{"id":90541,"date":"2016-11-22T17:08:25","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T22:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=90541"},"modified":"2016-12-08T21:00:53","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T02:00:53","slug":"the-men-behind-the-masks-directors-tnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=90541","title":{"rendered":"The Men Behind the Masks: Directors Tn&#8217;T"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.centerimg {padding:4em 5em;}\nsmall {font-size:.85em;}\n<\/style>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2016\/11\/TnT-Portrait.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1012\" height=\"675\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-90563\" \/><\/p>\n<p>By now you\u2019ve seen (or rather heard) \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/mdx\/barbara-palvin-gently-whispers\/\">Barbara Palvin Gently Whispers<\/a>\u201d \u2013 our take on the tingly auditory trend ASMR. The acronym was aptly abstracted to autonomous sensory model reading&#8230;considering its star. But what does the film\u2019s directorial credit \u201cTn\u2019T\u201d stand for? Meet <a href='\/\/models.com\/people\/tarik-malak-and-timothy-douglas'>Tarik Malak &#038; Timothy Douglas<\/a>, the creative duo who make up Tn\u2019T and the engine behind SWELL, a highly-acclaimed creative content production company in New York, founded by Malak. It\u2019s not their first time on Models.com, they were the men behind the noir short \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/mdx\/catherine-mcneil-is-the-interloper\/\">The Interloper<\/a>\u201d starring <a href='\/\/models.com\/models\/Catherine-McNeil'>Catherine McNeil<\/a> and before that a <a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/mdx\/juicy-couture-spring-2015\/\">Juicy Couture fashion film<\/a> starring <a href='\/\/models.com\/models\/Edita-Vilkeviciute'>Edita Vilkeviciute<\/a> (an exclusive sponsored launch on Models.com). They\u2019re no strangers to mixing super beauties into the world of high concept cinema, an advantageous position to hold just as the gap between fashion and film becomes more nebulous and competitive with big brands obsessing over motion content. Their work boasts impressive names like <a href='\/\/models.com\/models\/liu-wen'>Liu Wen<\/a>, <a href='\/\/models.com\/models\/Stella-Tennant'>Stella Tennant<\/a> and <a href='\/\/models.com\/models\/Freja-Beha-Erichsen'>Freja Beha Erichsen<\/a>, including the aforementioned who lead in a varied array of projects for Nowness, Vogue Korea, CR Fashion Book and a collection of high-end clients. Following the release of the latest Models.com and Tn\u2019T collaboration, we spoke with Tarik and Timothy (who enigmatically and routinely sport luchador masks in photos and on their Instagrams) to suss out the specifics of one of New York\u2019s most captivating creative partnerships. Also don&#8217;t miss Barbara in the bloopers reel below! <\/p>\n<p><strong>SWELL, what\u2019s it about in a few words? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: A production company, a post-production studio, a bunch of creative warriors.<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  Yeah, it\u2019s a company dedicated to making the most out of content, especially where fashion and luxury are concerned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are you each about in a few words? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: Half French, half Brit\u2019Indian. New Yorker. But mainly French if you base that on my wine and bread consumption. I enjoy a good fight, and love to binge on movies when up in the air. <\/p>\n<p>Tim:  I\u2019m about the work at the moment.   I love the travel, meeting new people and working on these projects, it\u2019s challenging and a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you define your roles regarding process and production?<\/strong><br \/>\nT: Used to be a tad more specific, but now it\u2019s really random, depends of the jobs. We both write, come up with ideas, concepts, references&#8230; On set we both take care of cinematography, blocking, actors directing, etc. I guess for Post, roles are more defined: Tim edits and I grade, but we both have input in every step essentially&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  If I had to narrow it down, I\u2019d say my opinions are more edit oriented and Tarik&#8217;s are more art-direction oriented.  But like he said, the lines are pretty blurred at this point.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the biggest benefit of being a directorial duo? <\/strong><br \/>\nTim:  You work more toward a collective goal and body of work rather than a personal vision within this particular field.  It\u2019s a collective collaboration that forces you to think beyond where you\u2019d normally go.<\/p>\n<p>T: Keeps you humble. Always someone to criticize your ideas and call you a cunt.<\/p>\n<p>Tim: That doesn\u2019t speak well of how I give feedback.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What would you say is the Tn\u2019T signature? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: High formal quality, technical, referential and tongue-in-cheek (borderline absurd). Also we don\u2019t take ourselves too seriously and I think it shows. Genre-wise, we do a lot of fashion\/beauty, but we do also sports, lifestyle and pretty much everything. Our inspirations come generally more from the feature world.<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  We\u2019re not afraid to try something that hasn\u2019t been done before, our process seems to be finding ways to disregard anything that has been done before.  It\u2019s not always successful but it has always felt like a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have any production horror stories? <\/strong><br \/>\nTim:  I had the flu once during a TV spot and had overdosed on nyQuil causing me to pass out in the middle of the set for a couple of hours.  