you get. Characters like those add more layers to story, keeping things real, then it is our job to elevate it and make it resonate for all.”

Tapping into the essential Australian character is what makes Blair’s films feel authentic and familiar to audiences and it’s driven the popularity of his work. He hopes to bring the same popularity to his advertising projects.

“If I see an advertisement that I like, it’s usually one where I can see the personality of the director coming through, a point of difference.”

In that respect, he sees The Producers as a good home for him: “They are focused and boutique and there’s a place for my voice in the work they do.”

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