As SHOOT celebrates a milestone, its 65th year of publication, we continue a recently launched series of stand alone interviews and features that will run throughout the summer on SHOOTonline and in SHOOT’s newsletters and special digital issue in which industry executives, creatives and artists reflect on the changes they’ve seen over the decades, as well as essential dynamics that have endured. These folks–from different sectors of the business–will also share their visions and aspirations for the future.
Thus far, we’ve had standalone pieces with observations from Matt Miller, AICP president and CEO; attorney Jeffrey A. Greenbaum, partner in Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz (FKKS); Frank Scherma, president of RadicalMedia; Bonnie Goldfarb, co-founder and executive producer, harvest films; and Dave Rolfe, global head of production for WPP/Hogarth.
This time around, SHOOT surveys a cross-section of the industry, gaining multiple perspectives on the past, present and future. This is the first installment of a two-part featured survey in which assorted professionals contemplate where we were, where we are and where we’re headed.
This ongoing special SHOOT coverage enables us to look back on the industry’s history, learn from it, and plum relevant lessons that will help us now and beyond. Mark Twain once famously said, “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” Twain’s insight underscores the importance of the past and its role in helping us better shape today and tomorrow.
Such perspectives are invaluable yet sadly often not properly considered as society’s tendency at times is to overlook history and its significance. Additionally, the new generation navigating our industry sometimes isn’t aware of the relevant history, having not experienced it firsthand. Hopefully helping to close those gaps will be SHOOT’s 65th Anniversary coverage which seeks to provide historical context and to benefit from its relevance to the present and what may lie ahead.
While the future can be daunting, its prospects are also invigorating. And while much has changed, certain principles remain steadfast. For example, Andrés Ordóñez, FCB’s global chief creative officer, observed, “Like everything else, our business is in constant motion. The speed of culture has accelerated. Media is more fragmented. Technology and data are reshaping how we connect. All of that has transformed our industry, and made the battle for attention more intense than ever. But through all that change, one belief has stayed steady: Creativity is the most powerful economic multiplier in the world. And our job is to prove that every single day to unlock growth.”
Unlocking creativity, though, takes on a greater degree of difficulty with the growth of artificial intelligence. For many survey respondents, AI is cause for concern in terms of its impact on the human element while also sparking optimism relative to how AI can potentially enhance the creative process.
Matthew Wood, partner/editor at Whitehouse Post, noted, “We in creative editorial are facing the challenge, and the opportunity, of integrating AI into our work. It’s not whether to use AI, but how to use it meaningfully to enhance our creativity without losing the human touch that defines great storytelling. Creativity isn’t something you can fully automate, it’s about instinct, nuance, and emotional resonance. We’ve worked on several campaigns recently that included AI elements and it’s been very interesting to see how it both solves and creates problems. That said, there are many potential efficiencies as we can use it for versioning, managing digital assets, storyboarding, it helps with a lot of unmet needs and is something we are continuing to explore. We have always been pioneers in leading with tech and see this as an opportunity to develop new tools that will benefit the industry. But tools are only as valuable as the thought and craft behind them, and the future lies in striking that balance, while staying open to innovation.”
Kerstin Emhoff, CEO of PRETTYBIRD and Ventureland, shared, “Coming out of Cannes, it was clear that everyone is grappling with the same question: how will AI reshape our industry? It’s here, and it’s evolving fast, fundamentally changing how we work. I’m choosing to approach it with optimism, focusing on the ways these new tools can enhance our storytelling by giving us greater power and flexibility. That said, we also need to confront the challenges head-on, especially when it comes to compensation. As creators and producers of premium content, we must advocate for new models that reflect our value in this shifting landscape. And to stay relevant, we have to continue expanding beyond a pure service model and explore diversified approaches to the business.”
