Capital One "Little Legends" by Tareq

Tareq follows a group of Little Legends on a Cup Final day they'll never forget

The 2015 Capital One Cup Final was made all the more special for a merry band of competition winners, who joined the London Youth Choir to become the final's official Little Legends, where they were given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take over Wembley and help put on an amazing show. 

Each Little Legend had an important part to play at the final. Such daunting tasks obviously requires a pre-match pep talk - in this case given by Kaiser Chief's frontman Ricky Wilson. The film shows Ricky's surprise introduction to the Legends at Wembley before the big game.

A few words of wisdom are given by The Voice's most charming judge and then our Legends are off and away: we're fully immersed into their special day with Tareq's gently observational film giving us an exhilarating look at all the different amazing roles the Legends had at of football's biggest occasions - from flag barers to kit hangers, spot-kickers to journalists, all done in front of 90,000 fans.

The film demonstrates Tareq's now well-established documentary filming talent, always perfectly capturing "The Moment" in any environment. Seeing the London Youth Choir give us a stirring rendition of the national anthem is a highlight, with the joy written across the faces of all the Little Legends as they do their dream job particularly heart-warming. We're gently guided through the Little Legends' momentous day with a deft narrative touch that is a real pleasure to watch.

See more of Tareq's work over at the Nice Shirt website.

Tareq / Jaeger / Campaign

Tareq's rather brilliant and very stylish launch films for the British fashion label's Autumn/Winter collection featured heavily in the latest edition of Campaign magazine, going under review in the fearsome "Private View" regular feature - eek! We needn't have worried however as Tareq's films went down as a huge success - especially with head style honcho herself, Mary Portas.

Some fantastic reading, there. Thanks Mary!

The British fashion brand celebrates its 130th Anniversary by enlisting the help of three top models and their mothers in an elegant and poignant series of films that draws attention to the matters of style.

Jodie Kidd and mother Wendy, Jacquetta Wheeler with photographer mother Tessa Codrington and Jasmine Guinness alongside mother Liz Casey star in an interview/documentary film directed by Tareq that succeeds in capturing the spirit and style of the classic chic fashion house - that quintessential balance of taste and elegance we have come to expect from Tareq's extensive collection of fashion work.

The first video, entitled 'Character' features each mother and daughter musing over the characteristics they have acquired through the generations: “Her determination”, said Wheeler on mother Tessa Codrington, while Guinness expanded on her mother’s “bloody-mindedness” and Wendy Kidd modestly names the “sense of humour” she hopes to have imparted.

There are three further films accompanying the season's launch, each based around a topic of discussion - ranging from what constitutes British style exactly to what it means to be a modern woman.

Jacquetta Wheeler with photographer mother Tessa Codrington 

View the collection of films here.

You can view more of Tareq's work at the Nice Shirt website.

School of Swifty

International Man of Mystery™ Tareq certainly does get around - check out previous postings about his eventful FA Cup road trip he undertook for his Budweiser film and a selection of varied Instagrams from his jaunts around the world. 

There's no point trying to guess where he'll end up next. A random set of picture messages we received this week confirmed this fact. There were previous office murmurings that Tareq was stuck in the US, subject to the Polar Vortex goings-on. Some said he had made the trip over there specifically because of the extreme winter weather they were experiencing - Tareq being the man who counts going on Arctic expeditions as a holiday activity of choice. The truth, though, was more bizarre. 

He had found himself at the Taylor Swift Education Center. 

Why was he there? What even is it? An education centre center about Taylor or for Taylor? As in, are there classes about her? Why does it look as though it's situated in an airport?? The smile on his face in the picture above hides many truths we hope to learn when he returns, provided he hasn't signed up to a 4 year degree course on Taylor's smooth subtle pop/country music stylings and writing brutally honest yet catchy break-up songs. 

Coca-Cola"Reasons To Believe" by Tareq

Tareq's newest spot give us all a little faith & hope in the new year.

As 2014 begins, "Reasons To Believe" injects a little positivity into our new year proceedings. The film sees singers in the New London Children's Choir singing their version of Florence + The Machine's 'You Got The Love', interspersed with instances of good deed doings from around the world, all with the goal of giving us reasons to believe in a better world.

