Private Project

Handy - The Series

Handy, a short-form series based off the festival darling short film Hand Job: Portrait of a Professional Hand Model, chronicles renown (in his own head) hand model, Erik Thomas Lane, as he navigates the competitive industry and applies his 'art' on the set of various commercial productions.

  • Josh Miller
    Director
    Hand Job: Portrait of a Professional Male Hand Model
  • Josh Miller
    Writer
  • Amy Lassett
    Producer
  • Doub Bilitch
    Producer
  • Beth Trentacoste
    Producer
  • Erich Layne
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 8, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa & RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Josh Miller

Josh Miller is a commercial and content writer/director who leverages his years as an award-winning copywriter and creative director and a lifelong passion for film and photography to tell visually arresting comedic human narratives. He graduated from The University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, then landed his first job in Advertising in NYC by sneaking rolls of toilet paper into the bathroom stalls of Kirshenbaum Bond that read: “Josh Miller. A Copywriter Who’s Willing to Start at the Bottom”. Josh went on to create renown campaigns for some of the best brands at the best agencies on both coasts, before turning to directing full time with RSA Films, B-Reel and now, LA-based Spears & Arrows. Josh is widely recognized for his commercials, videos, and shorts films. In addition to Handy, based off his festival-darling short film, Hand Job, Josh is in development on other television shows and a feature.

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Director Statement

The terms 'branded content' and 'branded entertainment' are batted around these days like trendy marketing catchphrases. In reality, more often than not, this content winds up being filler that is 'sponsored by' or not-so-subtly populated with product placement.

As a director and a storytelling with a background as an advertising copywriter/creative director, I believe there's a way to integrate a brand's voice and marketing strategy INTO THE NARRATIVE. Handy does this. Handy seamlessly and unabashedly ties a product into each episode's storyline, in a tongue-and-cheek, humorous way that is truthful to Erik's character and his role as a professional hand model, as well as the brand.

The humor is disarming, charming, it tends to weed out, and attract, like-minded brands that are open to and tonally appropriate to the Handy storyline and paradigm.

People today accept the role brands play in creating content. Handy acknowledges this, wholeheartedly, unapologetically, and rewards viewers with a clever, humorous, and self-deprecating piss-take of the entire advertising and marketing machine, by poking fun not only at the ridiculously hilarious world of professional hand modeling, but also, the ad agencies, photographers, directors, crew - and the clients themselves. No one is safe.

And, in the process, "branded content" becomes true 'branded entertainment". Maybe even just plain, Entertainment.