Shooting Monkeys, the curious director duo of Jan Vogel and Sebastian Funke have joined Ground Control London. Ground Control will frolic with Jan and Sebastian in the UK and Japan.
Immensely skilled in the art of storytelling, these monkeys have worked with global stars such as Robbie Williams, Vinnie Jones, Boris Becker. Boundary-breaking work is what they do, and their origin story to this point is, predictably, unique.
Never underestimate a monkey.
Sebastian studied law at the University of Berlin, before studying directing at the NY Film Academy, fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a director. Jan hadn’t thought of cinema at all as a child, but is now a member of the DGA. Born in Ecuador, studying cinematography at AFI in Los Angeles, he entered directing through the camera department. Along with directing award-winning commercials with Sebastian, he continues to work as a cinematographer on their collaborations and several feature films.
All their work is finely developed with the critical techniques of cinema. Together with Sebastian, an accomplished editor, they mentally build the foundations of their work before a pixel is recorded. We’re all guessing how they manage to see themselves in other people’s brains, our theory is that it’s one of those monkey things that baffles scientists to this day.
With a prolific portfolio of works spanning comedy, drama, short and feature length documentaries, the aim is to always move their audience. “Cinema should follow the philosophy of form follows function,” they say, “if you have nothing to say, you can use elegant words but they will be empty. The same matters for visuals. Every element of the film must have a function to express the ultimate story. We don’t really like work where style is more important than substance.
With a toolbox full of rational story analysis and endless imagination, their mastery of authentically connecting a brand’s message with audiences has earned them countless accolades, including the Cannes Lions, the New York Festival, the LYNX awards, the ADC-Deutschland as well as a United Nations award. for exceptional communication.
Sebastian has no connection with Tobias Funke.
See their portfolio here.
