Ace Norton is a small man with a mustache who might just be a super humanoid. Director of over fifty music videos and short films (Sebastien Tellier’s “La Ritournelle,” “Divine”, Patrick Wolf’s “Hardtimes”, Norah Jones’ “Sinkin Soon”, She and Him’s “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” and Darwin Deez “Radar Detector” to name a few), Norton stands a part from most twenty-somethings as a highly resourceful, artistic entrepreneur. Son of writer/director Bill Norton and grandson of screenwriter William Norton, Ace set out to make a name for himself without his familial connections by hustling himself out to bands around Los Angeles music hotspots like The Echoplex. Now represented by Partizan, Ace Norton is slowly inching his way up to making features. His recent directorial debut for Dolby Sound, Soundscapes 2, proves he may just be ready to make the next cult sci-fi flick. Ace and I talk Soundscapes 2, the industry, and more. Click this link to watch Ace Norton’s Soundscapes 2 here.
Alessandra Rizzotti: You started directing at a young age because your father and grandfather had backgrounds in the industry, but no gigs were necessarily handed down to you. What pushed you to make a name for yourself and completely focus on the art of directing? Was there a moment that shaped your directing style?
Ace Norton: As a kid, I wanted to be a pro skater but I shattered my tailbone. Then I wanted to be a cook but quickly turned disenchanted by the food service industry while working as a bus boy at Capri Resturant on Abbot Kinney. My father did everything he could to keep me away from “the industry.” I grew up watching him hustle to work insane hours, then to wondering if he’d ever get another job- now he spear fishes and makes furniture …I love my profession more than anything, but it can be an unpredictable, scary business. We all end up like our fathers and now i’m at that age where i’m really beginning to understand this…
Alessandra Rizzotti: When you write treatments for your videos, what serves as your inspiration? Is it the music that drives you? The product you’re selling? Do you ever come up with an idea before you write it into a treatment? I saw your installation at Soho house…were those drawings indicative of your process at all?
Ace Norton: I carry these large notebooks and in each I keep a long list made up of chicken scratched jibberish of things that inspire me- could be an idea for a music video, a photo, a prank, or an installion….When any sort of light bulb goes off in my mind, I’ll immediately write it down so when I’m asked to write for a particular song , short film, or commercial, I can scan through the lists and develop the concept from there. It’s a good starting off point because the workload at times can be hairy- and having a head-start never hurts….
Alessandra Rizzotti: The production and lighting design in your films has a neo-surreal, dreamlike quality (for example Patrick Wolf ‘Hardtimes’) that seems consistent in most of your work. Do you have a set crew you work with?
Ace Norton: I’ve worked with the same production designer, Chelsea Oliver, since I was in high school- and I use the same DP, Ross Riege for most of my projects too. We’re all very close friends and we’ve all been on the same team for years, so we know each other’s taste. We communiate seamlessly, and have an understanding of what we’re good (and not so good) at.
Alessandra Rizzotti: Your distinct approach to storytelling stays alive in all your videos (gritty, yet comedic and highly stylized, like gold lamé panties and disco). Even the films you’ve made for Coke, Orbit, Honda, and Gap have your voice in them. Do you find yourself ever having to defend your ideas to the companies you work with? Any examples?
Ace Norton: Between agency, director, and client, everyone has the same agenda and everyone wants to make something great. People’s opinions on how that happens may differ but that’s part of this business- you pick and choose your battles, compromise a little to get more.
Alessandra Rizzotti: With Soundscapes, you started with sound designers recording an array of sounds from all parts of the world. So was Soundscapes 2′s more stylized, polished treatment conceived before or after Dolby approached you?
Ace Norton: The first Soundscapes was more like a travel log so for the second one I wanted to change it up a bit. I wanted to simplify the idea- keep it to one location with one actress and make the entire thing feel more cinematic- especially with the lighting and production design. I had this idea for years and had to convince dolby that doing it this way would be more interesting than traveling around doing the same thing…I hope I succeeded!
Alessandra Rizzotti: Did the story for Soundcapes 2 come together in the post process or did you methodically put together those specific sounds and visual images in the pre-production process?
Ace Norton: I had a shot list but I wanted to keep things loose- so we had the freedom to experiment on set. The score was figured out entirely in post. We cut together an offline version, THEN built the soundtrack from there- using all the elements that we had edited in the assembly as our skeleton. Ions of props to Issac Hagy and TK Broderick who worked their butts off and are not getting enough credit- They’re geniuses!
Alessandra Rizzotti: What tends to be your process in creating an ad, versus a music video vs a short film?
Ace Norton: With an ad, you’re selling a product so things need to be approved and pre planned way more than in videos. Weather it’s pre-vision, conference calls, pre-pro meetings, the approval process can be tricky because there’s usually a massive chain of command. With videos it’s more the director’s show, so you’re able to work at the pace you’re comfortable. Both methods have their perks…
Alessandra Rizzotti: You’ve been compared to Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. Will you be transitioning into features just like they did?
Ace Norton: I’m working on two scripts at the moment. I hope to make them soon!
Alessandra Rizzotti: And one silly question, if you could be an animal, what would you be?
Ace Norton: People have told me I look like a mix between a frog and a monkey but I’d rather be a panther.
I’d say he’s a panther.
Author: Alessandra Rizzotti
