Bob Fisher, BA '73

Commercial connoisseur 

By his own estimate, Bob Fisher, B.A. ’73, has produced some 10,000 television commercials. Not 100. Not 1,000. More than 10,000, running the gamut of high-production value, brand-name advertising.

The “college” experience

At first glance, his career seems a long way from his days as a “townie” in UB’s Political Studies Department. During his freshman year, Fisher recalls, the college was on strike: “The late ’60s – early ’70s was the best time ever to go to college – it was so politically charged. UB was a hotbed of political activity, and it made me a lifelong liberal.”

Part of that notable time at UB was the school’s “colleges”: free-form classes taught by anyone who had a concept and who could get a class together, including students themselves. Fisher got involved in the “colleges” because he wanted to take alternative subjects in addition to the courses required by his major; and that’s how he got interested in filmmaking.

“Some of the English professors would bring in filmmakers and videographers to speak to classes,” says Fisher. After seeing the now-legendary documentary Salesman by Albert and David Maysles, and after hearing Albert speak, Fisher decided making documentaries was his goal. “Lots of people that graduated from UB at that time became involved in film, the arts, television,” Fisher adds, “even though there was no program in film at the time. And lots of them became extremely successful. I think it had to do with the fact that UB offered such a diverse education, so people came out of there with their minds filled with different ideas.”

The road to 10,000

After graduation, Fisher moved to New York City to make documentaries, but, like many aspiring filmmakers, found that many of his cohorts were making television commercials to survive: “Even today, Academy Award-winner Errol Morris, who won an Academy Award for The Fog of War, is a successful commercial director. And since I have a short attention span, 30 seconds was perfect for me,” he says, laughing. Fisher started as an assistant at a production company, but began running a shop within three years. “It was a very young industry that was growing very fast and looking for dedicated, creative people,” he says.

He moved on to other production companies, producing spots for Miller Lite beer, Dr. Pepper and numerous other national and international brands. Fisher started his own shop, Celsius Films, in 1996. “I always wanted to own a company,” he says. “I like the challenge, the control, and we’ve been very successful.” He arrived at his estimate of 10,000 commercials by figuring out how many days of shooting he had under his belt, multiplied by an average of one to two commercials shot each day.

Bicoastal

With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Fisher represents seven directors who create TV commercials. Though the basics are the same – dealing with clients, ad agencies and directors, as well as supervising the production – each job is slightly different. This year, Celsius Films produced a commercial for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s yellow bands. “I’m an avid cyclist, so I really liked doing that,” Fisher says. He’s most pleased of his work on a film recently created to help bring the Olympics to New York in 2012. His most difficult job to date was a complicated commercial for AT&T that involved shooting on various locations around the country and doing special effects.

Giving Back

Fisher says his most satisfying achievement came at Christmastime last year. “In the past, I had always given Christmas presents to clients,” he says. However, “this year I decided to give to those in need. I found a charity called Donors Choose. Teachers in inner-city schools talk about their classes on a Web site and list what they need.” Celsius Films bought a science library for a middle school in the Bronx and four microscopes and projectors for another school. “I got 30 notes from the class,” Fisher says. “It’s my proudest accomplishment – to give back to kids.”

In addition, Fisher helps young filmmakers achieve their goals, often donating production support, cameras and facilities to help directors make short films or documentaries.

Written by Grace Lazzara
April 2005

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