Now that I'm back on NYC time and 2-weeks of laundry's been done, I thought I'd drop a little post about my latest project/adventure. One of the great things about working on global business is opportunity to travel to far-away lands and work with people off our usual radar. In this case, it was a production company called Rebolucion in Buenos Aires. Our director, Luciano Urbani, was fantastic. He was a 1st AD for years, then made the switch to directing about 2 years ago. Suffice to say, he runs a tight, fast-moving production. He's creative, passionate, energetic and of particular importance, very collaborative. Truth be told, the spots are simple, lifestyle stories, nothing that will wow the juries at Cannes. But as I've said in a previous post, I think every project's an opportunity to work on a skill and on this one, we tried to tell the stories as beautifully and interestingly as possible. Just saw rough cuts and I think we'll be in great shape. But beyond the spots themselves, the adventure was pretty cool, too. We did all our prep in Buenos Aires, then took a 3-hour ferry ride over to Montevideo, Uruguay. It's summer there, so between 85-90 degree weather and 15+ hours of light, it makes for a great production situation. That and crews that seem to bend over backwards to make things happen. It's one of the amazing qualities I've found with many overseas production companies. They take nothing for granted. They know we've come a long way to work with them, when we could have easily stayed somewhere closer to home. And they know we could have shot with one of the "usual suspects." So they try harder. They ask about other projects coming up. I had a choreography team offer to do test films to help sell another project we're working on. It's amazing, refreshing and makes me want to see these people succeed. Sadly, I think it's something many US-based companies have forgotten. Not all, of course, but many. And it makes me all the more excited to continue working abroad. That, and the frequent flyer miles do add up.