Asked about industry developments over the years–and/or recently–that have had the greatest positive influence on her and the agency world, Orlee Tatarka, head of production, Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, related, “Democratizing access to production has opened our industry to so many more storytellers and ways in which those stories are told. Interacting with audiences versus simply serving up content has drastically changed how and what we produce. Co-collaborating with audiences in this way has forced us to work differently: by thinking on our feet, acting quickly, trying things that sometimes fail, and when we’re doing it at our best, really having fun, which you can absolutely feel in the work. At W+K we’ve always been in the business of not just interacting with culture, but driving culture, so the industry pivot to more direct cultural engagement is genuinely exciting to me.”
On the topic of changes in the business which she loves–as well those she dislikes–Tatarka noted, “I love that we’ve been able to take so many lessons from the pandemic and apply them to what we’re doing now. Things that once seemed impossible we now know how to do with ease, while what is possible is constantly evolving. Technology is rapidly expanding our ability to do what might have once felt unimaginable and giving more people access to tools and learning in really unexpected and new ways.
“On the flipside, what I don’t particularly love is how efficient and transactional some of the leftovers from the pandemic have impacted the industry. As hokey as it sounds, I do believe that the energy that goes into making something is evident in the work that we create, and when there is no ability to form relationships, have face-to-face conversations, or talk through work outside of meetings, it makes a different kind of output. I dislike how some large companies are approaching “streamlined” and “centralized” production.
Below are reflections and observations from a mix of industry voices–including Emhoff, Ordóñez, Tatarka and Wood–in response to several questions posed by SHOOT.
Click on headshot or name to read survey responses:
| Name | Title | Company Name | |
 |
LaRue Anderson | Managing Partner, Founder | Apache Digital |
 |
Jordan Brady | Filmmaker/Founder | True Gent |
 |
Craig Duncan | President | Cutters Studios |
 |
Kerstin Emhoff | CEO | Prettybird / Ventureland |
 |
Steve Giralt | Founder/Director | The Garage |
 |
Qadree Holmes | Founder/Executive Producer | Quriosity |
 |
Ralph Laucella | Founding Partner/EP | O Positive |
 |
Michael Marinelli | President | Sonic Union, Inc |
 |
Becky Morrison | Founder/CEO | The Light |
 |
Andrés Ordóñez | Global CCO | FCB |
 |
Josh Rabinowitz | Music Consultant & Prof | Brooklyn Music Experience |
 |
Bradley Ross | Owner / Director / Editor | Open Swim |
 |
Orlee Tatarka | Head of Production | Wieden+Kennedy Portland |
 |
Matthew Wood | Partner/Editor | Whitehouse Post |
Publishers note: Thank you to our Survey respondents for contributing to our ongoing series of 65th Anniversary articles which you will see over the next few months.
Here’s a fun look back at some of the content and Ads relating to our 50th & 40th Anniversaries.
- Click Here to see a feature series we published in the months leading up to our 50th Anniversary Issue which includes interviews with Lee Clow, Robert Greenberg, Bob Giraldi, Larry Bridges, Rich Silverstein, Stephen Dickstein, Phil Geier, Joe Pytka, Bryan Buckley, Joe Sedelmaier, Dan Weiden, Susan Credle, Noam Murro, Tony Granger, Kevin Roddy, Kristi VandenBosch, David Lubars, Jon Kamen, Stefan Sonnenfeld, Tom Kuntz and Lance Acord.
- Click Here to see the SHOOT 50th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2010.
- Click Here to see SHOOT House Ads leading up to our 40th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2000. A big hit at the time, they are still fun to look at. The Ads featured Cheryl Berman, Alex Bogusky, Texas East, Nitza From, Lyle Greenfield, Matt Miller, Tom Mooney, Barbara Mullins, David Perry, Joe Pytka, and Scott Ross.
- Click Here to see Industry Ads from the SHOOT 40th Anniversary Issue published in Nov. 2000
- Click Here for our special 65th Anniversary Retro Ad Rates.