Thankfully, Tarik, the talent and crew were especially sympathetic and just kind of worked around my lifeless body.  That was pretty bad\u2026 the spot turned out pretty good though, perhaps that should tell me something.<\/p>\n<p>T: Not really. So boring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You both have pretty colorful pasts as far as where you\u2019ve lived. How do those combined experiences influence the way you work? <\/strong><br \/>\nTim:  I can honestly say I don\u2019t really know much about Tarik\u2019s past!  It\u2019s obvious that we hold the same enthusiasm for the same things yet with very different perspectives on them.. I suppose that speaks to our past experiences.<\/p>\n<p>T: Weirdly we have a lot in common. From random video games we used to play as kids to semi-obscure English TV shows references. But yes I feel like our backgrounds and travels and life experiences have a lot of influence on what we like and how we work\u2026 And where we want to go.<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2016\/11\/IMG_0772-copy.jpg\" alt=\"img_0772-copy\" width=\"1012\" height=\"759\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-90564\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Now New York\u2013what does it have to offer in comparison? <\/strong><br \/>\nTim:  New York is the one place I\u2019ve lived where everything and everyone is geared to getting things done.  I love that.<\/p>\n<p>T: Love New York. Except for the construction noise. Who gives all these people permits? Apart from that, I really love New York. Oh except for that very specific block on 5th Avenue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How has your work evolved over time, from individuals and to a team? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: My technical knowledge has evolved for sure. With time I\u2019m also resurfacing my initial love for story structures and bigger scale narratives\u2013I studied literature and used to think of myself as a writer&#8230; Our work is evolving towards more narrativity, more emotion and better storytelling. At least that\u2019s what we\u2019re aiming for. <\/p>\n<p>Tim:  We set out to offer high-end content to fashion and luxury brands, using advanced creative techniques and workflows on campaign films.  I feel like we succeeded in that.  In our personal work, we set out to try new things, to be bold, to win or fail in a big way.  That was our premise and contention from the beginning.  I think we have both come to see the potential in taking this project further into other territories.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First time you shot a moving image? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: First film I shot was my cousin\u2019s wedding. Recorded it on an old school videocamera, on tape, and dubbed the whole thing with silly commentaries without telling anyone. Was a pathetic attempt at being funny&#8230; They still won\u2019t talk to me.<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  It was a film called \u2018Parallel Dimension\u2019 with my friend Pete Birch in 1989, I was hooked from there on. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Where do you come up with your best ideas? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: The usual. Best ideas usually come from an old episode of the Simpsons, or a random movie or manga, some Internet trend, most great video games, or some insane Japanese TV commercial&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  When I\u2019m alone in a crowded place. Lol, so cheesy, but so true.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MVqEz2JONF4?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Have anything in the works that\u2019s particularly exciting? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: A few things. Personal projects and longer formats in particular&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  He\u2019s alluding to a feature film that I\u2019m really excited about, I think it will surprise a lot of people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lastly, Favorite films? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: Top of my head: The Shining, Hana Bi, Taxi Driver, Full Metal Jacket, City of God, 8 and \u00bd, Un prophete, Zatoichi, The Big Lebowski, Casablanca, Spirited Away, Ghost in the Shell and so many others.<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  \u2018Ringu\u2019 is my favorite film and book.  I loved \u2018No country for old men\u2019, I saw the devil, Sideways, Buffalo 66, Spirited Away, the Innkeepers.  I dunno, I think I tend to like films that have a strong emphasis on tone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Favorite online video? <\/strong><br \/>\nT: Kinda like that ASMR one we did together. That makes me sound bad, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>Tim:  Oh man, there\u2019s a question.  I watch such a weird mix of online stuff, but to keep it within the realm of relevance I actually really, really enjoyed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BM-Dp_lAaKE\/\">Sasha Melnychuk<\/a> video you guys posted a few days ago.<\/p>\n<p>Check out more of their work on their personal website <a href=\"http:\/\/tntdirectors.com\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><!--pp-thumb-start--><!--PictPress found no dir \/2016\/11\/90541--><!--pp-thumb-end--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MDC sits down with Tarik Malak &#038; Timothy Douglas, the creative duo behind our latest original film<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":443,"featured_media":90564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[464,3600,5461,3519,1162,10675],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90541"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90916,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90541\/revisions\/90916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}