Tareq captures the kids belting out the song with such joyful gusto that one can't help feel a little bit more cheerful, in a film that can find its roots in the classic "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" spot from 1971. This film forms part of a wider "Reasons To Believe" campaign by Coca-Cola, asking for people to share their own acts of good deeds via the #reasonstobelieve hashtag.

You can see more of Tareq's work over on his reel at the Nice Shirt website 

Coral "Bumble" by Tareq

Just in time for another cracking Ashes summer comes Tareq's latest spot for betting website Coral. Eliciting the opinions of Sky's lead commentator David "Bumble" Lloyd, Tareq's viral campaign captures the great man pontificating in his unmistakeable manner on all things cricket, begonias and shortbread biscuits.

The films were shot on location at Bumble's home, greenhouse, local pub and golf club, as well as Old Trafford cricket ground. They fully demonstrate Tareq's adept handling of shooting in the 'documentary' style he has much experience in - capturing the subject's personality through questions (this time submitted by Bumble's many thousand followers on Twitter) and beautifully contextualising cutaways, with the hint of fun & mischievousness that runs through Tareq's work very much present in these clips. David Reviews called the films charming for the way they beautifully exploit Bumble's tendency to say whatever comes to mind.

It was a fantastic day spent with Bumble on the shoot - (well, any shoot that ends up in the pub is always a good one) as evidenced by this snap of Bumble and Tareq with the crack Nice Shirt production team of producer James on the left and exec producer Rich on the right.

Working hard, hardly working.

We're pretty sure Bumble's holding a full-sized pint glass in his hand here: the great man would never drink half pints! It's just that his hands are quite big, what with the cricket and everything.

The Bud Diaries

Presenting Tareq and producer James' production diary from the 2013 FA Cup Final/Budweiser "To The Dreamers" film

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Originally posted on Shots (where it was also made a Contender), we thought we'd also put it up here on our blog for all you non-subscribers to read, laugh over, maybe even cry over, but mainly enjoy.

When London ad agency Anomaly called Nice Shirt Films to enquire about a football-loving director who could work on a huge Budweiser spot, the multi-talented Tareq stepped up.

The two-minute film would run once during ITV’s coverage of the FA Cup Final and the idea was for football fans to submit their photos from the competition’s earlier rounds to tell the story, with the director shooting original footage to join the dots. tenthree’s Billy Mead (ex-Millwall defender, now an editor) had agreed to cut the film and it was up to Tareq to use a small unit to make sense of the task and pull everything together.

What follows is Tareq’s diary from the three-month shoot with his producer James Graley (who before this job had never watched a match). An odyssey into the heart of the world’s most famous club football competition, there was heartache, heroism, agony and victory in the face of outrageous odds… and that was just trying to get the release forms signed...

Mission:  To make a two-minute commercial for the Budweiser FA Cup - documenting the competition from the early rounds to the semi finals. This is about the fans and the clubs, not the professional footballers or the media circus. It’s about what it is to be a fan in the oldest football competition in the world; a journey from the smallest clubs to the premiership high flyers, the chance to witness giant killings, undying loyalty, highs, lows, passion, success and failure.


The guys at Anomaly had written a great script that needed visuals to match. We knew what we wanted but would the vagaries of fate give it to us? Would the score line play ball? Would the fans accept us? Would we make it past the Watford Gap? Would there be enough Ginsters pasties to keep us going? Do they do flat whites in Newcastle? All important questions that would be answered but in ways that were never expected.

A journey into the unknown hinterland of English grassroots football began; our journey started heading north, a journey that made us look at football and ourselves in new ways.


Day 1: Middlesborough vs Chelsea

An ex-player, Barney, made the visit to Frickley Athletic FC very hospitable.  

Further up north than we thought, not really in the middle, more like two thirds of the way up England; far enough for four Londoners.

Chips and gravy, as pre-match supper, on with the thermals and despite our misgivings about being in the heart of the Boro’ massive, they turned out to a very friendly bunch of mentalists.

Before the game we filmed the faithful arriving and the traditional greeting of the visiting team using the universal stroking of the cat’s tail gesture. Funnily enough, half the pissheads we met outside the ground we then met inside the ground wearing stewards’ jackets.

The Boro’ stewards were keen to introduce us to the hard core Ultras. We had been briefed not to film anyone with visible tattoos or under 25 years old. The Ultras seemed to be exclusively made up of 15 year olds with inked necks smoking Lambert and Butler so we smiled, pretended to film them and ran.

