By A SHOOT Staff Report

The roles of ad agency heads of production, executive producers, producers–both broadcast and digital–and the like are fast evolving. SHOOT connected with a cross-section of agency artisans in the Midwest for their takes on how their responsibilities are changing. In the process, several discussed developments regarding the nature of the work that’s entrusted to them.

We also asked the agency community to share their recent experiences of note with Midwest suppliers spanning production and post.

SHOOT posed the two following questions:

1) How has your role changed in recent years and/or how would you like it to further evolve in 2014?

2) What is your most notable recent project that entailed collaboration with a Midwest production company and/or post house–and what made that job noteworthy.

Here’s a sampling of the feedback we received (edited for print with full responses appearing in our SHOOT>e.dition and on www.shootonline.com):

Christian Colasuonno, executive digital producer, Team Detroit
1) As a digital producer, I’ve noticed more and more of my work has a larger live-action component than it did in the past. Previously we only shot live-action to support something we were doing in digital. Over the last 18 months or so, it seems to have reversed. We shoot first, develop second. I see and review just as many director reels as I do social engagements and interactive portfolios. They are still highly digital experiences, it’s just that the live-action component has gotten exponentially better and more prevalent—(Stink’s“Geox Amphibiox” and Jam3’s “Enjoy Your Privacy” immediately come to mind).

Technology from a professional and consumer level has seemingly caught up to the integration between the mediums. Consumers can legitimately have similar bandwidth and processing power as certain businesses.

In 2014 I’d like to see that trend continue, however, I think we need even out a bit. A smart development team can be just as good of a storyteller as your 25K a day director can and vice versa—just because the director doesn’t know the difference between CSS and CMS doesn’t mean he can’t create a beautifully executed digital experience.

2) While we work with a number of international and national vendors, in regard to a Midwest production house, we most recently collaborated with Cutters Detroit (part of RingSide Creative) on digital executions for our “One Tank Adventure” campaign. Their editors and post-production support took a guerrilla YouTube viral campaign and were able to cut well-branded content for broadcast and social channels that maintained the spirit of the original work.

Brian Fox, sr. producer, Leo Burnett Chicago
1) The dust has settled on the integration panic. The major platforms for delivery, whether it be social or a brand’s enterprise level sites, have been fleshed out and the feeds are enabling us to focus on storytelling and delivering relevant content to consumers. It’s as though we went through a singularity of sorts where everything, Facebook, Twitter, and expandable banners were all emerging simultaneously in an explosion of spec spreadsheet nightmares. The surviving channels emerged as successful vehicles to deliver our messages and we are better prepared for the Kinects, Instagrams and whatever else follows.

The downside to this is that everyone is inundated with a barrage of content where everything is constantly the zeitgeist. The upside, however, is that only authentic content will rise to the surface and reach the masses. This is going to force advertisers and storytellers to push the bounds of creativity. If people are able to binge watch their favorite programming for a week, without a commercial in sight, then advertisers are competing directly with the networks in order to bring them something with which they want to engage.

Software and content are separate entities inside the established platforms. We went through a Darwinian moment of learning every new technology that appeared and now, within agencies, the way to evolve and compete will be with a clear division of disciplines. This will allow producers, and project managers, to focus on their expertise and keep the work from suffering. Our past integrated experiences will allow us better communication on cross platform executions.

2) This fall we wrapped “Built for Chicago”, a sizable Sprint campaign with a hyperlocal objective. We delivered print, out-of-home, TV, social extensions, an interactive installation at the Art Institute of Chicago, along with a long-form, online film showcasing the city and a well-known local artist. We worked with local companies on every level, and utilized our own internal production capabilities to the fullest.

I produced the long-form film and although the director we chose came from New York City, we collaborated entirely with a local crew. The talent in Chicago is so incredibly seasoned so that gives us a solid foundation, allowing us to concentrate on the details, push the creative and focus on the details that make something great. Whether an independent film or a commercial that I’ve worked on in town, the system and talent make filming in Chicago, on any scale, incredibly easy.  

We edited at The Whitehouse, finished at The Mill and did audio at Another Country. I wish the post approval process was a smooth journey, but that’s rarely the case. The artists here, producers, editors and designers are so accustomed to the continual demands that’s it’s always amazing to me when they don’t strangle me after my fortieth, post-edit lock or change request. But they understand we’re all in it together and everyone always works towards making the best film possible.  For this project we painted a portrait of Chicago, made by Chicagoans and that makes me incredibly proud.

