Oren Kaplan is a comedy commercial director and VFX artist known for combining grounded character comedy with ambitious visual storytelling.
He grew up in the Middle East and now lives with his wife and 2 kids in Los Angeles, California.
Oren explains to a bystander why she needs to stop messing with the production’s expensive camera equipment.
Oren has helmed commercial campaigns for so many brands you’ve heard of including Pinterest, PayPal, Pringles, Purina, Pepsi, Pluto TV, Popeyes, Paramount and even some non-P-companies, like Quiznos, where he also served as a creative director. His Quiznos campaign videos have won Telly Awards, an IAC award, and thrice landed on Ad Week’s Top 10 Spots list. He spent 4 years on staff at Disney directing a bunch of episodic shows about high school shenanigans, vampires, and inter-galactic beauty pageants.
Oren’s debut feature film, THE HAMMER, premiered at the AFI Film Festival, winning the Breakthrough Film Award. The movie is based on the life of UFC Fighter Matt Hamill and features a cast of primarily Deaf actors. It won seven consecutive audience awards before its theatrical run and release on Netflix. He followed it up with the pulpy action thriller, A MOTHER’S RAGE starring everyone’s favorite aunt and college admissions advisor Lori Loughlin.
Oren developed and co-wrote the Audible Original Series, “Girl with Wings,” which was developed in partnership with Temple Hill Entertainment and is currently being adapted into a novel with Randomhouse/Delacorte Press.
Oren is also an experienced VFX artist, giving him an unusual ability to design comedic visual effects from the director's perspective. His film VFX credits include Nomadland, C'mon C'mon and 20th Century Women.
His favorite procrastination activity is commiserating with other directors, which is why he has hosted over 500 episodes of "Just Shoot It", a podcast about the craft and business of being a filmmaker.
To see what he’s up to this week with his two crazy kids & super talented wife or to learn his favorite Trader Joe’s snacks, follow him on Instagram.
Oren is repped commercially by artclass - You can email him directly - oren (at) orenfilm.com
Oren Kaplan has worked with many celebrities, athletes, influencers, and pets. Some of those include Rebel Wilson, Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy O. Yang, Stan Lee, the cast of Disney’s Descendants and Zombies, Lori Loughlin, Tim Meadows, Brian Baumgartner, Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford, Sarah Jeffery, Cedric the Entertainer, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jalen Hurts, Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Heidi Gardner, Angela Kinsey, Gary Sinise, Fran Drescher, and Bullseye, the Target Dog.