We spoke to Deane to find out more about his background and what drives him as a filmmaker. 
 
NF: What are your interests?
​
DT: I grew up on racetracks with smells of burnt rubber and oily engine parts. My dad raced cars and motorbikes, and the rest of the family put them back together for him after his racing exploits, so a passion for all things fast, was bred into me. It’s fitting to have directed regularly for most of the car brands, the latest, being Hyundai, which, was voted best UK car advert of the year 2019. 

​NF: Who inspires you?

DT: Ridley Scott and David Fincher and I have been lucky enough to work with both of them.
 
NF: How would you best describe your style?
DT: I’ve learnt that contrast and backlight are what makes a film look epic. My preferred look is "Big Cinema".  I also like to push the boundaries technically and try and create breath-taking images that the audience haven't seen before.  My work is highly-engineered to give this result and, there is a precision to everything I do.

NF: Which notable brands have you directed?

DT: All the car brands, including but not limited to:
Landrover, Jaguar, BMW, Audi, F1 race teams, Aston Martin, Hyundai, VW, Ford, Renault, Mercedes Benz and Lotus.
Lots of drinks brands: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, RedBull
International Flagship Brands: Intercontinental Hotel Group, Barclays, HSBC, Emirates, British Airways
Tech: Sony, Microsoft, Xbox, Playstation, Nokia, Hewlett Packard.

​
​NF: Are there any achievements you are most proud of?
DT: Director – Best Car Advert of the Year UK (2019) – Creative Review
Best Special Effects (2013) - Royal Television Society
D&AD Black Pencil (2016)
2 X D&AD Yellow Pencil Award (2016 and prior)
7 x IVCA Awards including Best Director
Raindance Best Pitch (2010)
 
If you love Deane’s work as much as we do, you can request his services on your next Evolution Digital project. 

We spoke to Shamiel to find out a little bit more about his background and what drives him as a filmmaker.

Tell us more about your background.

I am born and raised in Cape Town. Half of my life has been spent in the business, working on films and commercials.  I started as a production assistant and worked my way up. For 19 years, I’ve worked on over 1500 Commercials, 60 Feature Films and Long Form projects spanning 7 countries.  I worked my way up to being one of South Africa’s top 1st Assistant Directors and now work as a Director, Producer.
 
How would you best describe your style?

As a Director my style is very much lifestyle, beverages, fashion, and sport. I like bright colours; bold camera moves and a great story. Having been an Assistant Director, I worked with some of the top directors in the world and I feel I could direct anything, from the biggest commercials to the most outlandish independent films. Versatility and range are strengths of mine and I strive for perfection.
 
What are your interests?

I am very much into trends and keep in touch with whatever is current. I follow fashion closely and I am an avid traveller, considering myself someone who suffers from wanderlust. Photography and football are two other activities that evoke passion in me. I am an avid Manchester City fan.
 
 
What inspires you?
​
As a boy, I always wanted to be a Director. I was always inspired by great visuals, photography, films, architecture or even a beautifully crafted sofa, sports car, artwork, or design. I had a love affair with all things aesthetically beautiful. I also enjoyed telling stories and used to daydream all the time. I feel that these qualities stuck with me throughout my career and has made me not just a Director but a filmmaker who is passionate about his craft.
 
Contact Evolution if you would like Shamiel Soni to direct your next film.
 

Meet Mauro Turatti

Neill Frank, Head of Film + Digital sat down with Mauro to discuss his work. ​


​COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
​
ITALY
 
HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE YOUR SYLE?

I love taking care of every detail. I really enjoy the prep phase of each project: studying how to create a picture is as much fun as the actual shoot.
Years of experience in advertising has allowed me to fully express my passion and to keep pushing myself beyond my limits.
 
The detail that I put into lighting design and the study of each image borders the maniacal. I believe that as in music, the magic of photography happens when even the most complex things look simple and spontaneous.
 
 
WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT EXCITES YOU?

The secret to never getting bored of your job is to always research new ways to face even the most familiar projects with a new twist.
I love challenges, so all the projects that allow me to test my skills and go beyond excite me. I love following the entire creation process, I often spend hours alone in my studio studying different ways to shoot an image.
But if solitary study fascinates me, it’s in teamwork that I find excitement and accomplishment. I am a team player, I love working within a team, collaborating on projects, and getting to a final product that makes everyone happy.
 
 
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN YOUR CRAFT?

I realized that I wanted to be a photographer when I was in high school. I had a hard time convincing those around me that, even though I was so young, mine was a real passion and not just a crush. I attended an excellent school of photography, but more importantly I was incredibly lucky to have great teachers.
After school and early in my career, I had the opportunity to work with well-known international clients, who, although a bit skeptical at the beginning about working with such a young photographer, resulted in long-term collaborators.
Passion and consistency have been fundamental in achieving the position where I am now, and I am so proud when I hear people saying to me: “I couldn’t imagine you being anything other than a photographer!”
 
 
WHAT FUTURE TRENDS DO YOU SEE IN YOUR INDUSTRY?

Photography is an ever-evolving form of art and the advertising industry needs to constantly be aware of what the new market trends are.
During this last decade we’ve seen how the internet and the continuous growth of social media has allowed for the rapid, worldwide sharing of information; to this point, I believe that who makes images has the responsibility and the duty of spreading beauty with such a vast audience.
In my studio we are organized in teams to follow all the different aspects of the project, we do this is so that when we create an image this is not something isolated, but rather part of a social media and digital content strategy.  
The attention span of users has dropped drastically, and they crave more and more visuals. Therefore, we produce high-quality images that meet the needs of our shaped-by-smartphone-world, where content is shared rapidly and attention spans wane just as quickly.
Grabbing the viewer’s attention for a few extra seconds is the real challenge of our modern world.
 
 
ANY INTERESTING THOUGHTS OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD? 

I would answer with a question: What if the future of photography is moving back to the essence of what an image is?
In the last 10 years photography has been ravaged by an excessive use of photo-retouching and 3D work. Everyone in the world produces similar pieces that are often indistinguishable.
Let’s return to composition, and reveal the true perfection hidden in an image.
Today people are drowning in images, but in that fraction of a second that we spend looking at them, a lot of viewers are still able to recognize beauty.
Sometimes you only get one shot, a singular moment to share what you and the client has worked so hard for: to make it count requires dedication and it’s worth pouring all your effort into.
Passion, research, and soul: this is what I want to find in the pictures that I produce for my clients and myself.
We are what we think and even more we are what we do.
We are not executors of a task; we are professionals who love what they do and have the sole purpose of doing it well.