60 Stories About 30 Seconds: How I Got Away With Becoming a Pretty Big Commercial Director Without Losing My Soul

by Bruce Van Dusen

You’ve probably seen more movies made by Bruce Van Dusen than any other director alive.

1977. New York City. Cool and crime-ridden, cheap and wild. Bruce Van Dusen shows up in town with a film degree and $150 to his name. He wants to make movies. So he does. The only ones anyone will pay him to make? Little ones. Thirty seconds long. Commercials. He has no idea what he’s doing and the money sucks. But he’s a director.

He quickly learns he has the two things he needs to succeed in the fickle world of a talent for telling short, emotional stories, and the hustle to fight for every job no matter how small. He still has no idea what he’s doing—not that anyone needs to know that. He just keeps making it up as he goes along.

He gets hired by a client on life support in the most depressing hospital in New York. Gets peed on by a lion. Abused by Charles Bronson. Explains peristalsis to a Tony winner. Makes a movie and goes to Sundance. Goes back to little movies when it bombs. Keeps hustling, shooting anything. Gets married, has kids. Pushes, shoves, survives. Gets divorced. Survives some more. Is an asshole, pays the price, finally learns when and how to be an asshole and becomes one of the industry’s stars.

Years go by and it’s not what he expected. It’s harder, weirder, and funnier. But it worked out. It worked out great, actually.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Becki · Rating 3 out of 5]

What goes on behind the scenes in television commercials isn’t something most people think much about. These essays build a memoir about a man who may have directed more commercials than any other individual.

While the title sounds like the book would be a lot more about the commercial jobs, the stories actually read more like an engaging memoir. The commercial stuff was interesting from time to time, but human nature always brings its own entertaining quirks.

The essays evolve as it sounds like the man himself did—from an insecure but driven young man trying to force the results he sees in his head, to a more mature leader who has learned he can make anything into an acceptable result with his skills, the talents of those around him, and a little luck. Bruce Van Dusen sounds like someone who has aged somewhat gracefully as his life changed, all while participating in a career he usually found both challenging and satisfying.

Overall, I’d give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. While it would definitely be fascinating for someone interested in behind-the-scenes film-making, anyone who enjoys memoirs would like reading about Bruce Van Dusen’s experiences throughout his life as a director.

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[Stacey]

Thank you to Bitter is the New Book Club for providing me with a copy of this book! This book is a series of vignettes intermixing the author’s personal and business life, told in a timeline. I found it entertaining and a fast read, as the chapters are very short. I’d recommend this title to anyone who enjoys learning about what goings on behind the scenes when filming commercials. Enjoy!

[Garrett Rowlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll give this one five stars because it, first of all, introduced me to a world I've been curious about for a time. I've written a story about a man who works in advertising (not yet published) but I basically made up the few sketchy work references. This year I got on a Covid-inspired, video-store rental of Mad Men, and when this book came down the e-reader pike I bought it, curious about advertising from the inside. The writer, Bruce Van Dusen, has a boatload of interesting stories about the career he started from nothing. There's nothing pretentious or arty about his approach--commercials are about commerce, after all, and his approach is almost universal in its application: work hard, cover your ass, keep perspective, don't be an ass, et cetera. Van Dusen stayed in the business directing commercials (some of which I remembered when he described working on them), which in itself is a triumph: It, apparently, is one of those profession where you're likely to burn out or soon be old news and tossed on the slag heap. Also, his up-close portraits of celebrities he's worked with is interesting. All in all, a fast-paced and amusing read.