Alex Reid (DP) had to fight off an opportunist 60-year-old thief who tried to nick his camera; Alex Reid is tough and can actually employ a Vulcan death grip when threatened.

A boring match but great home fans, then time to bug out. Back to a hotel with mattresses wrapped in plastic and hourly rates.


Day 2: Man City vs Barnsley

Motto of the entire shoot.

Fucking freezing and pissing with rain. That’s Manchester.

Great build-up to the match and the Barnsley fans were well up for it, great fun and very happy to be filmed. There seems to be a pattern emerging: small club = happy, friendly fans and willing to help; big club = miserable fans and not willing to help.

We decided pre-match to get some atmosphere in the pubs with mixed results. Well, not really mixed, just bad. This was mainly due to the fact that of the three pubs we visited on recommendations from supporters’ clubs, they were overrun with 12 year olds totally off their faces on MDMA. We know it was MDMA because they tried to sell us some.


Day 3: Millwall vs Blackburn

Shooting sheep.

Down to South London and the infamous Den.

Pie and chips for breakfast and join the Lions for an important match, especially after all the recent negative press they’d received.

Met with general good vibes and there was a section of fans from Sweden and Norway who had made a special trip.

Once inside the ground the famous intensity of the Den was apparent, all the fans in unison let out a guttural monotone noise, unnerving to even the most seasoned visiting football fan.

With the words “don’t film the crowd”, our chaperone scarpered and left us to it.

An accommodating set of Blackburn fans behind us, who were up for being filmed, provided some great shots.


Day 4: Semi Final at Wembley. Wigan vs Millwall

DoP Alex Reid getting down to some One Man One Cup action. 

A day of contrasts.

Pre-match curry at the Moore Spice Memorial Curry House? Go figure.

We get to hold the Cup and experience the stadium empty and the pre-match build-up, which starkly contrasts with the pissing rain and the playful banter between the Millwall fans.

Escorted on to the turf of Wembley with the Cup by a lovely girl from the FA. We get to hold it and film it. James is left slightly unmoved by this but I, as a lifelong fan, have a strange feeling that maybe this will be as good as it gets. I surreptitiously kiss the cup and say a prayer for my long-time trophy-less team (Arsenal).


Day 5: Semi Final at Wembley. Man City vs Chelsea

A sunny day with a carnival atmosphere outside the ground. Well, the City fans are having fun anyway. I hesitate to make north/south divide generalisations but here goes: The northerners, or at least their football fans, seem to be a whole load more cheerful and helpful than their miserable, stand-offish, violent and smug southern counterparts.

We shoot outside and get to see the fans streaming up Wembley Way, a seemingly endless procession of two shades of blue.

A convincing victory for the Mancs and some wonderful celebrations by their fans who, on the whole, are a total laugh and up for us filming them; a few fake sheiks are in the stands dancing like nutters adding to the mayhem.

The rest of the crew; Alex Reid and Ben Chads (both DPs) and all our runners get off for a much-needed rest, but for James and I the journey has only just begun.

We head off to Boston, Lincolnshire. It’s dark as we set off and we have a strange foreboding feeling as we head towards the Fens, the flatlands of the UK. A land of strange and eerie quiet. Who knows what awaits? A banjo starts to play…

The tour:  So I don’t have to repeat myself – everyone we met were super friendly and helpful, the grounds men had all been at the job for 30-plus years and they all had the best pitch in the league. They all struggled financially and the only way they kept going was due to a massive amount of volunteer help. The few thousand they might win for progressing in the tournament made a huge difference to their financial year. Almost all gate receipts were down but they keep going because they love it. Tickets were max £9 for an adult and £3 for a kid and in some places we visited that was too much for some fans due to the economic climate. They all love their clubs with a passion and are fiercely proud of them. It’s a wonderful thing in the face of the mercenary and frankly money-obsessed Premier League where teams are status symbols and glory can be bought.


Day 6,7,8,9,10,11…

Director Tareq heading to the bench

At Boston FC we meet the chairman of the club and his kit man who open the doors and let us have total free reign. This is typical of everyone we meet at all the clubs at this level –passionate, proud, friendly and willing to help.

