Various questions were posed to ethnic minorities who have established themselves in different sectors of our industry. The feedback comes from strong voices articulating thoughts on the state of minorities in business today as well as personal reflections and observations. Here is the full list of questions that were asked:
Professional:• Do you own the company? If so, what year did you launch it? • If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. • How did you get your start in the business? • What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry?
Opinion:• What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? • Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? • And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? • Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? • What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive?
Personal:• Are you married? • Do you have kids – how many, how old? • Can you share a poignant or funny career story? • What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? • If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? • We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live?
Carlos Gutierrez, partner, Magnet FilmworksPrimary Business: Commercial production for the Hispanic and general market as well as feature films.
1. Do you own the company? If so, what year did you launch it? Yes, Sammy Albis and I established Magnet Filmworks in 2010 right in the middle of the recession. It was a great experience in retrospect to see if we would sink or swim. We figured there was no better time to start than during a recession and we’re still here so I guess that proves something.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. Magnet started as a Hispanic production company but we’ve evolved into a multicultural production company to accommodate both Hispanic and general market creative.
3. How did you get your start in the business? I started as a producer at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. It was a great atmosphere to cut my teeth at because there really was no better shop at the time doing the kind of risky, exciting work that makes advertising special.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? Probably the spelling of my last name! Seriously, though, I always felt I needed to work twice as hard as everyone in terms of the hours because I was typically the youngest producer in the agencies I worked in. Then I left to NYU Tisch Grad School to become a director. When I returned to advertising as a commercial director, it was like starting from scratch again. I even tried different director names just to make it easy to say my name. After awhile I gave up and stuck to my original name. What really has to speak is the work. These days ethnicity plays less a part.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? I think it’s just as difficult as when I started. I always believed if I put in the hours people would notice the work. That is still true but since now there is so much competition for eyeballs on content (whether it be films, viral or commercials), it’s even more important to develop a style. For new directors, the technical is better than it’s ever been but I feel like less and less directors have something to say with their work these days.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? I agree there is a shortage but it’s definitely getting better than when I started. When I got into advertising, the industry was very segmented between general market and minority directors. Now I think there’s much more of an openness. I do still feel the biggest deficit exists with Hispanic directors who were born here. We sometimes don’t easily fit into a clearly defined box. There’s not really a “Robert Rodriguez” of the ad world.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? Honestly, the best way is to really instill the mentoring programs and internships that give minorities the opportunity to see the inner workings of our industry. I remember the first time I got to see a TV show being filmed in L.A., it was only because I knew the actor. He is Hispanic but I did not see another Hispanic person behind or in front of the camera on that show. I think it’s also important for minorities to give a spin to their material that no one else can. For example the Coen Brothers always cast quirky, interesting supporting actors around the big names in their films. It’s become a trademark for them and I think that is something they created for themselves as a niche. Go with your gut, not the trends.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I think we all do because it’s the only way that some minorities will ever get the confidence to push themselves in new and exciting ways. I know my mentors were constantly coaching me on my career and if they hadn’t been there, I can honestly tell you I would probably not be a director today.
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? Well I think it’s as simple as adding flavor to a dish you’re already familiar with. I think encouraging the growth of minorities in film and advertising will only help sustain the industries. Otherwise it will get boring out there on the landscape and audiences will go somewhere else.
10. Are you married? Yes. Five years.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? Two girls. We just had our second three months ago so sleep is not something I’m familiar with right now.
12. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? On a shoot we did this year, we had a big issue with celebrity talent that didn’t show up for a number of hours. We quickly realized the day was going to be a waste so we brainstormed with the agency how we could create the story using the celebrity to tell only part of the story in the ad. On the client and agency side there was a lot of concern and nervousness but we kept the set nice and calm. Afterwards, we wrapped and everyone was happy with how the day finished. At that point, a crew member walked up to me and said, “see that’s why we like working with you guys…no drama.” I appreciated that because honestly this is a crazy business if you let it get to you so we’ve prided ourselves no keeping sets that are calm but efficient. And, yes, the celebrity did show eventually!.
13. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? I would say it’s how I challenge myself as an artist while also trying to grow our company every year.
14. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? Photographer, definitely. Maybe an architect.
15. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? I don’t ever see myself fully retiring. Maybe I could retire to the Caribbean and write all day on the beach like Ian Fleming. That would be amazing.
Wendell Hanes, CEO/creative director, Volition Sound BrandingPrimary Business: Original music, licensing, record production, and branded entertainment.
1. Do you own the company? If so, what year did you launch it? Yes. Volition Sound Branding has been in full operation since 2005.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. Our business model has always been to be available at any time to create, provide, and/or strategize for our clients.
3. How did you get your start in the business? I got my start in the business due to commercial director Sarah Pirozek, editor Vito DeSario and producer Michael Pollock of Vito DeSario Editing. I was hired as both an assistant editor and a “sound guy.” I recorded voiceovers and provided dialogue replacement for Vito’s clients and eventually created music for the editors at the company. The first spot I won was a major, multiple spot campaign for Certs! The music I made was originally done for practice on a Tampax Tampons commercial. But I gave the music to Vito and the client loved it!!!! The agency music producer said I was reinvigorating his career. This accomplishment soon led to scoring the debut campaign for Dentyne Ice. My reputation grew fast and I heard through the grapevine that a new term in the industry was coined after me. Whenever someone lost a commercial to me, they were “Swendelled by Wendell.” LOL I kept grinding hard and luckily I won lots of spots after that based on a never quit work ethic full of consistent all-nighters. You could say that I lived at Vito DeSario Editing 24/7.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? Making agencies aware that I existed at an editorial company as well as competing against big music houses when I was still a rookie was my biggest challenge. I would create two versions for every commercial I did and the music houses would submit 8-10 versions. My great boss, Vito, at the time, made a point in telling me that it was sink or swim for me at his company which meant that I had to produce results. I thrived on Vito depending on me to come through on spots. However, getting agencies to believe in the little guy in the corner room of an editing facility was no easy task to sell. To this day, I firmly believe that working for Vito was the best training ground I could have ever had. Thanks Vito!
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? On one hand, I think the challenge would be much harder for me today because I would not have the support system of an editorial company that enabled me to be surrounded by Pepsi clients in one room and Budweiser clients in another. On the other hand, there are so many music companies willing to give a new composer a shot at scoring a national spot. If you can win one commercial, then you can build on your reputation one spot at a time.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? There could be a shortage due to awareness. I think careers in medicine, law, and business are still the most popular fields that are pitched to students from elementary school through college.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? Letting more people know that opportunities exist could help.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I enjoy helping people build their careers. Talent is our strongest asset and talent can always use guidance. I wrote a three-part book series to help aspiring producers build careers in the music and advertising industry. It is called THE 30-30 CAREER: PRODUCING MUSIC FOR COMMERCIALS, SINGING ON MAJOR TV COMMERCIALS, and BECOMING A PLATINUM COMPOSER. All of the books are available everywhere online. Many of the top music companies and agency figureheads are featured in these books from Karl Westman (Ogilvy) to Josh Rabinowitz (Grey) to Bob Nelson (Quietman) and Andrew Loevenguth (Anomaly).
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? The advantage of all industries being more inclusive will always be the proliferation of more unique ideas across the board. Harnessing new strategy, new language, new music, and new markets can open doors for great business results.
10. Are you married? Yes. I am happily married.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? Two great little inspirational girls
12. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? My little daughter Jasmine came in the room at the exact moment I was recording a song lyric and screamed, “hey!” I meant to take it out of the track but forgot about it in the mix. When I told the agency I would take it out for the final mix, they said to leave it in there cause they liked it so much. My daughter was ecstatic! She was able to be on the SAG contract and everything. Holy Moses! Now, to this day she comes in the studio all the time and asks me if I need vocals. How can I say no to my little girl who wants to be a star when she grows up. Oh, the joys of parenting.
13. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? The biggest challenge in balancing my professional and personal life is knowing when to turn off the Volition engine. I am pretty bad at taking vacations. I bring my phone and laptop everywhere. My wife is a pediatric emergency medicine doctor and the medical director at her hospital. She loves to travel. She works tons of hours but when she is on vacation, she is truly on vacation which means that she turns her phone off. But not me! My phone is always on. My staff let’s me know the details on projects so that things continue to run smoothly. What can I say, I love what I do! Maybe I should hire Michelle Curran or Joel Simon to music supervise for a couple days. Then, MAYBE I would consider turning my phone off. LOL
14. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? If I could have a do-over I would do it all over again exactly the same way. A terrible car accident years ago forced me to have plastic surgery on my face and denied me the opportunity of pursuing my career in television broadcasting. I wanted to be a news anchor, having studied journalism at Brown University. But as a result of my severely scarred up appearance, I spent an entire Summer indoors practicing piano and programming music on a keyboard that a friend down the street lent me. I would have never found my passion for making music had it not been for this untimely event. My dad eventually bought me a new keyboard at the end of that infamous summer that I still use today on certain commercials. Bill Meadows of Crispin Porter said it best the other day actually. He said “there was a plan for me.” It’s actually great anytime that tragedy can turn into triumph. But who knows, I could have been the next Brian Williams or Tom Brokaw. Do you think they’d let me broadcast the evening news with my hat on though? LOL
15. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? When I retire I will be in Florida with my laptop in front of me and my iPhone 70 in my hand ready to score the world!!!!!!!
Malcolm Hardiman, creative lead, Hack StudiosPrimary Business: Boutique production/postproduction studio
1. Do you own the company? No.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. I assume of most companies nowadays we are frequently working with fixed budgets, which requires a high level of collaboration with clients. Collaboration and preparation are mandatories in order to ensure profitability, and sustainability. The model has changed in the sense that not every action within a project represents billable time.
3. How did you get your start in the business? I started in the mail room of a company that is a large provider of wedding photography and videography services in Las Vegas. It took me about a year of working in the mail room before I actually touched a camera or keyboard.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? The biggest challenge was being given an opportunity to demonstrate my passion and desire as more than just an idea. I was afforded invaluable mentorship, who thankfully believed in my potential.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? The biggest challenge today for a recent grad is an authentic way to differentiate yourself from your peers not only in the work you produce, but the manner in which you collaborate with others. I think this is becoming more and more difficult. With the advent of easier access to astoundingly powerful tools, the challenge to find a unique voice is a harder task than it has been.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? I wouldn’t be qualified to speak to the industry as whole. But for my experience over the last 12 years, in the most simplified way, I have not had an opportunity to work with a lot of men and women that look like me. Most of my professional experience is rooted in post and I would say as a rule I haven’t encountered an abundance of ethnic minorities as editors, finishing artists.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? The first step I think should be for the industry to decide if this is in fact a problem. Remedies come second to identifying how this shortage may represent a serious liability to our industry’s health and longevity.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I think established members of any specialized industry are obliged to mentor newcomers with a desire to work hard and learn. My tenure in this business would have been quickly cut short without mentorship and advocacy early on. In exchange for this knowledge however, a tireless work ethic was required of me. I think I have a responsibility to help create opportunities for anyone who wants to learn.
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? The first thing I think inclusiveness addresses is the avoidance of groupthink and the associated perils that entails. When solving problems for clients or marketing Hack, I am grateful for the perspective I bring and my experiences. Hack offers an edge to clients because of the quality of its team. If we all as professionals come from the same perspective, there is a danger to attempt to resolve a creative, technical or logistical issue the same way. Not only is there an inefficiency to this, but it may in fact produce an inadequate result. Shrinking budgets, and the demands of clients, mandate the necessity for a wide spectrum of ideas to approach problems. With an ever increasing host of sophisticated challenges being put in front of us, creative solutions are an absolute. The more a business draws from a wide array of problem-solvers, the likelihood of more creative solutions become available.
10. Are you married? Yes.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? No. I do have two awesome Boston Terriers though.
12. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? The biggest challenge for me is itself balance. I am a tireless, passionate artist. The expectations I have for myself and the work I produce sometimes demand working beyond the traditional 9 to 5 model. I also find that spending time with my family, getting outside, and creating balance outside of work paradoxically informs my work and ultimately enhances it.
13. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? Astronaut Teacher Park Ranger. All of the above would be nice, like a park ranger on the moon.
14. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? I would say it’s me and the wife in Colorado near some of her family. I won’t ever retire as an artist. The job chose me.
Eric Johnson, executive producer-music+sound, Trailblazer StudiosPrimary Business: Providing original music, sound design, and audio post for commercials, TV, Film and digital content.
1. Do you own the company? No
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. Audio is a fundamental component of almost all productions so although there have been many changes in our industry, especially in terms of delivery methods, our model hasn’t really changed. As for Trailblazer Studios as a whole, each of our departments was originally branded as a different boutique and we went to great lengths to keep our advertising and broadcast television worlds separate. The audio division, which I launched in 2003, was called Blazing Music + Sound but at the end of 2011, we decided to pull all of the divisions under the name Trailblazer Studios. Our clients are now tasked with delivering content in a number of formats, so having a facility with production, post, and sound under one roof and our experience with both short and longform content is now perceived as a real benefit.
3. How did you get your start in the business? I took a hiatus from college and started my own company Johnsound Productions back in 1986. I thought I would give music production and composition a try and if it didn’t work out, I would go back to complete my Architecture degree. So far so good! In the early days I made a demo cassette (remember those) of fake commercials and mailed or hand delivered them to ad agencies and production companies all over the region. I’ve always been pretty good at networking so I attended a number of industry events and began to form relationships, some of which have lasted to this day.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? I feel that I faced the same obstacles most composers faced: getting the word out about my music and getting clients to give me a try. Fortunately, I don’t feel that I faced any major roadblocks due to my race. There were a few surprised looks when some people met me for the first time after only corresponding with me by phone or mail but I don’t feel as if I lost any work due to discrimination. My musical background and life experiences were so eclectic (for example, I sang in the opera La Boheme as a ten year old) that I just became known as a good producer/composer and not just the composer you turn to for “urban” music.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? There is so much more competition these days and I know I’m extremely fortunate to be in the position that I’m in today. I definitely feel like I paid my dues but I had a lot of help from some amazing people at key points in my career. Again, networking and marketing were strength areas of mine so with access to the Internet and the ability to share work electronically, I would have definitely gotten off to a faster start today. Just before joining Trailblazer Studios in 2003, I was beginning to make some serious inroads into the record industry and was corresponding with major record labels and artists through email and sharing my work via my website giving me a glimpse of the power of the internet to connect me from my home studio here in little ole Raleigh, NC.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? I definitely agree that there is a shortage. I notice it most as I go to industry conferences and events and see very few faces of color on many of the panels and in the audience as well. At more technically oriented trade shows, I notice the lack of diversity as well. I think one of the challenges is the lack of exposure to the world of advertising and production for many minorities. A lot of my white peers were exposed to the recording industry at an early age and had parents that were at least familiar with it and for some, their parents actually had jobs in the industry.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? I think more minorities need to become aware as early as possible of production and advertising careers, perhaps as early as middle school. I know this is a major area of concern and the 4A’s, AAF, the Grammy Foundation, and a number of other organizations are making significant efforts to improve the situation. I think it’s also key for people in positions of power to realize that having a diverse workforce benefits everyone, not just the minorities that are hired.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I think we ALL have a role to play in helping to create opportunities for ethnic minorities, though it is extremely important for potential new entries into our industry to see faces that look like theirs once they begin to explore the possibilities.
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? Our audiences are extremely diverse so it is important for content creators to reflect that same diversity so the messages connect with everyone. Just as an example, growing up in an integrated society, I was exposed to the same music, films, and television shows my white peers were exposed to, but I also was exposed to other worlds musically and artistically that I’m pretty sure most of my peers weren’t exposed to, so I feel I have a slightly different “box of crayons’ to pull from as I create.
10. Are you married? Yes, I’ve been happily married for 28 years.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? I have three children ages 25, 22, and 17.
12. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? Not really a story but an observation. In our department, my funkiest composer is a hockey-playing white guy from upstate New York, and I do best with the more orchestral projects. I’m also the worst basketball player in the building….so much for stereotypes.
13. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? This will sound corny but I love what I do so much that I have trouble turning it off. While on vacation, you can usually find me poolside or on the beach catching up on all of my industry trade magazines. We fortunately have a family-first culture here at Trailblazer and I think living here in North Carolina makes it possible to do things that would be unheard of in LA or New York such as running over to one of my kids schools during lunch hour to eat in the cafeteria with them or attend a sporting event after school then returning to the studio for a few hours to finish up for the day.
14. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else.
15. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? I don’t really envision myself retiring. I would always want to have some connection to music and sound, though I would be VERY selective about the projects I work on. I would also continue doing some of the mentoring work that I currently do and enjoy.
Jackie Lee, VP feature sales, Company 3Primary business: High end postproduction for both commercials and feature films. Our services include dailies, on location dailies thru EC3 (our location services which is a combined effort between EFILM and Company 3), preview services, VFX, digital intermediate and finishing services as well as every deliverable you can possibly think of needing.
1. Do you own the company? No, Company 3 is part of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. We have always had an acute focus on providing high end post production and in particular color correction to all types and markets and clients. In the last few years Company 3 has expanded internationally with the addition of CO3 UK as well as our many international Virtual Outposts including Japan, India, Helsinki, Hong Kong and Korea. Being part of the Deluxe group also expands our international reach and we are working very closely with Deluxe companies in Canada and Australia as well.
3. How did you get your start in the business? After receiving my Bachelor of Communications -Theatre/Media, I started my career in publishing. Then I tried my hand at network sales and commercial production before I settled into VFX and postproduction. I loved the technology and creativity of it, and still do.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? Every day there is a different challenge but if I had to pick one thing, it is consistently pushing the boundaries and sometimes having to convince people that just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean is not going to work and it isn’t a good idea. I’ve always believed that where there is a will there is a way and there is a clever solution to any problem.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? I think it would be harder in some ways and easier in others. I think it’s harder because there aren’t any clear paths to get where you want to go as there may have been traditionally but on the hand there are so many creative opportunities, if you think outside the square and find your niche you’re there!
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? I don’t know if I agree that there is a shortage and I don’t know if I agree that this is an issue. I believe diversity exists among filmmakers all over the world. I have never seen myself as a minority, and I have seen some of the most amazing female directors and DPs come thru Company 3 including Nancy Meyers and Kathryn Bigelow.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? I think that we should always be on the lookout to support a good filmmaker, a new talented film maker no matter what their sex or color. Maybe especially because of their sex or color because they most likely have a story that we haven’t seen or heard of before, isn’t that what it’s all about? Helping those stories get told? I know when my colleague David Feldman and I decided to push for the film Circumstance to be one of the indie films that we supported a couple of years ago it was definitely because of the compelling story and not the ethnicity of the filmmakers. It was the same when we supported Six Sessions last year.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I think we all have a responsibility to encourage and support the next generation no matter what their ethnicity or race.
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? Bringing people from different groups together allows us all to learn from each other’s backgrounds and experiences. Diversity brings a variety of insights and perspectives to bear on our work from both a business and creative perspective.
10. Are you married? Yes.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? One son, 12 years old.
12. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? The first Digital Intermediate I was involved with, which was also the first Digital Intermediate ever done in Australia (2003), was with director Khyentse Norbu who is actually a Tibetan Monk. Yes a real one! We did the Digital Intermediate in six-minute chunks and it went flawlessly …… Ethnic minority? check , Workflow outside the box? check, Something never done before? check Where there is a will there is a way? absolutely
13. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? There just aren’t enough hours in the day! And no matter how good I am at multitasking my best work is always when I am focused on one thing at a time. In the end it’s more efficient and at a higher quality no matter if I’m with a client or my son.
14. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? A rock star.
15. We all hope to retire someday. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? Hawaii, I’m going to surf every day!
1. Do you own the company? If so, what year did you launch it? Yes, along with my partner, Javier Carbo, who happens to be my partner in life as well. 1992.
2. How did you get your start in the business? After graduating from AFI in production design I worked in the art dept. in feature films before stumbling onto art dept. work in commercials, I loved that the commercial jobs were short and sweet and always different. Javier was a DP who had just moved to LA from Spain and had worked in films and spots there, we soon started getting calls from people he knew for production services in the States and before we knew it we were both producing. Although we didn’t set out to do so, we wound up with a service company, met a ton of European directors, and naively had the bright idea to offer them up to the U.S. market, so we officially opened as Carbo Films a couple of years later. This at a time when the thought of repping foreign directors for the US made a few people’s heads explode at agencies, outside of a few highly established directors from the UK or South Africa, it was pretty unheard of.
3. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? I would say that our challenge stemmed from applying logic to our business without anticipating a certain side effect: we knew a lot of great Spanish speaking directors who had tremendous reels and thought that starting out in the Hispanic market might be a sensible and perhaps easier entry into the business since there seemed to be a real need for directors in that particular market. What we didn’t expect or count on was being sort of pigeon holed as a “Hispanic company”, a concept I still struggle with a bit. Our approach has always been to be curators of the best directorial talent we could find and back them with strong production support, no matter what language or culture a project was addressing. In my books the fact that we straddle both Anglo and Hispanic culture equally is a plus, not an asterisk inducing subcategory.
4. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? I think there’s probably a different set of challenges, mainly tied to the financial climate we are in and the evolution the ad world is going through, there’s increased competition and a decrease in volume and profits. But on the other hand I do think that people in general and the advertising community in particular have become less narrow-minded and we can see each other as filmmakers and have our work judged on it’s filmmaking merits, period, so that’s a good thing.
5. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? There’s a shortage, no doubt, in just about every role. This may be simply due to socio economic factors that unfortunately affect minority communities more than others, when you don’t see a lot of your same ethnicity in certain professions it doesn’t become an obvious area to dream about pursuing when you’re a kid and I can assure that you no one on “Career Day” at my high school ever addressed this industry, it just wasn’t an option. Although I do think there is progress being made every day we are still widely underrepresented in every area of entertainment and advertising.
6. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? First off, I think there’s a big difference between being a minority individual working in commercial production and being an individual that works for the minority markets. I think that as an individual artist you must do your absolute best work always, persevere and work as hard as hell, you may run into challenges based on your ethnicity but bigotry is the other person’s problem; it can’t deter you, you have to compete toe to toe. But when you are dealing with a situation where brands are soliciting business from a specific ethnic group it becomes a little disingenuous to not make an effort to support that same community as vendors, it’s like saying “we want your consumer dollars but we don’t want to give our dollars to support and build your business community”, so in minority markets in particular I think specific efforts should be made. I commend the efforts being made to address the issue of underrepresentation in general at the client and agency level with the various diversity initiatives that are in place. General Mills and Saatchi NY, for example, have been very supportive of leveling out the playing field and providing opportunities and that’s something we really appreciate.
7. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? I think as human beings we all have a responsibility to pay things forward and we all pay it forward based on our own life experiences, so in my world it’s important to me to support women and minorities, to support new talent and to encourage young people who have never considered our field to do so.
8. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? We’re in the business of communicating, of storytelling, the richer and more diverse our perspectives are the more effective our communication becomes. In terms of Carbo specifically diversity is in our company’s DNA; it’s who we are and who we always have been. We started the company 20 years ago from a place of passion and respect for branding and storytelling. The fact that we are culturally diverse was, frankly, incidental, yet it has proven to be a distinct advantage in terms of the insight and multicultural perspective we can bring to our work. Advertising lives in a context of pop culture and pop culture is inarguably shaped by a myriad of ethnic influences, for filmmakers to be able to draw from multiple cultural perspectives is a definite strength in making a client’s message heard.
9. Are you married? Yes
10. Do you have kids – how many, how old? One grown son.
11. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? At the risk of sounding like Dustin Hoffman’s character in Wag the Dog I’ll refrain from getting too deep into this question- what pops into my head right now is the one time I got a call from an agency producer to tell me he was really sorry to have to let me know we were not awarded a job, when it was a job we weren’t even in the mix for… just in case I was getting my hopes up for a phantom job I suppose.
12. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? Not being able to plan my life for more than a couple of weeks in advance is a killer.
13. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? I think I would do exactly what I have done but would have taken a WHOLE lot more vacations…
14. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? I don’t think I would ever want to retire in the sense of not working anymore, but I would love to be able to spend my time on work that’s done for sheer pleasure’s sake- start a creative incubator for young visual artists and writers, make films that help people somehow, design furniture and interiors, basically spend my energies on all the things that light me up without ever having to worry about a P&L statement.
