Nico Beyer (born 15 June 1964) is a German film director and producer. He is noted for his unique visual style and wide array of different techniques and formats.

Nico Beyer
Beyer in Berlin in 2013
Born (1964-06-15) June 15, 1964 (age 60)
Wilhelmshaven, West Germany
Occupations
  • Film director
  • producer
AwardsAwards list
Websitenicobeyer.com

His commercial work has won him numerous, international awards, such as gold and silver Lions in Cannes, Clio Awards, Cresta Awards, ADC, LIA, CICLOPS, D&AD, New York Festival, Eurobest, Red Dot Awards, among many others.

Beyer is well known for his video collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys, The Verve, They Might Be Giants and Suzanne Vega, as well as for his award-winning advertising campaigns.

Early life

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Beyer was born in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. He is the son of artist Ulli Beyer and the grandson of writer Anja Lundholm. After graduating from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Beyer worked with renown video artist Nam June Paik and Horst H. Baumann, documenting their work on video.

Career

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Nico Beyer in Berlin in 2010
 
Nico Beyer in Hamburg (Germany), at the German Awards in 2011. Nico won 4 awards ( 2 x gold, 1 x silver and 1 x bronze ) for Hornbach "Hymne Des Machens".
 
Nico Beyer in Seattle in 2012 on the production of CHEVROLET Chevy Runs Deep campaign
 
Nico Beyer in Paris in 2016
 
Nico Beyer and Serge Roman on the shoot of Asahi Superdry in Tokyo in 2016

Beyers career as a filmmaker began with creating idents for MTV Europe, which gained him international recognition. He then (1991) moved from Düsseldorf to[Paris, where he signed with international production company Partizan. His videos and first TV spots for fashion designer Thierry Mugler, Diesel, Der Spiegel, Jason Donovan, Forbes Magazine ignited his international advertising career. Beyer signed with Propaganda Films in Hollywood (1993) and later Passport Films and then Compass Films and directed campaigns, such as Mercedes-Benz, Panasonic, Swatch (featuring Nina Hagen) etc... He moved from Paris to New York City. Beyer also continued his music video work and directed videos for The Shamen, U96, Swing Out Sister, Suzanne Vega, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Erasure, Cocteau Twins, Galliano and They Might Be Giants.

In 1996, Beyer moved from New York City to Berlin. He opened his own production company Mann Im Mond.

So far, Beyer was experimenting with digital post production. His unique style was best featured in Shots magazine.

From now on, Beyer focused on pure photography, story telling and cinematic images.

As a result, Beyer shot his first short film Phantom (1998), which premiered at the Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival).

Beyer now used advertising to tell stories and to work with actors, which was most visible in his music videos for Deine Lakaien and Eartling.

He directed TV spots for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, SWR, Audi, Renault and Coca-Cola, which won him silver and gold Lions at the renown Cannes Lions Festival, as well as Gold at the New York Film Festival, Gold at the Art Directors Club of New York.

Beyer moved back to Paris (1999), where he continued his work with his new production company Chased by Cowboys and his new business partner Edward Grann. Beyer's visual style enabled him to enter into car advertising. His campaign for Infinity (2001) and collaboration with advertising agency Chiat Day, started his career in American advertising.

He joined Chased by Cowboys in Venice, California, owned by Exec. Producer Linda Ross and directed renown campaigns, such as Mercedes's launch of the E Class and the epic Super Bowl spot for the new Ford F 150 truck (2004). Beyer further directed TV spots for Lexus, Canon, Nike, BMW, Cadillac and Land Rover.

Many awards followed : Gold at the Cannes Lions Festival, Gold at the Clio Festival etc...

Beyer also started a career in Japan. His campaign for Nissan Stagea and collaboration with advertising agency Hakohodu was extremely successful.

Beyer shared his time between Paris and Los Angeles (2003 - 2008). Directing and producing for his own company Chased by Cowboys.

In 2004, Beyer directed his first TV Show Gottschalk America,[citation needed] featuring celebrity host Thomas Gottschalk. In the same year, Beyer collaborated with Michael Moore on his campaign against former US president George W. Bush. Beyer directed a spot, which shows George W. Bush as the great dictator, recreating the famous dance with the globe of Charlie Chaplin masterpiece The Great Dictator. The spot won Gold at the non profit AD Spot Festival.