What follows is a whirl of small towns, cheese sandwiches and 100-seat stadiums. Great fun but so exhausting we start to lose our own identities and begin to communicate in feral whispers.

Grub on the road. 

From this point on it all starts to get a bit Heart Of Darkness, an odyssey that threatens our sanity and physical wellbeing.

“But his soul was mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself and, by heavens I tell you, it had gone mad.”

Tour Synopsis:

1798 Miles driven

11 different beds

One epic Chinese meal in Manchester

17 football clubs visited

Seven matches watched

95 cups of tea drunk

10 bags of mixed nuts eaten

No Ginsters

Seven wrong turns

Hail, thunder, rain, snow, 55mph winds, some sun and a stunning rainbow in Colwyn Bay.

A hugely enjoyable job with a great agency and crew; that’s what it’s all about.

At the end, The End (perhaps)

To The Dreamers:Budweiser FA Cup by Tareq

We're really excited to tell you about this one:

After a three month shoot across the breadth of the country, this year's showpiece of the football season, the FA Cup Final, saw the airing of one of Tareq's biggest projects and one of his more challenging films to date: To The Dreamers.

The two-minute film was specifically created for the 2013 Final and was broadcast once on television, in a Superbowl-like full slot over one ad break, just before kick-off. It also found an audience in the 90,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium when it was aired at half-time.  In conjunction with the best of the thousands of images submitted to Budweiser's #tothedream project, Tareq visited an amazing array of grounds, from Man City's Eastlands Stadium to Esh Winning FC's West Terrace ground, complimenting their images with his own footage and photography that is beautiful, poignant and at times hilarious... all the emotion and feelings that the 132 year-old competition encompasses.

Matched to Kenneth Cranham's poetic voiceover, the final result is a wonderfully stirring film that does justice to the old adage about "the magic of the FA Cup", fully showcasing Tareq's obvious talent of finding beautiful compelling imagery.

Shots have named the film as a Contender and have also published Tareq and producer James' production diary, featuring pies, MDMA and tattooed 15 year-olds - a definite must-read. 

Lonely Directors On Set*: Vol 3

"Tareq"

Suffering for their art, one shoot at a time. 

(* not on set. In a field. Filming sheep. For a football ad.) 

Pepe Jeans "Where's Pepe?"by Tareq

Tareq shoots model of the moment Cara Delevingne for Pepe Jeans, in a jaunt across swinging Londontown in search of Pepe. (Don't worry! They find him in the end.) The spot is the launch of Pepe Jean's 2013 spring/summer collection and is Cara and Tareq's first film for Pepe, following up on his fine fashion work for Barbour & Jaegar. 

Cara & Tareq's shoulder? Maybe??

Tareq gets the mood just right for the film, creating a fun "Hard Day's Night" frenzy whilst subtly staying the right side 60s cool. 

Nice Shot: Cap'n Birdseye

Found on an abandoned pirate ship sometime in 1930s, this rare "Piece of Art" was the last remaining artefact from the vessel. No one knows where the ship was from or where it was going, making this rare "Piece of Art" more special. 

Ettinger x Saira by Tareq

Following on from Tareq's last look at close-up leather handiwork, comes another film again featuring the talents of tattooist Saira Hunjan. Her intricate designs (inspired by "death, beauty and goddesses") now finds its way onto Ettinger's range of luxury leather wares. Tareq's delicately self-shot film looks at the precise work that goes into making their pieces. How great must it be to work in a leather factory?? The smell must be amazing. 

carréducker by Tareq Kubaisi

On Tareq's reel now is this short film he directed for bespoke shoemaker carréducker. As if watching a a pair of fine leather bespoke boots being crafted wasn't fascinating enough, Tareq's film looks at the collaboration between the shoemaker and tattooist Saira Hunjan. 

Saira is known as the girl with the golden needle, tattooing for ten years with a two year waiting list to go under her needle (if that's what you call it?) Her work with carréducker sees her tattoo directly onto the leather, creating intricate designs influenced by her main inspirations: "death, beauty and goddesses". The range is exclusively by commission. If you want to ask the price, etc etc etc. 

10 Grams: Tareq

International Man of Mystery (and Directing) Tareq is a busy man. Luckily we managed to collar him for a quick few moments to get him to share some Instagrams detailing what he's been up to lately. Peep them here: