How’s commercial production and post faring in Florida during these tough economic times? When George O’Neill, VP/co-founder of post house BVI-Miami, says that his shop’s business has been "better than last year, so it’s headed in the right direction," he seems to sum up the state of things in the Sunshine state, at least for larger post houses, and production companies. He notes that his attitude is "guarded optimism."
This past spring, BVI closed its South Beach facility, and merged with its major competitor, Manhattan Transfer Miami, to become BVI-Miami. BVI retained Manhattan Transfer’s building, and still maintains facilities in the Florida cities of Coconut Grove, North Miami, and Hollywood.
Commercials make up about 70 percent of BVI’s jobs, and about 70 percent of the company’s spot jobs come from Florida agencies. Like many other businesses in the area, the post shop frequently works with agencies that service the general, U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets. Almost three-quarters of BVI-Miami’s spot work comes from Florida agencies. Close to a third of the commercials that pass through the post house are for the U.S. Hispanic and Latin Amrican markets; the facility has worked with ad shops such as Zubi Advertising Services and del Rivero Messianu Advertising, both in Coral Gables Fla.; and Leo Burnett, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Miami offices of agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, J. Walter Thompson, Tinsley Advertising, and Marc USA.
Bob Corti, formerly VP/general manager at Manhattan Transfer Miami, and now working in the same capacity at BVI-Miami, is blunt when asked about the effect of the economic downturn: "We’ve been as battered by the economy as any other market has," he says. "I hear the rumblings out of New York, and even Los Angeles, about the commercial market. Obviously, for us, it’s difficult because our entire client base is commercials.
"The last couple of weeks have been encouraging," he continues. "I’m not ready to say it’s a comeback, but at least there’s some promise today that there wasn’t here a couple of months ago. I think we’re all cautiously optimistic. Our business has been depressed for a long time, and it can’t stay down forever."
Continental Film & Video Labs has been on the Florida post scene for more than 35 years. The company has facilities in Miami and Orlando, Fla., both of which provide processing and video transfer services. The Miami office also does print and theatrical work, and a full third of Continental’s volume comes from outside of the commercial arena.
Like Corti, Continental senior VP of operations/ communications Glenn Newland reports a downturn in commercial work. "We’re seeing a definite lessening in the shooting of commercials, in general, in our area," he notes. "But luckily, we’ve seen an upswing in the music video scene. It has started to fill in where advertising has dropped off."
Continental has posted clips for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, directed by Darren Grant, who is with the new music video division of Copper Media, Los Angeles, and Nueva Era, through Indigo Entertainment (Latin America). Recent longform clients include The Fast and the Furious 2, directed by John Singleton—who maintains spot representation via Independent Media, Santa Monica—and I Witness, starring Jeff Daniel.
While Continental works on longform projects, commercials still make up the bulk of the facility’s business. Spots for Mercedes-Benz, Scott’s lawn care, and Truth In Advertising have all recently passed through the shop.
Peter Tassler, producer at Jefco Creative Editorial, Miami Beach, Fla., says the editorial boutique has done well during the economic doldrums. "We’ve been very fortunate in that we’ve stayed relatively busy," he notes. "A lot of the local production companies are key to bringing work into the market here."
"I think we are also fortunate to have a group of agencies that are pretty loyal to us," relates Mike Coe, co-owner/editor of the shop, along with Jeff Sternberger. "Even during times when we may not be as busy, those companies help us to stay busy." Area agencies that the company works with include Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami, and del Rivero Messianu.
"This year was certainly better than the year before," says Sternberger. "I think the fact that there are some big agencies down here doing Hispanic work helps the market. That particular sector seems to be strengthening.
"We’re hopeful for the coming year," he continues. "One of the things we were able to do last year is attract some work from out of town. Obviously, that helps. There’s only so much you can do in town." Agencies from outside of Florida that have worked with Jefco include: The Richards Group, Dallas; Fahlgren, Columbus, Ohio; and the Atlanta office of WestWayne.
Another Florida boutique that has fared well of late is Naked Eye Editorial, Tampa. Owner/editor Rick Bennett points out that Naked Eye, which was launched in 1999, is literally a mom-and-pop operation: he and his wife, Kathy, comprise the shop’s entire staff.
Commercials make up about 80 percent of Naked Eye’s business, and virtually all of the shop’s spot work comes from Florida agencies like Paradise Advertising, St. Petersburg, Devine Communications, Clearwater, and FKQ Advertising, also in Clearwater. Bennett has recently cut spots for TradeWinds Resorts, Sonny’s Bar-B-Q and Nash Finch Foods.
Bennett, who formerly worked at BVI in Miami, and helped launch BVI’s editorial shop, Engine Room, compares the Tampa and Miami markets. "Tampa is kind of the red-headed step child sometimes, because when people think of Florida, they think of Miami," he notes. "But Tampa has an interesting advertising and marketing community.
"I feel fortunate that the agencies I work with are pretty loyal even if they get some sizable budgets," continues Bennett. "They tend to stay in town and work here."
