Best Futurama Director

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Partner thread with "Best Writer," directors are a great influence on the show too. Again, look on an episode guide on any Futurama website to see what episodes directors have directed. Choose now! I just have to say, go, Peter Avanzio! He wrote great eps like "Parasites Lost," "A Flight to Remember," "Insane in the Mainframe" and "Xmas Story." Pure genius.

[Reply #1 on:]

Im not surfing for that, summerize them all in one post. 

[Reply #2 on:]

Originally posted by static:
Im not surfing for that, summerize them all in one post.   [
You're so lazy but I can blame you because I am too.

[Reply #3 on:]

What do a look like, a guy who's not lazy?

[Reply #4 on:]

Jeez, you guys are a lazy bunch. Lucky for you I'm such a helpful fellow. 

Episodes sorted by director (thank you FrCr)

I have to say Peter Avanzino in a heartbeat. The guy made "Xmas Story", "The Series has Landed", "A Flight To Remember" and "Parasites Lost". They don't come any finer than that. Funny, emotional and consistent.

[Reply #5 on:]

Also, for you who are too lazy to click a link.
Susie Dietter: “A Big Piece of Garbage,” “A Bicyclops Built for Two,” “The Honking,” “The Cyber House Rules,” “Where the Buggalo Roam,” “Godfellas”

Ron Hughart: “A Fishful of Dollars,” “Fry & the Slurm Factory,” “Raging Bender,” “War is the H-Word,” “Bendin’ in the Wind,” “A Tale of Two Santas,” “The 30% Iron Chef”

Peter Avanzino: “The Series Has Landed,” “Fear of a Bot Planet,” “A Flight to Remember,” “Xmas Story,” “Bender Gets Made,” “Parasites Lost,” “Insane in the Mainframe” 

Brian Sheesley: “Love’s Labors Lost in Space,” “When Aliens Attack,” “WMIBACIL?,” “Mother’s Day,” “Amazon Women in the Mood,” “Love & Rocket,” “Future Stock”

Mark Ervin: “I Second that Emotion,” “How Hermes…,” “The Cryonic Woman,” “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid,” “Leela’s Homeworld,” “A Pharaoh to Remember”

Breat Haaland: “I, Roommate,” “Mars University,” “A Head in the Polls,” “The Deep South,” “That’s Lobstertainment,” “AOI II”

Chris Loudon: “PYHOMS,” “AOI I,” “Luck of the Fryrish,” “Time Keeps On Slipping”

James Purdam: “The Bird-Bot of Ice-catraz,” “I Dated a Robot”

[Reply #6 on:]

It's got to be Peter Avanzino, not only has he directed a whole bunch of great episodes, a lot of the scenes and camera angles are really cool. For example the Titanic getting sucked into the black hole, Robot Santa in NNY, and Roberto jumping out of the window.

[Reply #7 on:]

it appears i must agree with the mob. Peter Avanzino it is.

[Reply #8 on:]

Chris Loudon: “PYHOMS,” “AOI I,” “Luck of the Fryrish,” “Time Keeps On Slipping”

[Reply #9 on:]

I voted Bret Haaland, but taking a glance at Shadowstar's list, I should have voted for Ron Hughart.

[Reply #10 on:]

Gotta go with Chris Loudon for best director, though it's a very tough call. Unlike the "writers" thread, I have a "worst" selection among directors, but I think I'll keep it to myself...

[Reply #11 on:]

Mark Ervin, I always liked a lot of his directorial touches in earth stood stupid and Leela's homeworld.

[Reply #12 on:]

if pete directed insane in the mainframe then ill vote for him

[Reply #13 on:]

 

Originally posted by Shadowstar:
Peter Avanzio! He wrote great eps like

Directors don't write the episodes. 

It's kind of funky seeing my friends' names up on the board. I guess Wes Archer was only there for season 4 (5) like I was. Chris Louden & James Purdam are back on the Simpsons. Mark Ervin is back in Nebraska working on the Simpsons via fax & FedEx. Susie's working on commercials right now. Brian Sheesley is a barker at a carnival freak show.  j/k! Pete Avazino IS Zapp Brannigan. I have the disturbing photo that proves it. (But no way am I putting that thing on the net.)

My favorite director is Susie. Her shows are painstakingly beautiful. (Emphasis on 'pain'.) And she looks a lot sexier than Pete. 

[Reply #14 on:]

direct a cartoon show must be very different from directing a live movie.. i guess that`s the reason why they created animatics isn`t?

[Reply #15 on:]

Sort of.

[Reply #16 on:]

I thought a director of a movie picked camera angles, lighting, background, and decided if lines were good enough or not (among other things).

So, the real question is, do the Simpsons/Futurama directors do the same things as movie directors?

[Reply #17 on:]

Storyboard artists start the initial camera shots, but like every other process of the show, it all gets back to the producers/writers who call the approvals, retakes, & creatives. The directors will have some input to those decisions, but not the bulk of them. They're more focused on getting the layouts & timing done within schedule.

