The Directors: Bernardo Marentes
Bernardo Marentes strives to create work that is not only visually stunning but also moves people emotionally. He grew up all over South America but now calls the South his home. As a Director and Cinematographer, he has been recognized for his excellent eye and his ability to tell powerful stories through 3x National Advertising Awards, 2x Vimeo Staff Picks and 2x Webby Awards. His passion is to work on meaningful documentary and commercial projects.
Bernardo has worked as a Director on National Campaigns for brands such as Harley-Davidson, Boar’s Head, Seagate, Lending Tree, Bridgestone, Husqvarna & Bank of America. When he’s not working you can find him outside with his wife Katie, their twin boys Abel and Leo, and beautiful daughter Penelope.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Bernardo> I write for commercials that I want to make. If you’re purely writing out of an obligation to a client, not injecting your point of view or heart, or whatever you want to call it, if you hate it, the pitching will be miserable, but that’s nothing compared to the shit show you’re going to live through if you get that commercial and then have to make the thing you hate (that you wrote, like an idiot).
If it's an opportunity to try something new or simply tell a great story, I'm in.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Bernardo> Treatments are an essential element in making commercials. It’s my chance to begin to understand the needs of the project, both my creative approach and the client messaging, and start to develop a vision for how and why I’m going to tackle this particular project.
Treatments accomplish two things for me and my process. First, they force me to think deeply on what it is that I’m setting out to make. A treatment then serves as a reservoir for all those ideas. Hopefully, it's a clear articulation of my ideas and it allows the client (and collaborators, later on) to see my vision, in a tangible format with very specific language and imagery, and make sure it matches what they envisioned. A good treatment will either serve as a confirmation for a client and best case scenario, it expands the clients vision of what is possible or what it is that they need. In a much more practical sense, the best treatment usually wins the job.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Bernardo> Knowing what your client is trying to do with their ad is obviously critical, but understanding the brand, their values, their tone, their vibe, etc. Also really crucial. A good way to understand your client is to see how they portray themselves. A PDF brochure, a header on their website, or the type of photography they’ve picked for their mail chimp can all give you a good insight into how they think. As far as strategy, I'm just the director, I don't have a guy at the media buying building for the inside scoop on placement or strategy. Just ask your client. They want you to know. They’ll tell you.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Bernardo> You need to trust the production team around you. They’re taking your abstract pie-in-the-sky ideas and turning them into an actual pie on an actual table on an actual set. Respect their time and talent and do so by communicating with them clearly and promptly.
On the vision side, figure out who’s your person at the agency or client. They’re the ones that have been developing this idea for way longer than you’ve been on the project. They know the ins and outs of the script and can help keep you on track.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Bernardo> I’m not picky about genre or subject matter. My passion is in the making. I just want to create things that bring me joy. I’m not saying everything has to be a comedy or “fun” necessarily. I just want to make work that is meaningful to me and brings me some sort of satisfaction. If it's a good script, good brand and I’ll be working with good people, I’m all in.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Bernardo> I’m always surprised when clients comment on how stress-free and pleasant their experience has been on one of our sets. Making commercials doesn't have to be an insanely miserable laborious process where everyone is overworked and egos are clashing.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Bernardo> Nope. The closest I get to that is asking my producer for things that she says are too expensive.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Bernardo> Making a commercial as a director is nothing but creative problem solving.
I’ve been fortunate (knock on wood, or particle board - my desk is from Ikea, I'm a director not an EP) to not really collect too many production horror stories. It does make for a less exciting PR Q&A session or cocktail party conversation, but I like it that way. I try to read situations and clients as much as possible before committing to creating something together. My goal is to put myself in situations where I'm not set up for failure and surround myself with good people that truly want you to succeed.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Bernardo> That’s the question. Making commercials is a balance of telling a client’s story, whether that’s promoting a new product or showcasing a service, and using your experience, taste, artistry and personality to make that story both the client’s and yours as a director. At the end of the day, no client (with rare exceptions) is paying you to make a 30 second personal art project with full creative freedom to sell their product. That’s not to say you can’t inject some art and heart into a commercial.
You strike a balance by working within a client’s objectives. Making a commercial is just creative problem solving. Find a creative approach that makes you excited but that also conveys the client’s message. That’s not an easy thing to do. Once you find that in, everything starts to click into place.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Bernardo> Love it. Our work is constantly evolving, constantly being refreshed and re-worked to speak in the language of today and right now. There’s nothing better to help you grow and evolve than new voices. Diversity of background, life experience and point of view is what we need to move us forward.
I love teaching and sharing what I've learned throughout my lil career. I don’t know it all, but I’ve put in the hours, so I have knowledge to share. I’ve been on this journey with lots of different people and I’d like to think that I've encouraged and taught them all something along the way. If you want to learn, I want to share.
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?
Bernardo> In general, I think it showed everyone that creative work can happen anywhere.
Personally, it was a good reminder to not take what I do for granted. I love creating. I love having dinner and drinks after a long day of shooting. I love finding unexpected things on a location scout. I love seeing different departments all come together and make the words I've written take the shape of a beautiful shot where talent’s hair looks great, wardrobe is spot on, props are poppin', the line we tweaked was delivered perfectly and you see the twinkle in the clients joyful eyes as they look on from video village. I’m hoping to hold on to that reminder.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working?
Bernardo> You can't possibly envision every single device or format where this commercial is going to end up. Even with a list of deliverables from client up front, things change, devices are weird, TV’s are weird, everything is weird. I try to focus on crafting a good commercial and bring in the right group of people around me to help me stay on track for 9x16 or square deliverables. If we have an alternate format in mind, I'd rather stop and reset our scene for that instead of sacrificing our 16x9, or whatever it is, main format.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Bernardo> Love it. Just another tool for us to use. If it’s going to make my life easier and help me tell the client’s story in a better way, let's do it.