He also says that tourism-related accounts have been a boon. "Because of the downturn of tourism, I’ve actually seen that work increase," he notes. "The budgets got crunched in terms of shooting new stuff, so we got very creative in terms of re-purposing existing material, and those jobs helped us weather the storm."
Bennett points out the advantages of being a small shop during tough times. "We don’t have this huge overhead," he says. "I’ve seen a lot of facilities branch out into web hosting, Internet stuff, audio post, graphics, et cetera. We have stayed true to our core by just offering creative editorial and high-end finishing. I think smaller shops are leaner and meaner, and actually offer clients a lot more."
Production News
Massimo Martinotti is president/director of Miami-headquartered Mia Films/The Mia Network, and president of the Florida chapter of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), and a member of the organization’s national executive committee. "The reality is that, especially in the Hispanic market, agencies in Florida are quite good," he says. "Production is growing quite steadily.
"This year, at least in terms of Mia, we have shot much more than last year," he continues. "I don’t think we are out of the crisis yet, but it is getting much better. We are receiving projects to bid on every single day."
Mia represents about 20 directors that work out of offices in Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain and Miami. "Our offices are well co-coordinated," notes Martinotti. "The organization is big but every office is a little boutique." Close to 70 percent of the spots that come through the Miami office are for the U.S. Hispanic or Latin American markets.
Recent spots out of Mia include Volkswagen’s "Empathy," directed by Martinotti through Creative On Demand, Coral Gables; Allstate’s "Sand Castle," lensed by Christiano Metri through La Agencia de Orcí & Asociado, Los Angeles; and Ford’s "Bridge," directed by Daniel Gruener via of J. Walter Thompson, Colonia Granada, Mexico.
How does the upcoming year look? "I don’t know how to forecast the future," says Martinotti. "I know quite a few agencies have work for January, and all of November looks quite busy for us. I think it’s promising. The economic situation is still dangerous, but the reality is that the market is quite active."
According to Martinotti, Florida’s AICP chapter is trying to draw business to the Sunshine State by emphasizing marketing. "We dedicate most of our efforts to market Florida, especially in Europe, but also in the rest of the United States and in Latin America," he says.
Martinotti says the AICP wants to get across that "Florida is a creative place. You just have to look at the agencies here. Florida is a crossroads, and most of the production companies are internationally minded—we are used to shooting for Europe and Latin America."
He points out that the various Florida film commissions, the Visitors and Convention Bureau of Greater Miami, and other groups are supportive of the AICP’s efforts, and that the AICP has a strong relationship with the governor’s office, which views the industry as strategic to the state’s economy.
"We want to have a leadership role in the industry," says Martinotti. "We want to support the industry at large; not just the production companies based here, but the industry in general. If we attract jobs from abroad, we can create jobs here, which improves the dimension of our industry."
Alpha Wolf Entertainment is a Celebration, Fla.-based production company that represents director/DP Toby Phillips, director/DP Curtis Graham, and director Jack Tinsley. Seventy percent of the shop’s jobs come from nearby Disney. "We do television commercials and a lot of long format for Disney," says executive producer Jim DeRusha. "We also have our post facility, Image Rocks, so we produce the work and finish everything right here." Recent jobs out of Alpha Wolf include shooting b-rolls for Fitzgerald+CO, Atlanta, for Coca-Cola; and four Sonny’s Bar-B-Q spots, directed by Phillips via Devine Communications, Clearwater.
Does DeRusha think things are better now than a year ago? "Like many businesses, our business changed post September 11th," he notes. "Because of the economy, a lot of people were feeling the pinch prior to that. … The economy, even now, is not strong. But I think people are getting over it; I talk to a lot of people really looking forward to 2003."
When Walker/Fitzgibbon Television and Film Production, Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., opened in 1989, it produced infomercials and corporate videos. Before long, the shop moved into commercials, music videos and documentaries. "In Florida, you have to be able to reach out to all mediums," says producer/director Mo Fitzgibbon. "[Florida] doesn’t have a huge commercial, television or feature industry, so we do everything."
Walker/Fitzgibbon recently worked on three spots for Palm Beach Community College, co-directed by Fitzgibbon and Robert W. Walker through Wilesmith Advertising & Design, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Fitzgibbon points out what she sees as a real problem in the local industry: When local agencies have bigger budgets, they often go elsewhere. "Florida is in this really bad state, mostly because it’s own marketplace doesn’t support it," she says. "That’s really sad because there are a lot of talented production companies and directors and facilities."
While Fitzgibbon might be a little discouraged about commercial work, she is excited about developing features and television films; Walker/Fitzgibbon opened a Los Angeles office this year, in part to facilitate the creation of long-form projects. The company is currently developing River Rats, a crime story set in ’80s Miami. "I have to have another office in L.A. to get what I need done," she notes. "That may help me in the spot world more, I don’t know. That would be hysterical—me getting hired by an agency out of Miami because I have an office in L.A."7