In Production: Daniel Bergmann

Daniel Bergmann has been working in production for 15 years and got into the business because he was “part of the art scene in New York”. His first feature docu film, The Journey of the Butterfly, was shot in the Czech Republic (his home country) where he met a few other producers and moved to London to start a joint venture with Blink.

Bergmann says that, back then, he had no idea that the business was all about building directors and talent but he was very focussed and was overjoyed when Stink became independent from Blink in 2001.

Below, the producer talks about a recent risk he has taken for the business, the way the industry has changed over the years and how he had planned to launch a career in the art world.

Tell us about an ad campaign you’ve seen recently that stands out for its production quality and standard…

I like the way Beats directed by Nabil Elderkin for Dr. Dre was produced, I know the director spent about half a year travelling the world shooting snippets of the film. It’s a really smart way of doing things; you can achieve a lot more shooting in this documentary style. I quite like the campaign creatively and, musically, it was beautifully executed. Music/video campaigns like these have become quite prominent lately.

Do you feel the role of the producer is becoming more prominent and crucial today than in the past?

The role of the producer has always been important – it’s as important as it always was.

What’s your most valued production tool (tech or otherwise) and why?

I think it’s my phone. You don’t actually need anything besides your brain but I think realistically you need some kind of communication device.

Tell us about a recent risk/investment you’ve made in your career or for your business?

We have just recently rented a large office space, bigger than we probably need, which will house all of the Stink and Stinkdigital team. This is part of our new exciting move in which all of content, film and interactive will work together under one roof. It’s kind of a risk but an exciting one!

How has the industry changed since you started working in it?

It has changed dramatically, it has become much more fragmented between different media and platforms. In other words there is a different distribution and communication in the landscape of advertising. Communication when I came to business was mostly through TV, radio, outdoor, poster etc – classical tools of interruptive advertising. Consumers back then didn’t have much choice.

Today we have so much choice – we have digital, interactive, film and we can watch whatever we want. We can skip adverts, we can alter and interact with them and we are entertained by them. It is our responsibility to continue to create compelling stories, innovative and beautifully executed campaigns that hold the attention of our consumers across all these platforms.

Consequently this has had a knock on effect with budgets and clients today are spending money in a much more fragmented way. Budgets are being split across platforms and, for producers coming from TV, these cuts have definitely become noticeable over the years. Today producers have to think of strategy and creativity, we become part of the process earlier, deal with clients earlier and go through workshops, feasibility studies, research and development. Before, we just used to get a script and shoot it.

I don’t think we will ever have budgets like we used to have but, as technology develops, I’m sure there will be a better balance and a reasonable solution to the distribution of funds.

How do you relieve stress during a shoot?

I don’t stress, I actually relax on shoots! I think generally shoots have become less stressful. Equipment is much lighter, everything is digital and CG/ post production allows you to fix so many things – it’s actually a lot easier these days.

What’s your favourite thing to do away from work?

I do a lot of sport and socialising.

What would you like to see change in the world of production?

I would like to see a new generation of producers from all sides who are able to sit down around a table and make some decisions. There is too much insecurity at the moment and not enough people who understand what’s going and who can take responsibility.

Tell us one way your skills at work transfer to your everyday life…

I’m not sure. I work at home a lot but the thing is I am not a very good producer at home – I don’t know how to deal with the cleaner, the builder or bills…so I don’t think I’ve transferred much!