With 15 years directing experience and over 50 commercials under his belt, Mqondisi ‘MQ’ Ngubane is certainly no newbie to the ad industry or TV for that matter. MQ has spent the last few years directing some of the country’s most loved and award-winning dramas and comedy series. Excited to return to his first love, commercials directing, on a more permanent basis, MQ has now joined the impressive roster of filmmakers at Bomb.

No stranger to the industry, a lot of people would remember MQ from his early days at Velocity Films. He went on to be mentored by Andre Liebenberg, the late Thabo Marera and Director Slim. With such a solid foundation MQ became an established director in both the commercials and long-form game. He has done a lot over the years, like a lot, but he’s possibly most well-known for being the Head Director and Creative Director on the recent drama series eHostela, or as he refers to it ‘Scarface set in the townships’ and uBettina Wethu, a localised version of the international comedy hit Ugly Betty. Of eHostela, which is based on the true stories of hitmen living and working in Durban, MQ says: ‘I had to meet these hitmen before we started shooting and they said to me ‘MQ if you f**k this one up we are coming after you’. MQ then went on to yet again prove his versatility on something completely different, uBettina Wethu, a comedy set in the fashion industry.

‘I love being a performance director and working closely with actors and I’m excited to bring the experience I’ve gained from my long-form work, which all about establishing strong complex nuanced characters, to my commercials work.’ Says MQ

Becoming a Bomb Baby

About signing with Bomb Commercials MQ says: ‘I’ve always been a Bomb baby through and through. I love the ethos of the company and the people there. I wanted to work with the best of the best, who are also family, and that’s Bomb.’

Bomb Commercials Executive Producer Gavin Joubert weighs in on the new signing: ‘I think we are most excited about representing MQ for his commercials directing because he has a huge range as a director. His extensive body of work covers everything from really serious all the way through to light-hearted, he’s very experienced. People who have worked with MQ don’t easily forget him. He throws all of himself into his work, always competing with himself and has a great work ethic. MQ is also a really great guy and a joy to work with, which counts for a lot in our industry.’

Yes, MQ Did THAT

Out of over 50 commercials over the past 15 years there is definitely something for everyone on MQ’s reel. Just like his long-form work where he created gritty dramas like eHostela and comedies like uBettina Wethu, MQ’s commercial work is equally as varied. As a performance director he is attracted to subtle nuances, but also has a real crush on VFX. In fact, you’ll probably still remember the Census ad MQ did back in 2010, which still stands out as one of our favourite spots from his reel. Hardly any local directors were tackling timeslices then and the ad made such an impression that Executive Members from our government personally called MQ to find out how exactly he pulled it off #Boss

Pepsi, which MQ collaborated on with Network BBDO, is another one that’s stayed with us over the years, not to mention his Safaricom shoot he did in Kenya in 7 different cities in 7 days.

Wanna (s)talk some more? Bomb Commercials on IDIDTHAT or Company Website.