Joe Grundhoefer, head of production, Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis
1) It continues to grow. The thinking is bigger, wider reaching. Teams are larger. Communication/orchestration is 10 times more important. It’s running departments and revenue-generating studios simultaneously.

2) A recent production for our Subaru “Dog Tested” work was noteworthy in that we started this campaign five years ago with a few cameras, two creatives, their dogs (Olive and Zelda), two producers, and local editor Mick Uzendoski (Drive Thru Productions) acting as both a DP and editor — no permits, no trained animals, no budget, no frills and a crew of maybe three. Since then, we’ve had solid years of success on “Dog Tested,” working with amazing talents and, yes, better budgets. But this year, we kind of got the band back together, and used Mick to not only edit the TV work (directed by the brilliant Brian Lee Hughes/Skunk), but also attend the shoot and capture additional content for use in digital media.

Our goal was to always find ways to come home with more content than we needed, and with Mick being part of this work since day one, it made it very seamless for him to get great footage without causing a single bump in our very involved TV shooting days. It was great seeing him step up to the plate as he did, and the work has been incredibly well received since launching across multiple mediums a couple weeks ago.

Kurt Kulas, director, integrated content development, Lowe Campbell Ewald, Detroit
1) We often hear, “How do we manage the constant change in marketing?” Those of us who thrive on change, are curious and enjoy evolving our skill sets will be the happiest and most successful. Those who don’t will probably need a good therapist.

2) The current work we’re doing for one of our biggest clients with Pixo Entertainment would be the most notable. What’s been so gratifying on this project, and others in the pipeline, is the coming together of many disciplines including digital, video, print and experiential to create an app we’re all very proud of. Pixo Entertainment has been our partner on several of these projects and they’ve been a fantastically collaborative partner. No matter how deep in the weeds we got on functionality details, they always managed to surprise us with their insights and plus the project with increased functionality/features resulting in added value and a better experience for the user.

I think those projects really summarize how the coming together of many media disciplines contributes to not just doing good work, but work that’s more memorable and connects with the consumer. One-and-done type executions just aren’t engaging enough. We strive to create experiences that keep the conversation going.

Debra Lustig, director of production, BBDO Proximity Minneapolis.
1) I shout at the obvious when I say that the most marked change has been the dramatic swing from TV production to content production. Because of that shift, the way we produce and partner with people has changed dramatically too.  The strategy and thinking has become much more sophisticated and targeted.   

And rather than being confining, working in that box actually allows for more interesting problem solving and more effective, thoughtful work.

Anyone who touches a project has to be craftier and more agile than ever before.  And every single person on our team – from account director to writer and art director to community manager to editor has become a guardian of the strategy and brand voice.  

But no matter how the business has changed and continues to evolve in 2014 and beyond, the same principles of production apply — tell good stories, hire talented  people, and foster an atmosphere of respect.

2) One of our most successful sustained campaigns coming out of BBDO Minneapolis has been the Jennie-O, “Make the Switch” campaign.  Since its inception in 2010, we’ve partnered with an incredibly talented editor, Charley Schwartz from Schnitt Editorial, here in Minneapolis.   The shorthand that develops from working with the same director or editor on a long term campaign is really valuable.  We can get to the meat of it (no pun intended) much more quickly.  In this case, Charley’s experience and understanding of the brand made him an indispensable creative partner.  He’s helped us craft the language of the copy during the editing process and his scratch VO was so compelling and fresh that we cast him for the finished spot.  Working with people you respect and trust always makes for a sweeter cake.

Since 2010, we’ve produced many more TV spots, launched Jennie-O’s social media presence, and continued reach out to different audiences on behalf of this brand.  We’ve worked with Charley and his producer Jill on all of it.

Yung Savolainen, head of production, Commonground, Chicago.
1) In the past I functioned at more of a micro level, focusing in on the fine details. Today I’m increasingly focused on the long game. Process and integration at both a macro and micro level have become a large part of my role.

Commonground’s commitment to developing the production department’s capabilities has shifted where I can provide the most value. I’ve been identifying potential growth functions in the department, weighing benefits against the financial implications and working with the rest of CG leadership to plot out possible growth trajectories.

