Victor Milt, DGA

Biography

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
                                                                               Carl Sandburg

General information | Home | Photography | Portraits | Commercials | Industrial | Videos | Store | Books | Art | Bio | Awards | Press | Music video | Contact Us

One step at a time, people, one step at a time.

Victor Milt Biography

Victor Milt grew up in a small Long Island suburb called the “Five Towns” His passion for photography began at the age of 10 after he received a darkroom kit as a birthday gift.  By the time he was 15, he was covering stories for  the local newspapers. On graduation, Milt attended the University of Michigan, transferring after one year to Cooper Union, NY, one of the top art and architectural schools in the country.

His rise in fashion photography was rapid, and in the 1960’s he was shooting regular features for Glamour, Ingénue, McCall’s and Vogue, as well as industrial work for Levittown, Grand Union and others. His fashion ad work also appeared regularly in the NY Times Magazine.
In 1969 Milt, abandoned his successful business, dropped out, moved to England, where he bought a 32-foot sloop. He spent the next two years sailing the Mediterranean, traveling throughout Europe and North Africa.
Upon his return to the US in 1971, he produced his first film, a 45-minute art film.  Utilizing that as a sample, he commenced his new career as a director/cameraman for TV commercials.

Milt can truly be called a child of the Madison Avenue Farm Team system. Over the next 30 years he honed his advertising skills in the halls of the greatest ad agencies in the world, producing still and television advertising for the Fortune 500. His agency clientele lists Doyle/ Dane, Ogilvy, J. Walter Thompson, Wm Esty, Wunderman, Young & Rubicam, Wells/Rich and Greene among many others. His corporate accounts include AT&T, US Air Force, Colgate, Reader’s Digest, TV Guide, Cadbury, Schweppes, McDonalds, Burger King, Black Flag and dozens of others.
Who can forget the squeaky-clean, whistling couple skipping across the screen and then slicing up a bar of Irish Spring deodorant soap? 
Milt’s rendering of Juan Valdez leading his saddle-bagged donkey through the Columbian coffee fields is a national icon. 
Aim High - Air Force; Bugs Check In but they Don't Check Out; Schweppervescence; the Double Deodorant Soap; these are but a few of the words that Milt has implanted in the national subconscious.
Along the way, Milt has won numerous awards, including a Clio, Cindy’s, Telly's, Cine Golden Eagles and dozens of national and international film festival awards. He was featured in an eight-page article in AV Video Magazine, appearing on that month's cover. (see press).

 
He has created over 500 commercials and sales films, many of which are classics in the industry. His work for Time Magazine includes “Kennedy”, the most successful direct response spot in the history of Time Warner. His “Led Zeppelin” commercial grossed over $70 million dollars, making it one of the most successful music commercials ever.
He writes, he produces, he shoots, he edits, but most of all, he listens. He listens to his clients, his crew, his staff and his acting talent. Mainly, though, he listens to the pulse of the American public. When Victor speaks, people laugh, people cry, people talk, and best of all.... people spend.

For a number of years, Milt also authored the popular column “Director’s Notebook” for Backstage Magazine. These columns were later compiled into a successful book, which is currently in revision for a Fall 2009 national release.
His Milt Video Library of Radio Controlled hobby construction and flight courses remains a constant in the RC field, with over 100,000 sold to date.
His latest book "Quit Whining" is a popular self-help examination of the national epidemic of complaint. Humorous and filled with good advice, it is available at Amazon.com.
In 2005, Victor created "Light It Right";  a "how-to" for professionals. It covers basic and advanced lighting techniques and targets industrial cinematograppers. It was the single best selling DVD at both the 2005 and 2006 NAB stores. Light It Right  has inspired hundreds of professional cinematographers around the world. It is available at www.Vasst.com, as well as on Amazon and at B&H Photo .
In Arpil 2007 Milt created and premiered a "sister" film to Light It Right. Entitled "Director/Cameraman" it is nearly two hours of lessons in shooting and directing award winning video. Targeted to professionals and advanced college film students, the video beat Light It Right in NAB sales, rising to the "Best selling DVD of 2007" at the 2007 NAB store.
His recent film, "Cowboys of Florida" won three national awards.. Premiering at the Palm Beach International Film Festival in April 2006, it was selected as a finalist in competition over 350 other documentaries.

Cowboys of Florida was expanded in 2007 to a feature length documentary, "Cracker - the last cowboys of Florida". Premiering at the Palm Beach International Film festival, it has been a finalist in the documentary category in three national festivals. It opened the Jacksonville International Film festival to rave reviews and is playing in private venues around the country. Recently it won "Best Film" at the Central Florida Film festival in Orlando.
This original award-winner is for sale at the store on this site or at www.CrackerCowboys.com

picturegallery148788.tmp/headshotsVICTOR_MG_1532PRINT-web.jpg

Photo by C.O. Slavens