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1997:
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A conversation about producing commercials
with Joe Pytka on Mar 26, 1997
- Duration
- 21 min
- Comments
- Rating
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with Joe Pytka on Mar 26, 1997
Joe Pytka is a director of commercials, having directed for Nike, McDonald’s and Pepsi, among many others. Pytka has directed more than 5,000 commercials. To encourage economic redevelopment of New York City following September 11th, Pytka directed four of the NYC Miracle spots including Woody Allen skating, Henry Kissinger sliding into home plate, and Yogi Bera conducting the Philharmonic. His influential branding encompasses Ray Charles’ “Uh-huh” for Pepsi; “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” PSA and superstar athletes Larry Bird and Michael Jordan in “Nothing but Net” for McDonald’s. He has earned three of the Director’s Guild of America’s Commercial Direction Awards and 14 nominations ? the most for the category.
Beyond commercials, Pytka has also directed two feature length films - “Let it Ride” (1989) and “Space Jam” (1996). Pytka began his career producing documentaries for the fledgling Public Broadcasting Service in the ‘60s and ‘70s. He learned to shoot, edit, and record at WRS Motion Picture and Video Lab in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For WQED, Pytka worked on documentaries including a documentary on air pollution narrated by Orson Welles. He also shot a forerunner to music videos called High Flying Bird featuring Steve McQueen.
Source - Director’s Guild of America http://www.dga.org/multimedia/honors-03/pages/aboutpytka.html
