The Work That Made Me: Oliver Würffell
Oliver Würffell's love for filmmaking hasn't changed since he first picked up his parents' camcorder. From then on he knew he would be a storyteller. His ability to blend his love of humans, high-end brands and film has lead Oliver to work alongside some of the world's largest brands and biggest names: Audi, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Land Rover, Rimowa, RedBull, Sony, Converse and stars like Virat Kohli, Neymar Jr., Manuel Neuer, Richard Branson, Lewis Hamilton and Marky Ramone.
Oliver realised an art project around Sven Marquardt’s photo series 'NYC/22'. His artistic short film 'REBELLION NYC' was exhibited together with Sven’s portrait photographs at Galerie Deschler, Berlin. More recently Oliver teamed up with JOJX and Serviceplan to tell a visually compelling story to fight the US opioid pandemic.
Currently, Oliver is finalising a personal project about his great-grandfather who wrote a letter to the family three hours before he got executed by the Nazis for his refusal to pick up arms. This film will be shown at the German Historical Museum, Berlin. However, it is Oliver's genuine love for understanding narrative that gives all his work—from high-end TVC to long-form films—a tangible cinematic quality.
LBB> The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Oliver> As a child of the good old early MTV days, there are so (too) many iconic music videos that I will never forget. They were my main motivation not to miss the bus home. From legendary Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage' or fun dancy street-style East 17’s 'House of Love' to a teenage fever dream Nirvana’s 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. I could go on and on.
And speaking of which, as much as I love the current never-ending YouTube overload, I sometimes miss the dedication of taking your time, sitting down, and soaking up the singular event of one music video because there was no 'watch again' button.
LBB> The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Oliver> Vimeo was my stepping stone. I got to watch my peers create masterpieces and also share my own work with an audience that appreciates a different aesthetic.
It was all very exciting watching films while being a PA at a production company.
LBB> The creative work (film/album/game/ad/album/book/poem etc) that I keep revisiting…
Oliver> I do not have one iconic film or one art piece or one most-read book that I always revisit. Instead, I like to be surprised and excited by true artists from the past and future when they share their latest work, or I find hidden gems in random galleries.
LBB> My first professional project…
Oliver> My very first professional project was a BTS that took me around the world. That gig paid me so well (but so little in today's money) and allowed me to not only quit my job at the production company I was working at back then but also take my skills into the advertising world.
LBB> The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…
LBB> The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that still makes me jealous…
Oliver> I’m more of an admirer of talented humans and their skills creating outstanding work than a person filled with jealousy, as jealousy creates more stress to the mind and body —in a world that runs on exactly that fuel.
I admire anybody who dares to create!
LBB> The creative project that changed my career…
Oliver> In late 2013, I took my Canon camera to the 'Frozen Tundra' of Wisconsin.
A bleak, ice-cold and almost inhuman place at that time of the year that suddenly fills with honest and true emotions when the most iconic NFL football team—Green Bay Packers—steps on the grass of Lambeau Field.
The week before my trip, I had the idea of shooting a story about the last regular-season game. So I stepped on the plane, wrote the film, and came back with a Vimeo Staff Pick that then turned into the official hype video of the Greenbay Packers. It was played during their 100th season during every home game on the jumbotron.
Seeing more than 81,000 people watching your film as the team enters the field is an outta body experience.
LBB> The work that I’m proudest of…
Oliver> Every film that tells a very personal story, or has a bigger meaning and social impact with an extraordinary approach, or is simply unique in its execution—these are the projects I always love to look back to. For example, my first code red shoot for Audi in the desert in South Africa, ploughing through sand at more than 100°F
Or being able to meet, talk and shoot addicts in recovery for an intimate PSA to tackle the current opioid crisis in the US and provide a helpline to actually quit. Or a road trip during the longest days and shortest nights of the year through Estonia, shooting another code red (this time a prototype) for the 'neue new' vision of BMW.
LBB> I was involved in this and it makes me cringe…
Oliver> I’ve actually never had that feeling.
LBB> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Oliver> I have some upcoming projects I’m really excited about and they vary in their content—from a campaign saving the lives threatened by the US opioid pandemic, a film about my great-grandfather that will be exhibited in the German Historical Museum, to my most recent ads involving a sports super star or people next door—all made by good humans.
