About

Josh Thacker is a filmmaker/art director who leads his projects with style, empathy, and warmth. He has spent the last 19 years making commercials and short films for well known brands like Target, Best Buy, Activision and LifeTime Fitness. He’s a cross-pollinated creative whose experience goes beyond a single title. He straddles the roles of art director, director, editor, and music supervisor, all in support of telling the best story possible. If creativity were a switchboard, Josh’s inputs would be vast and multifaceted.

He came up through post-production as a creative offline editor at Fischer Edit in Minneapolis, cutting spots for agencies like Peterson Milla Hooks, Periscope, Olson and Carmichael Lynch. He started directing short films and music videos in 2005, and was propelled into the spotlight with his masterful approach to Motion City Soundtrack’s breakout track, “Let’s Get F*cked Up and Die.” Josh’s unique storytelling approach, as well as his deep knowledge of visual effects, has led him to win a handful of filmmaking contests, namely the Canon “Story Beyond the Still” series, which won Bronze, Silver, and Gold at Cannes 2010 in the Titanium/Integrated category and was also screened at Sundance Film Festival in 2011.

Josh crossed over into long form storytelling in 2012, working as a director/editor on the hit TV show “America Unearthed” on the History Channel before being lured to Target in 2014. Since then, he has been on staff with Target’s internal advertising agency, Target Creative, in Minneapolis. As a Senior Motion Art Director (or Motion AD for short), his role is best defined as a 50/50 split of film director/art director for video content. Working as a creative inside of a giant retail company has rounded out his business acumen, making him even more valuable to all styles of creative assignments. He is known to drive every project from inception to completion, often tackling briefs that are complex and full of ambiguity. His Target project highlights include spots for Hearth & Hand with Magnolia (Joanna Gaines), skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, Target Halloween, and Pride.

email: josh_thacker@mac.com