As technology continues to advance and the likes of video iPods, mobile phones and high definition are altering the shape of advertising, production departments have to stay ahead of the curve and quickly learn about emerging platforms and technology. Heads of production at leading agencies across the U.S. stay abreast of current innovations in various ways–from seminars to simply learning on the job. What they have in common, though, is the way they prioritize their efforts based on immediate client needs.
Beginning with Rupert Samuel, VP/director of integrated production at Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B), Miami, who explains that with the rapid pace of production at the shop, he and his staffers tend to learn on the job. “I think just by the sheer fact that we are out there producing it and working with all of these different types of media means that we have to learn it as we go,” says Samuel. “And often you don’t really know how it is going to work, but the kind of producers that we have here, who are very functional and very good at getting the right information, are really learning the whole time.”
Gary Krieg, head of broadcast production at Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), New York, reports a similar approach at his shop. “It’s everyone in our department’s responsibility to make sure that they are trained on whatever their job might require; that they become experts if they’re not already experts in it,” he says. “And a lot of times that [means] working with a facility to get training, on say, HD if they haven’t had that before.”
In addition to producers seeking out knowledge, W+K hosts seminars, including an upcoming event on high definition. While Krieg notes that the HD finishing they have done has been selective, if it’s expected that a client will commit to finishing everything in HD, he believes a refresher course at a finishing facility is a good idea for his staff–everyone from senior producers to production assistants.
“It’s a daunting prospect, but something you just have to dive right into–there is no learners manual yet printed,” says Matt Bijarchi, VP/head of production at Young & Rubicam (Y&R), Chicago, of keeping himself and his department up to date on the technology front. That was the case on a recent interactive project for Miller which included a series of six longform videos, directed by Spike Jonze of bicoastal/international MJZ, and available at www.millerauditions.com. Each film features an animal with human voices auditioning for a part in a Miller Lite spot. The talent pool includes the likes of Stanley the penguin and a turtle named Marshall Manesh.
EDUCATIONAL ENTITIES
At GSD&M, Austin, Texas, staffers get an opportunity for higher learning at Idea U. The in-house program brings in speakers to discuss emerging technologies like direct response television and gaming platforms as well as issues like advertising that goes beyond the thirty second spot. Upcoming presentations include one from bicoastal/international @radical.media called “Beyond the :30,” which is open to all of the agency’s departments. “The other thing that’s great about this place is they really support you going to seminars that are placed elsewhere,” says Greg Lane, director of media production at the shop, referring to conferences and industry get-togethers that focus on the changing ad landscape.
At Euro RSCG, New York, Joe Guyt, co-director of broadcast production, says that he will send staffers to seminars when he can or to visit facilities for tutorials. He will also have people from post facilities or software manufacturers come to the agency to give demonstrations. “Just like when we have directors or production companies come over and present their stable of directors, or an editing facility with their editors, it’s important to have visual effects or technology companies come in and do that as well,” Guyt says.
And while seminars are helpful, the time commitment sometimes rules them out as an option. “I think because of the pace we’re moving that you will find that the producers here are very much in tune with what’s going on because they are already doing it before we even learn about it,” Samuel of CP+B relates. “If we spent time doing seminars and listening to talks, which would be great, we’d probably already be doing it anyway.”
EXTERNAL EFFORTS
In addition to setting educational priorities according to client needs, heads of production also share a common belief that vendors can be great educational partners. To learn more about HD, for example, Krieg at W+K said he would be likely to turn to The Mill, New York and London, a post shop the agency has been working with on standard definition projects.
Guyt says that he doesn’t have one particular outside source that he turns to with technology questions, but, like Lane at GSD&M, he cites @radical.media as a resource. “I do rely on @radical.media and their [other divisions like] Outpost Digital,” he says, “because they’re into so much branded content and a lot of what’s revolutionary and they’re right down the street from us.”
A recent integrated project out of Euro RSCG Fuel for Jaguar included the Web site PreferGorgeous.com and a :90 cinema/television spot. (Fuel is a division of Euro RSCG devoted to the Jaguar and Volvo accounts.) The project utilized Final Cut and Avid, which Guyt points out are completely different editing systems. And, midway through the project, finishing was switched to HD because of the cinema release.
At McKinney, Durham, N.C., director of broadcast production Regina Brizzolara says that when reps and directors come in to present work, she seizes the opportunity. “We’ve had a lot of people come to us and share their work and screen and talk about their process,” she says, “and that has just been really great for us–everything from HD to some of the more integrated concepts.”
McKinney has also held HD seminars for staffers with companies like Nice Shoes, New York, and Click 3X, New York, expounding on the topic. Sound Lounge, New York, has educated staffers about mixing for HD projects. The most comprehensive project to come out of McKinney + Silver lately was “The Art of the H3ist” for Audi’s A3. Along with live events, the campaign involved alternate reality gaming and Web casts on the expansive site StolenA3.com. Bicoastal Chelsea Pictures/Campfire partnered with the agency for the project.
Samuel says that since he and his producers are often at post houses, they use the opportunities to learn about new processes. He relates that he recently discussed new technology concerning telecine and scanning during a session with colorist Fergus McCall at The Mill. He also has gleaned information from Stefan Sonnenfeld, president/colorist of bicoastal Company 3. “He’s a really knowledgeable technician — so I often will sit in sessions with him and just bend his ear.”
Most of the projects out of CP+B have integrated components. “We join the shooting process together with the interactive side so just from the nature of the way we’re working, we’re always sharing ideas and technologies,” Samuel says. Upcoming projects out of the shop include a campaign for Volkswagen’s GTI.
NATURE OF THE BEAST
The consensus is that producers are naturally inclined to easily take to new technologies. “I think as producers we are kind of inherently a bit of techno geeks–if not techno geeks to the point of knowing exactly how things work, at least curious enough to know what’s out there and what’s available and how it can help us,” Guyt notes. “So I think that’s part of a producer’s personality in a general sense of course. Many of us are early adopters to the latest technology anyway.”
Bill Goodell executive VP/director of broadcast integrated production of Arnold, Worldwide, Boston, offers a similar observation. “I think you need to be instinctively very curious about what’s going on in all aspects–film, video, interactive, music, animation, et cetera,” he says. “Soak in everything you can and file it away in your own memory banks because the best producers have that amazing recall that lets them bring more options to the creative teams.”
Those options are increasingly necessary, as evidenced by upcoming work. “We are breaking some new ground in the coming months with a number of accounts that will showcase some unique integrated technologies,” Goodell notes. “Interactive has now taken a lead role in creating a groundswell around new campaigns.”
At GSD&M clients like the U.S. Air Force are requiring a strong presence on the Web. “The Internet continues to be, even today, just this well, it’s a big deep well and we all keep staring into it trying to figure out, ‘OK, what we can do new on this? How do we do this? How do we do that,’ ” Lane relates. To help answer some of those questions he recently hired senior interactive producer Jeff Bond.
Though there is a dizzying array of technologies to explore, one dynamic remains certain; agencies can always expect their clients’ needs to guide them. “What happens is the work that is on the table at the moment is the organic driver of it,” Brizzolara shares.
As Guyt relates, his educational priorities are shaped not only by “what would be most applicable to our clients’ immediate needs” but also “where as an agency do we want to push them forward.”