Protecting the Creative Vision with Abigail Horton

Abigail Horton began directing films in middle school, penning her first detective feature at age 13. Since then, her award-winning short films have played at SXSW and Fantastic Fest, and received multiple Vimeo Staff Picks. Her debut feature, ‘Blow Up My Life’, about an opioid whistle-blower on the run, was also released in theatres in 2023 to critical acclaim.

As a commercial director, she has collaborated with top brands such as Kraft, Spotify, General Mills, and Oreos, through agencies including Wieden + Kennedy and The Martin Group. A graduate of Wesleyan University, she is a member of the National Board of Review and Film Fatales.

Abigail sat down with LBB to discuss her upcoming feature films, becoming the latest member of the Tinygiant team, and the advertising industry's current AI crossroads.

LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?

Abigail> I’m working on two new feature films that I’m stoked about. One I’m casting, and the other I’m finishing a draft on. After making my first feature, ‘Blow Up My Life’, I’m hungry to tackle the next! Directing and editing a feature was about constantly learning and improving, from thinking faster on my feet and honing my long-form edit pacing to choreographing a fight scene and balancing jokes with drama… Let me stop here before I write an essay.

In the commercial realm, I’m really looking forward to working with my new production home, Tinygiant! Sara Eolin and Veronica Diaferia have been incredibly welcoming and really see what I bring to commercials. I’m honoured to be joining their team and I think we’ll make some very funny and unexpected work together!

LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?

Abigail> I think the advertising industry, along with all visual industries, are at a crossroads with incorporating AI into the work. I firmly believe that AI art is an abomination and we need humans to speak to other humans; we don’t need computers speaking to us. We all smell the falsity of hollow work, and I think it’s going to be really harmful to the industry.

So, to find the silver lining here, I’m always thrilled when agency creatives and clients understand that the most powerful, interesting and engaging work is going to be created by directors and their crews, and continue to do great work with… humans (can you believe I even have to say that out loud?). More and more, audiences will want to see real, authentic, messy and imperfect visuals that really cut through slop. As a director, I am here for it!

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about – is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Abigail> I love working with off-beat, strange comedies. My favourite kind of work isn’t what you’d call ‘broad comedy’, rather, it’s a very specific strand of humour that blends absurd situations with authentic dramatic performances.

As a director, I’m most drawn to working with actors. The more dialogue, blocking and narrative I get to play with, the happier I am! I love people in spaces, I love a camera that feels like it’s grounded, and work that’s created with a distinct human touch. That means oddities, imperfections and surprising performances!

I like to do a ‘weird take’ where the actor goes for it and tries something totally different, or ratchets up the performance from a nine to a 20. It might not be the take we end up using in the edit, but it allows the actors to unlock new possibilities – whether that’s new blocking or a line reading – under the safety of ‘we’re just being weird and silly!’. We did something like this on the ‘Shouting Chef’ spots for Kraft, and it helped us get to a special place with the performances.

When I’m searching for inspiration, I watch Roy Andersson’s old commercials, I check what director Nalle Sjoblad has been up to, or look at photographs from Lars Tunbjörk. I seem to be drawn to a Scandinavian sense of humour! I also love to watch British director Raine Allen Miller’s work. Her camera work and shot composition do so much comedic lifting, and her colour palettes and production design are inspiring. Her spot for TurboTax is like, perfect.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Abigail> I think the misconception about my work in general, as a female comedy director, is that I’m not capable of things I haven’t already done yet. So many female and minority directors have to prove themselves tenfold before they’re given the opportunities that others have. It’s wrong to think I can’t incorporate new products, camera moves, budget sizes or jokes that aren’t already on my reel. If you don’t see the exact example on my reel of what you’re trying to make, don’t worry, I just haven’t been presented with that opportunity yet!

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Abigail> I have to say, I’ve been really lucky to work on productions that run incredibly smoothly. I prioritise being on the same page with the agency, making the shoot day, and overpreparing. But sometimes the weather gets in the way! On a shoot for Bravo with a ‘Real Housewife’, there was an early morning ice storm and both crew and talent arrived 3 hours late to set! We had to cut shots and do scenes in oners. It can be scary to make things super simple (what about 15 options in the edit?), but in the end, it’s often what works best!

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Abigail> I think of the director as the bubble wrap around the idea. I’m protecting the vision, here to offer pushback on things that might harm the original vision. If the client or agency feels strong enough about something to puncture the bubble wrap, then that’s their prerogative. Obviously, I think that if directors were 100% trusted to go for the best work possible, we’d have a lot more exciting and subversive spots out there! But the goals of commercials are to sell a product, and so you have to walk that balance beam and understand the overarching purpose for being on set. In the end, I want the client to be really psyched with the final outcome, and that it does what they need it to do for their business.

LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?

Abigail> Kraft: Wieden + Kennedy wrote a great concept for this campaign, treating home chefs using bottled Kraft sauces like they’re chefs on ‘Chef’s Table’. Playing with the tropes of foodie-obsessed TV shows was a very funny task, and I love how actor Brandy Le took his role as master chef seriously while adding his personality and flair to it. In that way, it transcends a parody and becomes something new.

​Rippling: I worked directly with the client on this spot, and it had the idea of a character breaking up with his old HR software. I wanted to bring in aspects of ‘90s romcoms like ‘Notting Hill’ so that actor Dan Blick plays this scene like it’s the end of act two, and get ready for a montage of the main character walking in the rain to meet the love of his life. Oh right, but this is a software commercial.

​‘A Few Activities’: I wrote and directed this short film, and it explores my love of odd, understated comedy with actors moving through absurd scenarios. I also edited the film – which I do for all my narrative work – and it was wonderful to explore a steady edit pace and how that can amplify the humour. For me, comedy is all about the edit!