Biography
Alexander was born in western New York in 1973. When his family relocated to the Washington DC area halfway through his high school education, he tested out of the rest of his classes. After a couple of fruitless attempts at making up classes for him to take (such as "Jazz Band: Independent Study"), his guidance counselor asked him what he wanted to do. He said, "How about and internship at a TV station?" His counselor agreed. After his semester-long internship ended, the producer he worked for offered him a job. He quickly worked his way up through the production ranks to Technical Director in less than two years time. One snowy winter's day, he was in the control room, preparing to technical direct, "In The Garden of Eden," a gardening program cablecast throughout the northeast to seven million households. The snow fall outside turned into a fierce storm, and the director of the show called in saying he was unable to leave his house. The producers were stuck. Alex told them he felt comfortable Directing and Technical Directing the show simultaneously. Reluctantly, the producers agreed, and the show aired flawlessly. At the age of 17, Alex had directed his first commercial television show. He stayed at the station for another 4 years until he graduated college with a degree in Journalism and Advertising Copywriting.
Immediately after graduating, at the age of 21, he was offered a job by advertising legend Nick Gisonde (responsible for memorable ad campaigns like "Tastes Great/Less Filling" among others). Alexander Pikas became one of the youngest directors of broadcast for one of the nation's capitol's largest and most successful advertising firms, Arnold Advertising. His style, being described by clients and colleagues as edgy, hip and witty, with a touch of the surreal, quickly gained him popularity in the ad world, especially among those seeking to produce innovative thought-provoking campaigns. Earning 18 Addys in 3 years, his list of clients at Arnold include, the American Red Cross, Exxon/Mobil, Chevy Chase Bank, SAP Technologies, Precision Tune Auto Care and McDonald's. After leaving Arnold, Alex was sought by Fortune 500 companies including AOL and Viacom/MTV for his directorial eye and original ideas. He was also enlisted by WorldWeb.net to create a high-end corporate film that was considered ground-breaking for its time.
Acknowledging his knack for storytelling, Alex soon branched out on his own and was quickly tapped to direct shows and projects by production companies and television networks such as PBS, NBC, FOX, Court TV and Discovery Channel. After a 3 year stay in New York City, Alex then relocated to the DC area. Then, in late 2002, tragedy struck. Driving back from Redskin's Park directing "The Steve Spurrier Coach's Show" for NBC hosted by Sports Machine legend George Michael, the car he was driving was struck from behind at 70 mph. The result was two fractures in his spine. He was treating through physical therapy when he was hit again a few months later by a driver who ran a red light at 55 mph. This put him immediately into surgery. After a painful couple of months, he began his lengthy recuperation period. His cinematographer, Andy Colvin then asked him if he really wanted to do commercials and live television for the rest of his life. Seeing his live television clients drop off one at a time because of his inability to work, he reconsidered his options. The pair located a script for a short film from Rodney Parnther, the executive producer at Clarendon Entertainment out of New York entitled, "The Box Preacher." Shot in the summer of 2004 on 35mm film, Alex convinced Al Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix's father, to allow them to use "Machine Gun" for the soundtrack of the film. Along with music from Sweet Honey in the Rock and composed incidental music, the film made a huge splash on the film festival circuit, being accepted into The Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Urban World Film Festival, where the film received special recognition by the festival's primary sponsor, MTV. In 2005, he directed another short, this one in high definition entitled, "Mother's Day Special." An esoteric, surreal and hyperbolic view on consumerism, the film has sparked continuing interest in Alex's narrative ability and surreal imagery. He edits his work himself (the technical direction side has never left him) in his own edit suite. Currently, Alex is embarking on more narrative projects in the form of episodic programming and two feature films. He lives in the DC area with his wife Heather and daughter Alexandra.
