1) That opportunity is everywhere. I think everyone had a tougher year in the traditional commercial sphere last year in terms of volume and quality of work. There are exceptions of course, but it seemed more directors were available so incredible talents were bidding on jobs that they normally wouldn’t engage on, making it tougher for the underdogs to win. And even the big dogs had a tough time with jobs dying after they’d been awarded. But what that did is inspire us to find new directors from different creative backgrounds, to find ways to bring additional ideas or layers to live action jobs to add value to a pitch, and to find ways of working with our roster talent in other realms and projects. And that lesson is now driving us to push the company to become one that is truly 360 degrees around talent and creating opportunities for them and us, versus waiting for the email to ding.
2) I think 2018 will see the settling of the Wild West once known as branded entertainment. Brands are becoming incredibly savvy on how they can utilize relationships with advertising agencies, talent agencies, production companies, postproduction companies, influencers and more to fill the belly of the content beast. Filmmakers and companies alike are cross pollinating more than ever – crossing genres, working in different mediums, experimenting with technologies – and the work will reflect that and be better for it. The word Apple alone can conjure an image of a product, a music provider, an ad agency, a distribution network, or a film studio! A filmmaker like Melina Matsoukas can in one quarter be shooting a commercial, concepting a music film, producing a TV show, and developing a feature script. An agency like Wieden+Kennedy can simultaneously be making incredible ads for AORs, pitching TV shows, making documentaries, creating live events, and shooting music videos. This is the stuff of legends in the sense that we always talked about the day that we’d all be genre non-conforming, but as 2018 comes in like a lion, I believe the day has come.
4) My goals are written on stickie notes, pinned on bulletin boards, scribbled in a myriad of notebooks and usually on the back of my hand. They range from goals for single individuals, whether directors, staff, or self, to large chess board moves in a quest for empire like expansion! But what they all boil down to is serving and supporting the talent in our company. We aren’t a company that primarily consists of directors that only do commercials. Their talents are diverse therefore we have to be as well to stay in business with them across all their dreams while simultaneously making sure we never lose sight of the standard, the brand, or the culture that we’ve worked hard to cultivate the last 10 years. My goal is to have our company continue to be inspired by and inspiring to those around us.
5) Our policy is honesty. About who we are and what we represent. PRETTYBIRD is owned by two women and an African American man and our success depends on the telling and consumption of stories by all people. We believe obstacles shouldn’t be placed in front of you due to gender, race or sexual preference, rather opportunities to share your worldview. We seek out artists who don’t tell the same stories the same way. So our policy is making sure our company reflects all that organically in its roster, staffing, and output of work rather than making a single rule. I commend anyone doing anything to improve where they are, but I don’t believe any single policy can make the level of change that’s truly needed in this industry. You have to be honest about WHAT your company represents, not WHO they represent and live that truth at every level of your organization…not just sign up for the newsletter. So our policy is truth and a company full of people committed to making sure we live it. And calling bullshit the minute we don’t.
