Professional Profiles - September 09
JUNGLEBOYS
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Jungleboys is one of the few companies to have thrived during the recession. With a slightly different model to most production companies, it has been in a unique position to benefit from the the growth in branded entertainment and it’s set up has ensured that as TV commercial budgets shrink, they have the skills and facilities to get as much value as possible on screen.
The first point of difference is that it operates more as a collective of directors - that is all of it’s directors contribute to each project - though one director is always in charge and the choice will depend on the type of job it is. For example, one of our comedy directors Trent O’Donnell will often get valuable input from Mark Alston, our visuals director. “We don’t take on any directors with such big egos that they cannot accept that others can offer a valuable contribution and we expect all our producers and admin staff to also be creatively focused” says Jason Burrows, Executive Producer. We love solving creative challenges for our clients and if all our staff are inspired and into the project, the focus and end result is a lot better, - and everyone has fun.
It’s second point of difference is that it has it’s own post production facilities - which have been further strengthened by it’s recent purchase of the design house Emerald City. “This not only ensures that our post guys are very much involved in pre-production, it also provides our directors and production teams with an amazing set of digital tools and creative resources to enhance productions without adding much cost. Our ethos at Jungleboys is that its all about the work, and we are continually striving to find new creative ways to enhance budgets and delivery better films for agencies and clients. These days research, development and deep knowledge of all post processes is an inherent part of doing great creative that stands out, and every film has its own technical challenge.”
Thirdly, it specialises in the production of commercial work, branded entertainment, corporate films and television. For example, Trent recently co-wrote and directed the comedy series “Review With Myles Barlow” which the Sydney Morning Herald Guide awarded “Comedy of the Year”. The Chaser guys must have liked it because he also directed their most recent series (though he’s keen to point out he was not present when the hospital sketch was shot!)
“Because our directors are also writers of TV programs, it puts us in an ideal position to produce branded entertainment and to really add value to ad agencies at the scripting stage of the process”. It is also important to the whole team that we are always doing a variety of work - commercial and non-commercial. For another example, in the last month Mark has directed two music videos for Kate Miller Heidke and Guy Sebastien (both of which are currently number 3 and 4 on the ARIA chart) while Scott Pickett has been off in Poland co-writing a feature film script.
After having doubled the size of it’s business in the last 2 years, Jungleboys is fast becoming one of the major players in the commercials and branded entertainment space.
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