As we expand the capabilities we offer our clients, we’ve had to diversify our staffing mix. My team now includes animators, editors, front-end developers, videographers and photographers. Most recently we hired an EP for our Chicago and New York offices. Our commitment is to being a thought leader in the multil-cultural space and we are working hard to put ourselves in the best positions to meet that objective.

With the addition of our New York office, I’m working to ensure we set up a solid process that integrates the best practices of both offices.

2) The Verizon “Joy” TV project definitely stands at the top of my list. It was our first TV production for Verizon. We bid, shot, and finished the project in around 4 weeks, working through Thanksgiving.
Eduard Salier of Iconoclast, directed the live action, Andrij Parekh was the DP, 8VFX in Paris did the CGI/VFX, and Chicago’s own Phil Lee of Spin Artist did the editorial. Squeak E Clean created the original music, which ended up being the icing on the cake.

We’ve worked with Spin Artist on many projects so we felt really thankful to have them on the team. They traveled to NYC to the shoot and had a color correct, picture locked cut in less than 2 days post shoot. The CD, Spin Artist crew, and producer lived together in a very small room for these 2-3 days during editorial.

As a producer on the project we were working across three time zones, one of those times zones being in Paris. There was a ton of schedule prep and agreements that all parties needed to understand prior to the start of project. We strove to fully understand the process and schedule and ensure complete alignment with our client in every aspect of the production, never assuming anything or taking anything for granted.

The final spot turned out incredible and we came in about $6K under budget.

So, in my opinion, we came out of the gate hungry and swinging then backed it up with a great spot.

Brian Smego, executive producer, Y&R Chicago
1) It continues to be an ever-changing job. It used to be easy to compartmentalize projects and figure how to attack them. Not anymore. We’ve been developing more branded entertainment and experiential projects than in years past. There’s been lots of new territory for our producers to cover, but they continue to find ways to get it done. It’s been challenging at times, but exciting. We’re all gathering new skills. Our Midwest roster has changed quite a bit in recent years and has gotten much more diverse.

We’ve got a lot of new clients with unique challenges in getting their message out. The common theme is that things are moving faster than ever and the budgets continue to be a bit stretched. As a result we’ve been doing a lot more work in our own backyard. The post houses in town have continued to develop their production arms. Their talent and capabilities continue to improve and we’ve been using them more and more often. We’ve also had some great new additions to Chicago with the arrival of some talented visual effects outposts and some new design offerings.  I think 2014 will continue to see producers expand our role as creative resources for the agency. Not only finding ways to pull off ideas coming from our creatives, but also exposing them to new trends and technology that may help shape the idea.
 
2) Earlier in the year we did a Zombies film for automotive battery brand DieHard. We needed a lot of help on both the production and post side to make this happen. Matt Wood and our friends at The Whitehouse in Chicago jumped in to help pull this off. In addition, we used the newly formed The Mill Chicago to do a fair amount of clean up and finishing work. It’s a good example of the working style in the Midwest. There’s great creative talent here along with a “roll up your sleeves” attitude and a willingness to work together to find solutions. It’s a tight-knit community across the board. Everyone knows each other and in a lot of ways rather than your traditional agency/vendor relationship, we tend to view them more as our partners. Call it good Midwestern values.

Will St. Clair, VP/executive producer, DDB Chicago
1) Producing has steadily become less about what we make and more about all the places it can go.  This is not to say that the crafting of content is not key or any less important.  Its that increasingly over time questions around where the content can go and the possibilities of how it can be consumed play bigger roles in shaping the content than ever before.

2) A cat workout music video for our MARS client’s Temptations cat treats brand. Notable to me because of the oddity of the idea, the niche-ness of the brand and the distribution we achieved. We partnered with a major EDM record label and artist Alex Guadino, essentially exchanging content for music, promotion and distribution on the label’s online and social channels to deliver great content and wider distribution than the clients media budget would have traditionally allowed.

On the post side, we partnered with the Chicago office of Beast Editorial, editor John Dingfield and Method Chicago to make Biscuit Filmworks/Andreas Nilsson’s hilarious footage into something more hilarious. They not only delivered on witty and odd-in-a-good-way visuals, but did so with a large volume of content  (a full length music video, multiple TV commercials in two languages, bonus content, etc.), all on a tight budget. They were dedicated, flexible, and inventive. Most of all they had as much passion for what we were making as we did.

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