How To Make Record Breaking Ad Films And Stay Anonymous

With the sheer amount of influence ad films have on Indian society, from the “Nirma” song to “Ramesh and Suresh,” the faces 5 Star, it is a shame that the ad film industry gets almost no recognition. Recently I had the privilege of being in conversation with Anup Joseph Kattukaran, the founder of one of the most successful ad film production houses in the country. You might not have heard of them and that might be deliberate, “We don’t find the need to pander to the ‘janta’, our clientele is well aware of our work and thats all we need”, says Anup. First December Films (hereafter FDF) is based in Bangalore and Mumbai. Anup plays the role of Director of Photography and Chief Creative Officer. His brother Atul is the director and Ganesh Pareek is their Creative Entrepreneur and the Executive Producer. Atul is the first Indian director to feature in the Top 10 of the Global Creativity Report released by Cannes Lions.

Their most famous advertisement, Nike’s Make Every Yard Count, also happens to be India’s most internationally acclaimed ad film. Winning everything from Cannes Lions to Kyoorius awards. The film uses the concept of stop motion in a way never done before in India, perhaps the world, an entire sequence pieced together with images from different locations. Anup Joseph and his team of eight photographers went across 9 cities and worked with over 1400+ kids to create a database of over 2,350,000 shots. Out of which around 1200 made it to the final cut. It took 45 days from conception to creation. “I’d never do it again”, said Anup while describing the journey to the final product. “I got up everyday at 4am and retired for the day by 12:30am, combined with the level of coordination made this a one time job”

Anup says that you will never find them advertising pressure cookers or Ariel, their concentration is on fashion and sport. Their website is simple and has barely any text. The focus is on the videos they have produced and directed. “The kind of clients we gravitate towards are not the ones that read the text on the website but the ones who look at our work”, says Anup regarding the minimal and rather sarcastic introduction to the website. Yet there is one piece of work that is not featured on their website. This is not because of the film being of of a lower quality. In fact this film has received wide national and international media coverage. The make up tutorial by acid attack victim Reshma for the campaign “Make Love Not Scars” was directed and and produced by FDF. They take absolutely no credit for it. Ogilvy & Mather, the agent was a previous client of the company. “They approached us with this concept and a very low budget, so we did it as a collaborative effort. We all pitched in money from our own pockets.”, says Anup. Promotion of this online film was the only time they went for the Cannes Lions ceremony.

Going back to the beginning Anup started off with the aim of teaching himself something new every two years. His first challenge was photography and then he moved on to films. Starting as a wedding photographer, he still does these projects on the side. He started off along with Joseph Radhik, India’s most awarded wedding photographer, whom he addresses as Joe. When asked about the level marketing and promotions Radhik does and compared to his own no promotion approach he says, “Joe has a brand to maintain and he does it beautifully, but for me it’s much more personal. I have to be there at every wedding I shoot. I hand pick each wedding. I have this policy, I only talk to the bride and groom. If a bride’s parents call me up I kindly tell them to either give the phone to the bride or have her call me. I believe in catering to the couple and no one else. Joe can do two weddings in Bombay on the same day but thats not my style. High on quality and low on quantity is how I work” It has landed him a place on the advisory board of the Wedding Photographers Association Of India. It is interesting to note that out the 10 members, his is the only description that is in first person; a subtle ode to his status of independent photography that puts an emphasis on the work rather than the brand. This philosophy is also what drives FDF. Since Anup and his brother both have no formal training they regularly collaborate with the bests in the field. He enjoys this as he gets to watch and learn from his peers and he says he can ask them as many questions as he wants and they’re obligated to answer because they’re colleagues. Each shoot is a immersive experience.

When asked if he had any parting words Anup proclaimed, “Tell everyone to go dive”. After film making, the next skill he learnt was diving. He was fascinated with the water from a young age, “Unlike most Western countries, Indian parents have a tendency to make their children fear the water because there is always someone they know who has drowned. My father wasn’t like this, he would always push me to the water.” This love of the water was reignited through a documentary on National Geographic and he set out to dive. Having always been in awe of the movie Jaws he wanted to dive with sharks. He is a very vocal advocate for the sharks. He still remembers how it took him two and a half years of diving to spot his first shark, a white tip reef shark. After that it was sighting after sighting, over 2000 sharks spotted in his 250+ dives. His diving pursuits have also led him to another venture, underwater photography. By tying together interests and expanding his field of expertise, Anup Joseph has come a long way.

The man behind award winning advertisements says the latest skill he is trying to master is fatherhood. “I have little kid now, Adam”, he says. Adam features regularly on his fathers photography page to rave reviews of cuteness, “Oh he’s Photoshopped”, responds Anup without missing a beat. It’s this quickness and sharpness that’s also present behind the camera which has propelled Anup to the professional position he is in now, and yet he remains practically anonymous to the great Indian “janta”; by refusing to commercialise in a corporate field.

Find Anup’s work on : https://www.anupjkat.com/