In 2008, Beyer moved to Lucerne in Switzerland, where he lives and works until today.

Beyer is now working on his first movie script. He also directs TV spots and music videos (he is represented by White Label in the US market and Black Label for the European market). He recently shot campaigns for Hornbach, Audi, Lexus, Jeep, Mercedes, Sky, Smart, Axe, O2 (Telefónica) and Adidas.

His campaign for Hornbach and his spot for Caritas won Beyer numerous, international awards, such as Lions in Cannes, Clio Awards, Cresta Awards, ADC, LIA, Eurobest, Spotlight, Klappe etc...

Filmography

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Short films

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  • Phantom (1998)
  • 99 (2000)

Documentaries

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  • Düsseldorf (1991)

Web films

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  • Die MTV - OMA (2001)
  • Die Klitschkos (2011)
  • Kaufhaus Des Irrsinns (2012)
  • Harald & Franz (2014)
  • Bosch (2015)

Music videos

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Advertisements

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Television

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  • RTL RAGAZZI (1993)
  • GOTTSCHALK AMERICA, 10 Episodes (2003 / 2004)
  • SALUT HELMUT, pilot (2007)

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Artists and Music", Billboard, June 13, 1992
  2. ^ "Music Videos", Billboard, June 20, 1992
  3. ^ "Blood Makes Noise", IMVDB
  4. ^ "Music Video", Billboard, August 8, 1992
  5. ^ "99.9 Fahrenheit", IMVDB
  6. ^ "Music Videos", Billboard, July 16, 1994
  7. ^ "Music Videos", Billboard, July 30, 1994
  8. ^ "Snail Shell", This Might be a Wiki, December 3, 1993
  9. ^ "Nissan TVCF series 2002-2008", Seiichi Okura
  10. ^ "Hornbach-Werbespot räumt ab", 20Min, June 21, 2010
  11. ^ "Hornbach und Heimat gehen unter die Dichter", Horizont online, September 15, 2009
  12. ^ "Heimat stimmt für Hornbach Die Hymne des Machens an", W&V, September 14, 2009
  13. ^ "Klappe: Hornbach Spot "Hymne" mit drei Mal Gold und ein Mal Silber", PR Journal, March 27, 2010
  14. ^ "Mercedes Diesel Tinker Inside", Inspiration Room, June 4, 2007
  15. ^ "Crossroad's director Nico Beyer completes trio of spots for NATO", Crossroads, June, 2009
  16. ^ "Alles so schön bunt hier: Die erste Ogilvy-Kreation für Media-Markt", W&V, September 29, 2011
  17. ^ "Progress", Clio Awards, 2012
  18. ^ "Global Neighbors", Clio Awards, 2014
  19. ^ "Adidas: Dieckertschmidt rückt Bayern-Star Alaba ins Rampenlicht", Horizont, 11 February 2015
  20. ^ "McDonald’s Markenauftritt zum 60. Geburtstag", Gute Werbung, January 6, 2015
  21. ^ "O2 bewirbt neue Partnerschaft mit Sky in einer großen Kampagne", New Business, January 17, 2017
  22. ^ "O2 / iPhone", LS Productions
  23. ^ "LEO BURNETT SCHWEIZ «150 JAHRE SCHWEIZER WINTERTOURISMUS»", Seiler's Werbeblog, October 21, 2014
  24. ^ "Mercedes, 'Shattered', 'One Car' & 'Small Stuff'", Moving Picture Company
  25. ^ "Thjnk Berlin inszeniert das Q in SUV", Horizont, February 15, 2016
  26. ^ "thjnk Berlin and Audi Germany celebrate the Q in the Q models.", Thjnk, February 15, 2016
  27. ^ "Mercedes – One Car", The Aerial Edge
  28. ^ "Real-Star Özil läuft zu Adidas über", W&V, July 11, 2013
  29. ^ "Client Award Shortlist: Der "Heldenkranz" von Hornbach", W&V, April 24, 2017
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inspiration 1
INTERN 21
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