Jo Muse, chairman, chief creative officer, Muse CommunicationsPrimary Business: Advertising agency 1. Do you own the company? If so, what year did you launch it? Yes. 1987.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about it. The addition of digital technology, both on the production side and in consumer interface have made a huge impact on the business. Additionally, the erosion of profit margins and the explosion of new production technologies have kept us both lean and aware of how efficiencies can be accomplished in production. More and more production is being done in house and we have embarked on small video based projects for the web to expand our business.
3. How did you get your start in the business? I started at a tiny ad agency in Orange County. Too stupid to really know what I was doing, but, here I am anyway.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? Money. Paying my bills on time. Then making money.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? Today’s times are tougher indeed. First it’s a bigger risk in a tight money market. And a down, sluggish economy is not lost on anyone.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? Strange question. Yes, it’s still tough. All over the same way it was 30 years ago. That’s why we need brilliant minds and artists more than ever. Color doesn’t matter. It’s a shortage of great people that don’t care what color people are.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? Training and development and critical to bringing solid talent into the industry.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? No, I believe we all have a responsibility to bring talent to the industry, regardless of ethnicity.
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? It has none. It is all about business. Not race.
10. Are you married? Yes
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? Two–a son (32) and daughter (34)
12. Can you share a poignant or funny career story? After two glasses of wine I will tell my story about platform shoes, maxicoats and leather hats.
13. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? Taking the time to smell the flowers.
14. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? Since I am a writer by trade, writing.
15. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? Writing. Traveling. Doing good. Living in Santa Fe.
Juan Pablo Oubina, group creative director, Grupo GallegosPrimary Business: Ideation, developing and producing advertising campaigns. Currently heavily focused on creating branded content in many forms.
1. Do you own the company? No.
2. If your business model has changed over time, please briefly tell us about Yes, a lot, digital had a huge impact in advertising. We, as an agency, connect brands with consumers, and digital changed not only the relationship but also the consumer behavior. The demographic changes also played an important role on our business. The line that divided, general/total market from the ethnic markets has completely blurred. So while in the past we’d focus on creating a Hispanic campaign as a silo, we are now intimately familiar with—and nearly always intersect the general market campaigns. Likewise, we’ve gone from creating mostly large, expensive campaigns that roll out once or twice a year, to creating a constant stream of continuously evolving communication with the consumer. Communication in constant beta, if you will. Today I mostly lead multicultural teams, and it’s really an amazing experience, having writers from here, creatives from Europe, people from different cultures (Latinos, Asian, Middle East). It is an incredible learning process for all of us.
3. How did you get your start in the business? After I finished college I had a small production house, where I provided services for companies as varied as shipyards to weddings and quincea๏ฟฝeras. A friend of mine, Mario Granatur, was working in the U.S. and he introduced me to Viviana Pendril, CCO of one of the biggest Hispanic agencies at that time; thanks to them I started my career here in the Hispanic market.
4. What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced as you made your ascent in the industry? Back then, when I became creative director, the challenge was how to attract creative people. Even though our work had improved a lot, we were still behind–creatively speaking–markets like Latin America, USA and Europe. The international awards we won, and the economic crisis in the U.S. helped us a lot (creatives wanted to immigrate to the US) but it is still a challenge. Additionally, the other major challenge we currently face is the complexity of the advertising and marketing fields. The explosion of new disciplines (digital, mobile, social, shopper, content, etc.), the new roles those entail and the constant evolution of available technologies. We need to focus on the ideas, on making something memorable and relevant for the people.
5. What do you think would be the biggest challenge or obstacle if you were just starting out today? Would it be easier or more difficult (and why?) to establish yourself professionally and to attain your current role as an executive, creative exec or artist? I don’t know, I think I can adapt to a new context, so I guess it would be equally difficult.
6. Why is there a shortage of ethnic minorities in the advertising and entertainment production community? In what roles is the shortage most profound? Directors? Producers? Executives? Creatives? DPs? Editors? Post artisans? Music/sound? Other? Or do you not agree that there is a shortage? I am not sure, I know a lot of Latinos that work on the advertising and entertainment business, but I guess proportionally we can say there is a shortage. Hopefully companies and mainstream will demand more Latinos, we are a big part of today’s culture and sooner or later the media/entertainment/advertising will catch up. But I think what’s most apparent is the lack of ethnic creatives at the “general market” shops. Agencies try to fix this by hiring ethnic jr. writers and art directors…but it doesn’t usually work, since the guy evaluating the work comes from a very set walk of life. That’s why we, as a multicultural agency, are more prepared for the new marketing challenges.
