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Steve Jobs has an astute quote about getting things right: “Details matter.” While it may not be the most radical thing he ever said, it’s surely one of the truest things he said. In filmmaking, it applies nicely. Whether it’s on-set or in post-production, attention to detail can take your project from good to great, letting the viewer know that they’re in not just capable hands, but caring hands.
For Directors Heidi Berg and Felix Soletic, attention to detail was everything when they started dreaming up the dream-like title sequence for Netflix’s The Politician. It’s an eery, fantastical, and entrancing sequence packed with little details the viewer may or may not understand. But, that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
Our latest entry into Behind the Work gives you a peek behind the curtain, into the trick behind the magic. The magicians in this case are the team at Stept Studios, who put together Oakley’s first campaign after being named an official sponsor of the NFL. It was a big deal, with big challenges.
Producers are the ultimate middle-man, balancing the tension between clients, directors, crew, and of course, the budget. It can be a tough place, but it’s made easier when you have the right North Star. For Producer Lander Engels, who’s been at Czar Belgium for nearly a decade, he puts creative relationships above all else.
In a way, title sequences serve an entirely different purpose than the introduction of a show. They’re most likely compared to a book’s forward, where an outsider offers a rich, unexpected perspective on a work of art. It’s tangentially related but exists in a parallel universe.
For Directors Heidi Berg and Felix Soletic, along with Editor Doron Dor, they live for this moment, the opportunity to give the audience a glimpse into something deeper than plot and storylines. In their work on Ratched, they’re giving viewers a glimpse into madness.
It can be hard to pinpoint what a good producer looks like because the problems they face are never the same twice. If you’re Javier Alejandro, one day you’re coordinating a ballet with tanks, and the next day you’re flying a plane into Bulgaria for a Dua Lipa video. But, behind the facade of these incredible problems, there are few common threads, including having a zen serenity.
There’s a moment in any creative career when you stop trying to fight the unknown and learn to embrace it. It doesn’t make things less scary, but you also lean into that fear, making peace with it. It’s a huge moment and once you get to that point, you can unlock your true creative potential.
Just take editor Carla Luffe, for example. She got a headstart on this realization by learning to love the most difficult parts of her job which, in turn, makes them a little bit easier.
“It’s a love and hate relationship. It’s so intense and it’s so multilayered because it never ends. You’ll never be satisfied with what you’re doing,” she told us. “But that’s also the beauty of it, in a way. I think I love it, but I was also scared of it and hated it at times.”