As a director, Fausto can’t help but push the boundaries with visuals, creating evocative work that is rooted in story, but with oh-so-much heart. And this is the Fausto Stamp. Whether it gets you energised, angry or emotional – he will disrupt you. We caught up with Fausto while visiting his dad in Brooklyn, New York, to get the skinny on the two new spots he’s shot. To be clear, we weren’t in New York, only he was. We were just Skyping him from a wintery South Africa – shot for the invite Fausto!

Fausto’s photography has played a huge role in his directing work, the one seamlessly feeding into the other, or as he calls it ‘creating a creative loop’. When Fausto first got a call from the Creative Director in charge of IndieFin, it was purely for a photography brief. Not too long and Fausto got another call to find out if he’d be keen to shoot a commercial too and damn we’re glad he said yes! But as you can tell from Fausto’s images, the ability to tell a story in a single frame (and boy oh boy does he ever! Check out more of his work on his Instagram page) has influenced him to craft beauty in moving images, developed his eye as a director and be far more particular with framing and understanding light better.

Realising what kind of imagery he ultimately wanted to translate onto film has helped him grow his distinct and evocative style and made us sit up and take notice! So without any further adieu, herewith Fausto’s latest two spots and the Fausto stamp!

iDidTht: On both IndieFin and Castle Milk Stout, the client gave you a lot of freedom, in fact they pretty much gave you free rein. Did this trust create better work?
Fausto: Oh yeah! They were so great to work with. They just said ‘you’re the director, so direct!’ It was a wonderful environment to work with and we should really celebrate clients like this!

iDidTht: The music in both IndieFin and Castle Milk Stout! It’s incredible. Do you direct with a specific piece of music in mind?
Fausto: Music is PARAMOUNT. It’s 50% of the final product, if not more. Design and composition are often an afterthought. It’s a crucial element, and I’ve always been acutely aware of how music can affect the tone of the work. With Castle Milk Stout I presented my treatment with a song in mind and that most definitely informed the visuals and movement in shooting. I was running the images in my mind to the song before we shot them.

iDidTht: Casting must have been a nightmare on both these pieces? How how how?
Fausto: It’s really important to me to find original people, new fresh faces, and real, authentic, often non-actors. That means street casting and alternative methods like instagram, which is an amazing tool.
iDidTht: Ah, so that explains why you haven’t cast us, you don’t follow us on insta! It’s @iDidThat.co
Fausto: Haha, got it.