4) I think one trend that continues to influence content creation is the almost indistinguishable line between commercial work and film work. In many cases, the talent and crews are the same, and ads are no longer a :30 or even a :15 necessarily – we are seeing clients gravitate toward short films in the form of brand identity pieces, anthem pieces and the like. Several brands have taken a movie trailer format to showcase their products, (like Taco Bell’s recent “Web of Fries” and movies continue to align with product partners on incredibly elaborate promotional campaigns and spots with the sell or reveal kept until the very last moments. Why? Because the caliber of filmmaking and commercial work is expected to be the same, from top directors, DPs and actors to VFX houses that handle Oscar winning films, and top spots. Traditionally “commercial” post houses are doing more and more top film work: we had a film in Sundance, SXSW and are working on post on another doc with an Academy Award-nominated editor working out of our Austin studio. It’s great to grow our chops on longer format work and learn as one discipline informs the other.
6) “Many might not know that charlieuniformtango is a woman- and minority-owned business. I was born in Sudan to Egyptian parents and immigrated to the U.S. as a young child. Here at charlieuniformtango, we’re always looking to add the best and brightest humans to our team – no matter how they identify or where they come from. I’m so excited to see that more than ever before, women, (especially women of color) are rising to great heights in an industry that’s been a “boys club” for too long. We have a long history of developing and nurturing female talent, including several editors, motion designers, audio engineers and FX artists, and right now one of our incredible assistants is making her way toward a full-time flame artist role. Some of our most recent hires – two assistant editors and a 3D artist–are women. And, through one of our top local universities, we’ve just connected with another incredibly talented minority female filmmaker (director/DP) who has already accomplished so much (before she has even graduated). Her work is beyond inspiring. Our next step will be to bring her in on shoots and projects so she can learn the working side of the industry. She has such potential. Hopefully she’ll join us once she completes her education.
