How did you get into the industry?
An old high school buddy of mine (who I later produced 20+ years of work with) brought home a Sony ½” reel to reel video camera/deck during a Christmas break from college. We played around with it over a weekend, and I was hooked.
Mind you, I was attending the Kansas City Art Institute at the time and my major was Ceramics. Over the following years I drifted from the potters wheel and into the TV studio. I worked as a PA for a bit, moved on to some gripping, boom man, VTR Operator and eventually began to help on the production side.
Eventually I joined forces with my old pal who became a director at an upcoming production company.
Where are you based now and who do you work for?
I am based in Los Angeles and freelance as a Producer and Bidder for a number of production companies. Currently I’m working with The Mill’s live-action department.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
Very good question. My wife and I almost moved to San Francisco from Chicago many moons ago. I think if I had moved, I would probably have gotten caught up in the Dot.Com industry.
Computers and technology were just taking off and for some reason it attracted me. I still have a pottery studio at the house but I don’t think I could have earned a living off of that unfortunately.
Can you explain your creative process? What makes it unique?
Truthfully, as a Producer I have learned to keep my creative two cents to myself. There’s only one Director on set and in order to keep the ideas pure, I don’t chime in unless asked. My role is to throw the party. Find all the filmmakers and put together the best crew and vendors I can find.
How would you describe your style?
I try to keep it light. It’s just a commercial, we are not saving lives. I do respect the marketing aspect of what we do. If we can make something memorable and sell something at the same time, we have done our job. I do not micro-manage. My goal is to find the best people and surround the Director with folks that know what they’re doing.
Which individuals do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Well, I have always had a lot of respect for Mr. Bernbach. Yes, I am old school. He had a lot of wisdom that he shared about advertising that is still relevant to this day.
From that era, Howard Zieff comes to mind and his spot about the AMC Rebel being used as a Drivers Ed vehicle always makes me laugh. Then there was the Chanel No 5 advert that Sir Ridley Scott did in-house. “Charles…Katherine”.
Michel Gondry and the black and white film he directed for Levis where the end reveal is unexpected but outstanding. Jonathan Glazers, Guinness “The Dreamer” commercial where the guy falls asleep at a table and dreams he’s a squirrel.
And of course Joe Sedelmaier. I worked as a video assist operator for a short time in Chicago and almost got the chance to work with Joe but later found out that he had told his client that he didn’t need or use video assist because he didn’t need to playback anything. I respected him all the more.
What tips would you give to aspiring creatives looking for work?
It’s funny, I had this conversation over Christmas break last year with a couple of freshly minted directors. I told them to try and buddy up with the ad agency creatives they work as much as they can. You must try and leverage the work you have at hand so you can wedge some spec work in there somehow.
When I was coming up, we were always trying to plus relationships with the ad agency creatives who had certain ideas they had pitched that never went farther than their Group Creative Director. They were good ideas so we would finish up our day of work, call wrap and wave goodbye to our clients as they left the set and kept working.
The crew was behind us because they knew we were loyal to them and that this probably would generate more work all around. Win, win!
What tips would you give to other professionals to get more clients?
That’s a tough one really. Hell, I think it’s harder and harder to keep the clients you have for the simple reason that a job is being awarded because you’re making the numbers work.
If you feel you can’t produce a job because there’s not enough money, I assure you that Jerry, down the road will be able to do it so you can’t necessarily say, “it can’t be done”. I guess you need to stay nimble, use the technology to your advantage and keep the overhead to a minimum so you can keep your doors open.
What kind of tools/kit/software could you not do without?
I use all sorts of things. Certainly the iPhone has become indispensable. Although it would be tough to bid a job on my phone.
With that particular tool I can:
- Predict the weather with certain accuracy along with lightning strikes.
- Figure out the exact spot where the Sun is going to come up and go down anywhere in the world.
- Determine whether a camera could fit in a particular location by simulating a camera lenses field of view.
- Speculate on traffic drive times for scouting from here to there.
The computer on the other hand enables me to not only bid but also figure out scheduling, mock-up 3D drawings of certain settings to see if an idea will work, and of course all of the other mundane uses we have all come to take for granted.
The one new bit of technology I’m trying to wrap my head around is AI (Artificial Intelligence). I’m curious where that is going to take our industry. Hopefully it will be in a positive way.
What’s your secret to staying inspired and motivated?
I’ve got two kids who keep me in line and informed. Sometimes I forget to see beyond the work blinders and they pass the reality smelling salts under my nose to wake me up. An open mind doesn’t hurt.
Being a Producer sometimes puts you in a tough position because you have been there, done that and you’re usually labelled as a “Debbie Downer” because you know that some theories will not play out. No “future-tripping” as my wife says. Let’s see where this goes.
What’s the work achievement you’re most proud of?
I lasted 20 years as a full time Staff Producer at a Production Company that started in Chicago and moved to LA. I made a lot of friends both on the agency side as well as the crew side. I was able to raise my kids and provide for my family.
What is the one thing that you would change about the industry?
Don’t get me started…
How about being loyal to the people who bend over backwards for you? It’s unfortunate that the almighty dollar has taken over what used to be a common courtesy. The bean counters rule the day and I believe it has been detrimental to the creativity of what ends up on our screens.
See less of focus groups, testing and cost consultants. Pretty soon there’s not going to be any fat to find in a budget. They’ve figured out how to take whatever money they think is not necessary in a bid which more or less means that there can’t be that “alt” take for a scene just when things were evolving into a better message for the commercial.
There used to be a time when you all gathered around a table at the Pre Pro Meeting and the client wanted to make sure you covered off what their focus group had determined was memorable. Now, we have to tell them that we can only shoot what’s on their board because there’s no money in the estimate to discover anything in a different, possibly better way. Do I sound bitter?
Any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
I’m reading Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman
Wired Magazine
New York Times (I get it in print!)
Reddit (the various forums)
LinkedIn (the various advertising forums)
