MTV Director Seyi Peter-Thomas Joins Station Film
January 12, 2012 by Screenmag
Bicoastal/International production entity Station Film have added Seyi Peter-Thomas to its roster. Seyi brings a decade of experience working at MTV producing, directing and writing on some of the network’s biggest commercials, branded content and PSAs.
Highlights of Seyi’s award-winning work include his campaign for The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, an epic take on “West Side Story” featuring Russell Brand, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry that received Promax BDA Gold, Creativity and CTAM Awards. Seyi has also collected an Emmy for work on the The Kaiser Foundation’s Condom Factory PSAs. More recently Seyi was featured in Shoot Magazine’s 2010 New Director’s Showcase.
“I am really fascinated by visual storytelling with a comedic edge,” explains Seyi. “I think of each piece of work as its own small film. The challenge is to create a world that is familiar to the viewer but somehow different and compelling.”
Seyi recent promo for MTV’s “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” exemplifies his style. The David Katzenberg-produced show features a 15-year old who goes from anonymous to infamous when a prank accidentally exposes his big penis to the whole school. The work was shot on the Phantom high-speed camera to further isolate the moment and won a Promax BDA Gold Award.
“We wanted to take a clumsy High School moment and treat it like a David Lean movie,” says Seyi on the quasi-Superbad promo. “It’s an epic battle painting, a pivotal moment played out with anamorphic lenses to give it a really nice cinematic feel.”
Seyi has also wrapped a noteworthy campaign with filmmaker Joel Schumacher for MTVs Digital Abuse initiative. The work became the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s Conference on Bullying Prevention.
“I began my career at MTV in promos and know first hand how resourceful the network is,” notes STATION partner/ exec producer Michael Di Girolamo. “MTV keep their finger on the creative pulse. So many talented directors started there, guys like Mark Pellington, Kuntz and Maguire. I feel that Seyi is the next director to follow in the tradition.”
“Seyi’s ability to create visual storytelling with a comedic edge fits in nicely with the STATION roster,” adds STATION managing partner Steven Orent.