Octopus Inc director Vicky Lawton and Coffee and TV colourist Simona Cristea have worked together for over a decade on commercials, music videos, brand films and creative shorts.
The pair discuss their shared history and what they have found their strengths to be as a duo.
Vicky: We knew instinctively from the beginning that we were connected creatively. Forging successful relationships is essential in film, and it demands a great deal of creative collaboration. Painters may only need a brush, but film almost always demands a whole team of people behind the work.
Simona: People find each other, and gravitate towards those with similar interests, we have the same tastes, which you can see in the work. I’ve found the best work is often built on a shared understanding, and this is definitely the case with us.
Vicky: Having looked across Simona’s impressive portfolio at the beginning, I knew from the start my work was in good hands. That alongside how well we got on, in person, meant that a trust was formed pretty much straight away.
And this trust has allowed there to be a – for want of a better expression – “a safe space” – to work in. A judgement-free zone, where ideas can be thrown around, experimented with and tried without worry of failure. This makes for a great working relationship between us where we can be truly creative. Try things out, understand each other’s ways of thinking, allowing colours and the overall look to develop naturally.
Simona: We do definitely have a familiar visual language, we also have a shared love of cinema and our references are very similar. We watch stuff together as well as create our own projects together, always accumulating references on movie nights where we hang out – discussing how the light falls, the tones of each film, the look, the feel….
Our bond is super strong because we’ve been working together for over 10 years. And it is not really work, but friendship that has evolved. And with it comes respect on both sides when it comes to our work. That means when discussing changes we want to make, criticisms or things that we need to adapt – there’s a shared understanding to make the work as strong as it can possibly be – always trusting, as well as fighting for the vision that Vicky has for each project.
Vicky: When we’re working on a project, it never feels like work – it feels like we are creating something fresh and new together, and it’s always exciting.
Simona: I really admire Vicky’s work, and always look forward to grading it, it is always fun. We have grown together in the industry, which is pretty special. I won my first best grade award on your commercial for V Pure.
Vicky: Well, it was a bloody fantastic grade! There’s a really familiar shorthand between us and in what we do. We understand how a project should be shaped, how the colour can enhance the story – we might say – a bit of Saratoga with a bit of Rimmel.
The strength or our partnership means we don’t fall into familiar patterns, and we aren’t afraid to push each other into new territories. Overall, we both agree that trusting our instincts has been crucial. The friendship has allowed trust to open the doors to uninhibited creative freedom in our working space. Allowing us to experiment, push, evolve and continue to keep making work we are incredibly proud of.
Simona: There are always challenges, on every project. There are so many people involved in the entire process, creative clients, producers and everything so it’s impossible for there not to be challenges. And there’s always feedback, I can think of big projects we did where there was a lot of back and forth. But knowing each other makes the feedback process easier—it never feels personal to me. And of course we always aim to make it look really, really good.
Vicky: Simona is probably better at taking onboard notes than me. She’s more mellow, whereas I know I can be a little more spicier at times, (laughs). So together we land in the middle and that’s the beauty of all good relationships, in my opinion. And to be honest, there’s never been a situation where it’s felt like a crisis. The pressure is usually about aligning everyone quickly on the direction, especially when there’s a lot to do in a very short space of time.
Vicky: It’s often about people management. We’re good with our time management and decisive as a team, so the challenge sometimes lies in managing and navigating everyone else around us.
Simona: From my point of view, I really respect Vicky’s decisiveness and vision. It’s helpful for me because, in my role, I often try to please everyone. But with Vicky, I can push for her vision while still being diplomatic.
Vicky: It’s always about going above and beyond.
Simona: Our clients know us and trust us. So it’s a really strong bond.
Vicky: And, many creative directors we work with have moved up to higher positions, so we’ve grown with them and they’ve taken us with them.
Simona: In addition I want to stress the importance of mentors too. Tareq gave me my big break in London. He saw my potential and gave me a job. I learned a lot from him, especially about spending time with and understanding clients, which is crucial in my job. Yoomin Lee, Katie Dymmock and Tash Hicks are all female colourists I admire, and I’m a mentor to Katie and Tash – which I love.
Vicky: Yeah. I see Nicola Doring as my mentor now—she’s incredible! So supportive and encouraging, in abundance. I also worked with Rankin who pushed me to do my own work, especially when I was coming up through the ranks.
Simona: I wish I’d had a woman mentor back when I started but there just weren’t many female colourists around back then. There are more now but there should be even more in my opinion – us females need to elevate each other – it’s so important. But Tareq was amazing, teaching me how to handle the competitive nature of the industry and how to not take things personally. I really looked up to my peers and respected colourists like George K and as I said previously Yoomin Lee, Katie Dymmock and Tash Hicks, all female colourists who I admire.
Vicky: In the early years I admired Nick Knight and David LaChapelle for their incredibly imaginative work – full of colour and energy. Jonathan Glazer was also a huge inspiration.
Simona: Yeah. I have always loved cinema and photography, these are my main sources of inspiration. I watch film after film, and those directors and photographers are also some of the most standout for me.
Vicky: With regards to some of our favourite work, Jessie Ware’s ‘Free Yourself’ music video, was so stylistically different, wasn’t it? And quite cinematic. We took some considered creative risks, but it’s a perfect example of pushing for what we knew it could be and staying true to that vision – which definitely paid off.
Two more stand-out projects for me are Rolls-Royce Passenger and the Schwarzkopf ‘For Every You’ campaign. Also, the V Pure project, which was one of my early big jobs and quite a memorable one.
Simona: I agree, those projects were great to work on and encompass everything we believe in when working together. We had so much fun experimenting in the early days. It was great.
Vicky: I think it’s really important for me to remember, nobody knows everything, even those with experience. Don’t be afraid to say yes and take on challenges you’re unsure about.
Simona: Yes, and be patient. It takes time to get where you want to be, but perseverance pays off.
So far we’ve worked on some incredible projects. I think we both look forward to pushing each other further
and seeing what creative adventures the next 10 years are going to bring us!
Staff Reporter
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