7. And if so, how can the industry improve the situation? What steps can be taken to rectify such a shortage? There is not an easy fix, as I said, maybe we as a “culture” will demand more integration, more diversity and that will be enough to improve the situation. In the meantime we need to support the good work that is coming from us, if we don’t support it nobody will. But it has to be good work so it can transcend to mainstream. We don’t want to work for a niche or in silos; we want to become mainstream.
8. Do ethnic minorities already established in the business have a responsibility to help create opportunities for other ethnic minorities? Yes, I think we need to help each other, but always putting the “work” first. I think our main responsibility is to create the best possible work for our clients. There needs to be a balance, we want and need to support our industry, giving them work and feedback is the only way we will get better. That doesn’t mean we work in silos or just with ethnic companies. Every project has it own needs, we need to build a team based on those needs, to produce the best ideas and the best results, that’s the priority,
9. What are the advantages (from a business perspective and/or a creative perspective and/or moral perspective) to the industry being more inclusive? I think it’s a no brainer. The more diversified your team (creative, director, musician, etc.), the more diversified your work will be. If everyone on your team is 45 and white, then you’re going to get a lot of Seinfeld-esque ideas (as an example). If your team has different backgrounds, you’ll get ideas that are out of the norm, and therefore more break through. And…just look at the demographics of the country. If you want your work to resonate with the new reality, then your team should probably mirror what’s really going on in the country.
10. Are you married? Yes, to Vivianne Nacif. Talking about multicultural, my wife is the daughter of a Mexican Lebanese father and a Jewish American mother, I’m from Argentina and all my grandparents came from Spain. So my kids are the definition of the multicultural generation.
11. Do you have kids – how many, how old? Yes, Dante (5) and Luna (2).
12. What’s the biggest challenge in balancing your professional and personal life? We are on call 24/7, so my biggest challenge is being with my family as much as possible and trying not to miss any important events. So far I think I’m doing a great job there, but please don’t ask my wife
13. If you could have a do-over, what career would you pick for yourself? Architecture. I like the idea of designing and creating while at the same time making an impact to improve quality of life.
14. We all hope to retire some day. What do you want to do in retirement/where would you live? I would love to live half of my time here in Los Angeles and the other half in Argentina and Mexico. I like to write, so having more free time would certainly give me the opportunity to do it more.
Click here to go to part 2 of this survey with responses from Bernadette Rivero of The Cortez Brothers, Elena Robinson of R/GA, Erika A. Salter of Salter Entertainment Group, LLC, and Paula Walker of Strato Films.
For Women and Minorities in Production, Part III, click here.
For Women and Minorities in Production, Part I, click here.
For Women In Production, Part 1 of Survey responses, click here for respondents Cristina Anderlini, Shannon Barnes, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, Laura Belsey, Fay Dattner, Madeline Di Nonno, Nicole Dionne, and Lesli Linka Glatter.
For Women in Production, Part 2 of Survey responses, click here for Bonnie Goldfarb, Jennifer Golub, Samantha Hart, Phyllis Koenig, Leslie LaPage, Kathrin Lausch, Terry Lawler, and Lola Lott.
For Women in Production, Part 3 of Survey responses, click here for Stacey Mokotoff, Ramaa Mosley, Mardrie Mullen, Liza Near, Valerie Petrusson, Susanne Preissler, Michelle Ross, and Ethel Rubinstein.
For Women in Production, Part 4 of Survey responses, click here for Lauren Schwartz, Rhea Scott, Shari L. Shankewitz, Liz Silver, Jo Steele, Cami Taylor, Monica Victor, and Jessica Yu.
Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.
"When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.
And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.
No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."
At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.
After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More
Carlos Gutierrez, partner, 
Wendell Hanes, CEO/creative director, 
Malcolm Hardiman, creative lead, 
Eric Johnson, executive producer-music+sound, 
Jackie Lee, VP feature sales, 
Dora Medrano, co-owner & executive producer, 
Jo Muse, chairman, chief creative officer, 
Juan Pablo Oubina, group creative director, 