BRW'S FASTER AND BETTER MANDATE
BRW, Italy's largest production company, has kept busy over the last year with the launch of a new Rome-based operation, more European and international work and a mandate to produce spots end to end in a shorter and shorter amount of time.

BRW's Mario Ciuffini describes the agency/client/production company dynamic for the shop as more of a triangle, with the production company in direct contact with the client, as well as the agency, and typically, being paid directly by the client. "The client doesn't come to us only because of the director, but because of the kind of production company we are," says Ciuffini. For BRW, that means being a vertically integrated, one-stop shop, with producers, casting directors, editors and post facilities, including Avids, Flame suites and telecine, in-house. "A good production company in Italy is a problem solver; it creates ideas and supports the agency," says Ciuffini.

The company, created in 1974, shoots around 85 campaigns a year, with about 50% of its work coming from international sources, and billings around US$40 million. The company began representing its own roster of directors 10 years ago, and now has about 15, including one of Italy's top directors, Federico Brugia, and five new directors the company is building. The company also has relationships with numerous foreign directors, including Tarsem, Marcus Nispel, Leslie Dektor, Eddy Chu and Moshe Brakha, representing them for work in Italy. The company has produced spots for Coke, GM, Kellogg's, Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, Volvo and a recent Campari campaign directed by newcomer Allessandra Pescetta. The Rome office opened under a year ago and has a staff of 11, while the original Milan office employs about 55. The shrinking time/budget equation is a challenge, says Ciuffini, who says the company must still bring the high production values expected by audiences weaned on big-budget feature films. "People are used to seeing big things," he says. "You can't let the quality go down even though you are doing more work. Working in the European market, we have to be top quality, otherwise, we can't compete. So we have to make the money work - we make it sing and dance."

WEB.FILES:
BRW: http://www.brwpartners.com

M&R SERVICES THE WORLD
M&R Production Service is a production services company launched in April 1997 by Michele Virgilio. Virgilio had 12 years of experience in commercial production, including five years at Filmmaster, as well as feature experience on films including Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. Virgilio works with Australian native Allison Garvey in the shop, which services commercial and music video work from all over the world. Garvey says although the shop is small, it has created a strong infrastructure and handles high-end jobs in a cost-effective manner. M&R has worked with a number of London-based directors, including Daniel Barber from Rose Hackney Barber on a BMW spot, and several jobs with Andrew Douglas from Douglas + Jones, as well as jobs from Germany and the US.