Curious EP Peter Grasse redefines production and promises a Lotus at AdFest speaker session
The AdFest session called Production Value Redefined was predicted to be the most talked about event at AdFest. It is a rare event in which a production company candidly talks about the benefits of reducing costs.
Says Peter Grasse, executive producer, Curious: “This is an honest and engaging conversation that our industry needs to have, and is best initiated by the production companies themselves.”
Grasse led the panel that included:
- Takeshi Takada from Alt.VFX Brisbane
- Chris Gurney from ADK Singapore
- Richard Mayo-Smith from Google, Asia-Pacific
- Matt Noonan from Curious Auckland
- Timo from Cutters Studios Tokyo
And, as promised, the conversation revolved around some brutal truths about the value inherent in trust and the power in collaborating on inspiring ideas.
“Film craft seems to be slowly dying,” Grasse told AdFest. “I often wonder if it will even feature in future commercial consideration. Producers once talked about a ‘polished turd’, meaning a bad idea dressed up to look good. But an overall apathy for the process has all but eliminated the polish. Companies naively say ‘Here’s your turd’, no polish, without remorse’
Adds Grasse: “Simply monetizing production is a dangerous mistake for producers and clients alike. Finding motivated solutions are more important than cutting costs. Marketers should know that there is quantifiable value in ample time and trust. And, above all else, candor in honest relationships makes for the best results.”
But as provocative as it was for production companies to question the need for cinematic quality in digital media, as controversial as it was advocate for more time over money, and as unexpected as it was for production companies to redefine production value in terms of its elevation of the idea, the real surprise came at the end.
Grasse closed his session by launching his new initiative in Japan, Dictionary Films Tokyo, with a pledge to give the four countries that have never won an Adfest Lotus the chance to do so.
To show the power of inspired production in bringing great ideas to glory, Grasse promised that Dictionary Films would produce a great script from one of the countries – Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Brunei – for free.
Asian advertising has begun to make its mark on the international stage in recent years and in countries such as Japan, Thailand and India production has developed to match the creativity that’s flourishing there. But this growth of production talent, investment and capabilities is slower to launch in some APAC markets. Grasse and Dictionary Films want to help it along.