Watson Production Shines Light on Shooting in Spain and Its Islands

Watson Production is a Mallorca-based production service company working across the Balearics, mainland Spain, and the Canary Islands. Founded in 1991, the company specialised in fashion stills before expanding into TVCs and film production services.

Here, Managing Director Cem Celik speaks about the current production climate in Spain, the benefits of taking your shoot to Mallorca and how his time in the Turkish national service helped him hone his skills. 

Q> Cem, tell us a bit about Watson Production and how it came about?

CC> Watson Production was started in the early ´90s as mainly a fashion stills production service company. Since acquiring the company almost a decade ago, I have developed Watson into the media and TVC advertising spheres, managing commercials for both smaller and international, globally recognised brands. We continue to grow year after year. 

In 2015, multilingual UK producer and creative Chloe Graham joined the Watson team, working on developing Watson´s international exposure and production for feature film and TV drama content, most recently producing a TV series for Finnish clients. 

Chloe Graham and Cem Celik

Q> You have an eclectic background. You've worked at a London agency, as a project manager, in the national service... Do you think these experiences have helped get you where you are today?

CC> Definitely! My story began with the BBC where I worked as a fixer for documentaries in Turkey during my university years. This experience later gave me the confidence to take on the responsibility of managing Watson Production. As I was Turkish-born, I was required to complete my national service in Belgium working at the NATO HQs during the Bosnian crisis in the mid '90s. There I learned the best communication protocols and IT skills. I just loved being part of an international crew! 

Consequently, I moved to the UK and started working in advertising agencies as a technical project manager. Over 12 years I helped create solutions and became part of the digital advertising industry as a consultant and project manager before deciding to make the move to Watson Production in Mallorca. My time spent at Soup advertising agency in the UK has given me a wide breadth of experience in designing and developing innovative solutions for clients like NTL, RBS, Sony Ericcson, Fujifilm and Innocent drinks. I have always enjoyed being one of the pioneers of the industry, (I was one of the first to put a car on a sandy beach), and still love the challenges each project gives.

Q> What do you think are the main issues when it comes to production service? Do you think the current volatile political climate plays a big factor in hosting production in Mallorca and Spain?

CC> I think the biggest challenges we face in production service have been offering the latest equipment and crew within the agreed budget in relatively safe and secure environments. Mallorca always has more than 300 days of sunshine including winter months. 

Over the years we have established a high standard of infrastructure for all our services in Mallorca locally and in the rest of Spain we continue to provide the highest quality service. The volatile political climate is a challenge for us all but thankfully Spain and especially Mallorca has kept itself away from the turbulence experienced in other countries so far. Britain’s decision for Brexit has brought inflation and economic instability but to be honest it is still much cheaper to shoot in Mallorca at the moment than in the UK.

Q> There seems to be a trend of smaller outfits setting up in production and facilitating smaller projects with lower budgets. What would you consider the benefits of this?

CC> This has always been one of the challenges and I agree it will continue to be. We will still try to give our best service regardless of the budget. We also have found that some clients like the more personal 'hands on' approach and we can assure that we will give our full undivided attention to every single project that comes through our door. In fact, some of our clients love our services so much, we have travelled far for them to produce away from our base as far as Canaries, Ibiza, Barcelona and even Italy. Turkey is still a possibility. I must thank them here for still believing in us.

Q> Mallorca seems to particularly be rising in popularity recently. Why do you think this is?

CC> UK dramas such as 'Mad Dogs' and 'The Night Manager' have portrayed Mallorca’s versatility and helped its popularity. Although some service giants in Mallorca and Barcelona set higher prices and lesser flexibility due to their oversized operations, the world is moving towards more boutique and personal touch with more realistic and competitive prices in the current market. At Watson we try to show our strength in quality, service and flexibility. Plus Mallorca is only a couple of hours from London and has incredible picturesque locations! Right? 

Q> Considering the pound is weak at the moment, why would you persuade companies to shoot in Mallorca as opposed to shooting in London?

CC> In terms of versatility of locations, climate, proximity and ease of travel form the UK, Mallorca is one of the best options out there. With our access to brand new equipment and world class multi-lingual crew we can compete with anywhere in the world as value for money. 

We recently had a TVC studio shoot whose agency commented to us that it was cheaper for them to fly out their entire creative and technical team, set build, and shoot three TVC spots with us than it would have been back at their regular studio in the UK.

Cheaper model buyouts, coupled with relatively cheaper equipment and crew, as well as a quick turn around of location permits and casting services all help us achieve stunning results with high efficiency. We have always worked hand in hand with the Mallorca Film commission for local incentives and help is always there when we need it most.

Q> What do you consider the hidden gems of Mallorca that people may or may not know? 

CC> I have to say until I produced in Ibiza and Canaries I hadn't realised how beautiful and versatile Mallorca is compared to the rest of the islands. Mallorca has a staggering 4 million population during summer months but the better road network allows us to get to most of the island under an hour, thankfully.

Q> What's next for Watson?

CC> I'd love Watson to always be ahead of the challenges we may face and continue to work with the Mallorca film commission to create better solutions in every area of production service. Recently we have shot a TV episode for Finland, for which the local government helped us create amazing results at lower costs. Our main aim is to convince people to come to shoot in Mallorca and Spain who may not have been before. We have a lot to offer in Mallorca, great locations, good wine, a fun crew and you can guarantee you'll have a brilliant time when you're here.