Do they do the same thing as movie directors? Yeah, animation movie directors pretty much have the same responsibilities as TV animation directors. Live-action directors have to deal more with the actors & actresses. That's a whole different ballgame.
Look, if the director is also producing & wrote the product, he/she's gonna have a lot more creative control over the whole thing. Same with live-action.

[Reply #18 on:]

I voted for Chris but surely the quality of the direction also heavily depends on the material they have to work with. If some guy writes a lousy ep ('Thats Lobstertainment') then what chance has the director got?

Prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong.

[Reply #19 on:]

Who's behind Space Pilot 3000?

[Reply #20 on:]

Matt & David??

[Reply #21 on:]

 

Originally posted by Ricky:
Who's behind Space Pilot 3000?

Rich Moore and Gregg Vanzo directed it.

Written by Matt Groening and David X Cohen.


clickity the linky in post #5 to see all directors of episodes until 3ACV10, or listen to your DVD audio commentaries 


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Well, you obviously won’t listen to reason, so I guess I’ll listen to idioticness.

[Reply #22 on:]

And this VOTE goes to: Peter Avanzino for "Xmas Story" *cheers* 

[Reply #23 on:]

- bump -

As Shadowstar mentioned, a nice companion to the "favorite writer" threads. Directors have a large influence on the look and feel of the show.

Aside for the entires, don't forget to consider: Rich Moore (supervising director of the series) and Scott Vanzo (director of computer graphics)

Also Rich Moore directed Roswell That Ends Well.

[Reply #24 on:]

Brian Sheesley.  But I'm not going to tell you why.  Heh heh heh.

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*bump* Here's a more comprehensive list of all the directors, since that previous one only went up three McSeasons and got some of the episodes wrong.

Wes Archer
[4ACV01] Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch
[4ACV10] The Why Of Fry

Peter Avanzino
[1ACV02] The Series Has Landed
[1ACV05] Fear of a Bot Planet (with Carlos Baeze and co-directors Ashley Lenz & Chris Suave)
[1ACV10] A Flight to Remember
[2ACV04] Xmas Story
[2ACV13] Bender Gets Made
[3ACV02] Parasites Lost
[3ACV10] Insane in the Mainframe
[4ACV08] Crimes Of The Hot
[4ACV17] Spanish Fry

Carlos Baeze
[1ACV05] Fear of a Bot Planet (with Peter Avanzino and co-directors Ashley Lenz & Chris Suave)

Dwayne Carey-Hill
[4ACV14] Obsoletely Fabulous

Susan Dietter
[1ACV08] A Big Piece of Garbage
[2ACV09] A Bicyclops Built for Two
[2ACV18] The Honking
[3ACV09] The Cyber House Rules
[3ACV20] Godfellas
[4ACV04] Less Than Hero

Mark Ervin
[2ACV01] I Second That Emotion
[2ACV11] How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
[2ACV19] The Cryonic Woman
[3ACV07] The Day The Earth Stood Stupid
[3ACV17] A Pharoah To Remember
[4ACV02] Leela's Homeworld

Bret Haaland
[1ACV03] I, Roommate
[1ACV11] Mars University
[2ACV03] A Head In The Polls
[2ACV12] The Deep South
[3ACV08] That's Lobstertainment
[3ACV18] Anthology Of Interest II
[4ACV09] Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
[4ACV18] The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings

Ron Hughart
[1ACV06] A Fishful of Dollars (with Gregg Vanzo)
[1ACV13] Fry and the Slurm Factory
[2ACV08] Raging Bender
[2ACV17] War is the H-Word
[3ACV03] A Tale of Two Santas
[3ACV13] Bendin' In The Wind
[3ACV22] The 30% Iron Chef
[4ACV06] Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV
[4ACV15] The Farnsworth Parabox

Ashley Lenz
[1ACV05] Fear of a Bot Planet (co-directed with Chris Suave and with directors Peter Avanzino and Carlos Baeze)

Chris Louden
[2ACV07] Put Your Head on My Shoulder
[2ACV16] Anthology of Interest I (with Rich Moore)
[3ACV04] The Luck of the Fryrish
[3ACV14] Time Keeps On Slipping

Jeffrey Lynch
[1ACV07] My Three Suns (with Kevin O'Brien)
[2ACV02] Brannigan Begin Again

Rich Moore
[1ACV01] Space Pilot 3000 (with Gregg Vanzo)
[1ACV09] Hell is Other Robots
[2ACV10] A Clone of My Own
[2ACV16] Anthology of Interest I (with Chris Louden)
[3ACV19] Roswell That Ends Well

Kevin O'Brien
[1ACV07] My Three Suns (with Jeffrey Lynch)

