Dani Hynes: New Egg in the nest

Four years ago Dani decided to leave behind her glamorous ad agency days and turn her attention to using a camera rather than a pen to get the message across. A decision she has never regretted - not even when the bottled water ran out during an Olympic-length, eight-hour pre-prod involving cheese and ways to grate it.

Since she first tentatively whispered "action" on set, Dani has worked on brands like Nando's, Geely, Nokia, Yellow Pages, Revlon, Game and Vodacom, establishing a versatile reel showcasing an obsessive eye for detail.

Dani doesn't believe in being pigeonholed into either the look or performance category. "Why should we choose one or the other? If the world can come up with vertical gardens to re-energise urban landscapes, I think we can all safely say we are ready to adapt to commercials that manage to deliver on both counts. I mean if you're OK with growing beetroot out the wall, how crazy can believable, beautiful pictures be?"

So it's not really surprising that Dani's focus is generally on authenticity and visual impact. As a woman she thinks that multi-tasking is just an evolutionary advantage that can be put to good use.

"The Egg brand is synonymous with all that is exciting and intriguing about commercial filmmaking in South Africa right now," says Dani. "It's incredible that I get to be part of that. Even more incredible is that they still said yes to me coming on board after they heard a high-pitched, dolphin-type giggle noise coming from my face when asked if I was excited. It's uncharacteristic but there's no denying it happened."

So it's safe to say Dani is excited to join the team at Egg Films and continue on her merry way, telling stories through film to anyone who will listen. This includes her family, the youngest of whom proudly tells people his mom "likes shooting things."

To watch her reel, visit www.eggfilms.tv/directors/dani-hynes.