Too Short For Modeling: Not Your Typical Directors Duo

Too Short For Modeling crashed the party uninvited and stole the punchline. Noam Sharon and Tal Rosenthal shocked the ad world with a DIY viral spec ad for Liquid Death that looked like a polished, big-money spot, but was made using AI, late-night energy, and pure chaos.

Too Short For Modeling are lifelong comedy writers turned live-action directors who accidentally set the internet on fire. Noam and Tal have been writing and directing comedy for the past 16 years, juggling TV work, ads, and music videos, acting as a one-man-show duo: doing everything from writing and editing to VFX. But their real foot in the door came with the arrival of AI, finally allowing them to direct whatever they want without budget restraints.

The result? Somewhere between absurdist comedy, cinematic live action, and unresolved mommy issues that keep driving their comedy forward. Too Short For Modeling are visual, funny, and slightly unhinged in the best possible way.

The duo sat down with LBB to discuss their upcoming projects, the major shifts happening within the advertising industry, as well as the merits of paying it forward through mentoring.

LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about?

Noam> We've got a few fun projects coming up: a Dollar Shave Club ad that's about to drop, a spot for an Australian condom brand, and a short AI-animated pilot. The best part is that we got to write and direct all of them, which basically gave us the freedom to be as stupid as we want. And we definitely took advantage of that!

LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director?

Tal> The advertising industry feels like it’s in the middle of a big shift right now. We’re not sure if it’s only because of AI, but AI is definitely a huge part of it. A lot of things are going to change, not necessarily all for the better.

But for us, AI actually opened a massive door when our Liquid Death spot went viral. I honestly don’t think we would’ve gotten the exposure we did without it. So, our hope is that this technology doesn’t replace everyone in the industry, but instead creates more opportunities like the one we had. And for that, we’re genuinely grateful and excited.

LBB> What elements of a script set one apart from another, and what kind of scripts get you excited to shoot?

Noam> We’re getting a lot of scripts lately that feel like straight up AI slop. You know, everything has to take place in ancient Rome, outer space, or the Wild West for no real reason. We try to differentiate our work by finding the naturalism in it. We don’t want to make something ‘big’ just because we can. We want things that are funny, surprising, and enjoyable to watch. But even if they send us a terrible script, we can always rewrite it and turn it into something better.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Tal> A big part of what we do is writing, as that’s our background. Whenever we start a treatment, it basically always begins with a rewrite to fine tune the scripts to hit all their comedic beats perfectly. We also like to test a lot: generate footage, build animatics or little pre-vis clips. Whatever helps clarify the idea. When we present our intentions to the client, it’s usually backed up with images or a video that make the concept crystal clear.

And of course, we always end the treatment with stupid GIFs of us dancing in a boy band, which is not AI-generated. We actually do have a boy band in real life.

LBB> How important is research when working with a brand or market you're unfamiliar with?

Noam> We’ve been working directly with brands for a long time, so we’re used to getting briefs that give us everything we need before writing. And even if we just get a script, we can usually read between the lines and understand where the client is coming from.

If something isn’t clear, we go straight to the client. We ask a lot of questions, because we can’t make a good spot if we don’t fully understand the intention behind it. Clarity is super important for us.

LBB> What's the most important working relationship for a director when making an ad?

Tal> Honestly, the relationship with the client. When communication is direct and not filtered through a million middlemen, everything moves faster and smoother. Having that open line with the client has been incredibly helpful for us, and we’ve been working this way for at least a decade.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about?

Noam> We’re comedy people; it’s our genre and what we naturally gravitate towards. We like keeping things grounded in reality, because once something becomes too heavy on VFX or massive cinematic moves, it usually kills the comedy. Sometimes the funniest thing in the world is just a locked-off camera and a great actor. Within comedy, we’d happily do a zombie film or a tiny naturalistic small-town story. We don’t care about the setting as long as it’s funny.

LBB> What misconception about your work do you encounter most often?

Tal> There’s a big misconception around AI work. A lot of people think that if a video is AI-generated, it should cost $5,000 and basically edit itself. That’s not how it works. You still need the human element: the skill, the time, the thought, the experience. The AI cost might be tiny, but the directing, crafting, and shaping still take real work and should be valued.

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across during a production – and how did you solve it?

Noam> Most problems get solved simply because there are two of us. If we suddenly need more B-roll or an actor melts down and needs a pep talk, one of us can handle it while the other keeps rolling.

But we did have a shoot with a very famous Hollywood actress who was… let’s just say completely unhinged. It was so stressful we had to tap in and out, taking turns giving each other little breaks just to breathe. Having two directors basically saved the day. It got so stressful that before every setup, we’d basically run a quick internal check to see which one of us had the lower anxiety level at that exact moment, and whoever was slightly less panicked had to go deal with her.

LBB> How do you balance collaboration with protecting the idea?

Tal> We’re not the stereotypical ‘artist’ directors who get offended if someone wants to change something. Since we’re writers too, we can usually work around a request and find a way to incorporate it without ruining the script. It’s very rare that we can’t find common ground. Most of the time we can accommodate everyone’s needs without compromising the comedy, the story, or the quality.

LBB> Thoughts on opening the industry to more diverse talent?

Noam> Why, are you asking for a friend? But seriously, we always like meeting new people, especially talented folks who want to learn. We’re totally open to mentoring and having someone shadow us. If we can help someone get a foot in the door, we’re happy to pay it forward.

LBB> How much do you think about different formats while working?

Tal> We try not to think about these things too much. It’s not possible – or useful – to think about every format at once. We focus on the main platform the ad is going to live on, and shoot for that first. Everything else can be adapted later. The priority is always making the creative work in the strongest possible way for the primary format.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology?

Noam> We’ve always been open to experimenting with new tools, but never in a forced or gimmicky way. After years of live-action shoots, we drifted into AI naturally, not because it was a plan or our ‘thing’, it just kind of happened. We’re not obsessed with AI, VR, AR, or buzzwords. But, if a new tool helps us tell the story better or get a stronger final result, we’re happy to adopt it.

LBB> Which pieces of your work best represent what you do?

Tal> In live action, we’re really proud of our spots for Waze and Redefine Meat. They’re cinematic, visual, and exactly the kind of ads we’d want to watch ourselves.

For AI work, our favourites are the pieces we made for Liquid Death and Honey. With no client, we could be completely ourselves and create something we truly love. They also showed us how limitless AI production can be; making something that looks like a million-dollar spot right from home was incredible.