James Purdum
[3ACV05] The Birdbot of Ice-catraz
[3ACV15] I Dated A Robot
[4ACV05] A Taste Of Freedom
[4ACV13] Bend Her

Swinton O. Scott III
[3ACV06] Bendless Love
[3ACV16] A Leela Of Her Own
[4ACV07] Jurrasic Bark
[4ACV16] Three Hundred Big Boys

Brian Sheesley
[1ACV04] Love's Labors Lost in Space
[1ACV12] When Aliens Attack
[2ACV05] Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love
[2ACV14] Mother's Day
[3ACV01] Amazon Women in the Mood
[3ACV12] The Route Of All Evil
[3ACV21] Futurestock
[4ACV03] Love And Rocket
[4ACV12] The Sting

Pat Shinagawa
[3ACV10] Where The Buggalo Roam
[4ACV11] Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Chris Suave
[1ACV05] Fear of a Bot Planet (co-directed with Ashley Lenza and with directors Peter Avanzino and Carlso Baeze)
[2ACV06] Lesser of Two Evils
[2ACV15] The Problem With Popplers (with Gregg Vanzo)

Gregg Vanzo
[1ACV01] Space Pilot 3000 (with Rich Moore)
[1ACV06] A Fishful of Dollars (with Ron Hughart)
[2ACV15] The Problem With Popplers (with Chris Suave)


And my personal pick for favourite would have to be Brian Sheesley. A close second would be Susie Dietter and Peter Avanzino, but Sheesley's work is the bees knees on WMIBACIL, AWITM, The Route Of All Evil, Love And Rocket and (in a literal sense as well    ) The Sting. An honourary mention must go the Dwayne Carey-Hill as well: he only did Obsoletely Fabulous but it was a doozy.

[Reply #26 on:]

Brian Sheesley looks more and more compelling as Best Director. "Love And Rocket" and "The Sting" were superb episodes, even "The Route Of All Evil" showed his solid work as director (never mind the story was so-so).

Still, I think Peter Avanzino just about edges ahead.

Also I feel the need to mention Pat Shinagawa (and not just because I think she got the coolest lastname ever), Buggalo and WNFHGB show her great work.

[Reply #27 on:]

 

Originally posted by wiggles:
I voted for Chris but surely the quality of the direction also heavily depends on the material they have to work with. If some guy writes a lousy ep ('Thats Lobstertainment') then what chance has the director got?

Prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong.

I would say that Spanish Fry was a poorly written episode, but thanks to Peter Avanzino's directing it was at least visually a great ep. Especially with the galactic bazaar. 

 At the same time, I think also that poor directing can bring down a good episode. Case in point: The Birdbot Of Ice-Catraz. I felt that there were a lot of poor camera angles in this episode, especially in the space shots. In the bonus commentary for "Roswell That Ends Well", Rich Moore explained how he staged scenes of progress and scenes of problems to play in certain directions, and many other episodes follow this kind of logic. "Birdbot", however, doesn't and feels clumsy as a result. 

[Reply #28 on:]

Chris Louden. He directed "Time Keeps On Slippin'", a personal favorite of mine.

[Reply #29 on:]

Peter Avanzino.  He did "Parasites Lost", a personal favorite.

[Reply #30 on:]

Wow, there's some great directors in here to consider.  I'm not really sure who to pick.

Rich Moore certainly has to be a consideration.  All his shows look absolutely fantastic and dynamic, especcially Roswell That Ends Well.  Plus, consider his awesome work on The Simpsons as well ("Cape Feare" says it all).

Susie Dieter is incredibly underrated.  Her stuff always looked at least very good, but you absolutley HAVE to give someone major credit for being able to pull off "Godfellas".  Dieter absolutely sold that one.

And then there's Mark Ervin, who similarly always had very dynamic and excitingly directed shots.  I would point to "Leela's Homeworld" as his biggest accomplishment but there's other director triumphs in there as well.

I might have to get back on this one.  I haven't even listed all of the most worthy contenders.

[Reply #31 on:]

Bret Haaland has done some of my favorite episodes:

The Deep South
I, Roommate
Mars University
A Head in the Polls

Woo.

[Reply #32 on:]

Brian Sheesley for amazon woman and love's labours, both damn good eps.

[Reply #33 on:]

Peter Avanzino, all of his are on my top 10 list basically, how could i not vote for him.

[Reply #34 on:]

Peter Avanzino. I love Insane in the Mainframe.

[Reply #35 on:]

Chris Louden for me, you can't go far wrong with LotF, TKOS, AOI1 and PYHOMS.

[Reply #36 on:]

Either Susie Dietter or Rich Moore.
Although I Would have liked to have seen more by Dwayne Carey-Hill.

[Reply #37 on:]

 

Originally posted by User_names_suck:
Although I Would have liked to have seen more by Dwayne Carey-Hill.

Me too. The attention to detail in Obsoletely Fabulous was awesome, second to none.