There’s a new player in the world of production agencies, Wilderness which describes itself as a ‘creative production and technology company.’
Wilderness will be based in the UK although it appears to have international ambitions. The three founders are Josh Tenser, former head of production at BBH and Stink Digital, Pablo Marques, a former interactive creative director at BBH, Wieden+Kennnedy and R/GA and Marcel Kornblum, who oversaw technology at Stink Digital in London and New York.
Wilderness is also partnering with production company Pulse Films which has offices in London, Los Angeles, Paris and New York. Pulse began in 2005 and works with Vice Films and Sony among others. its output covers advertising, film, television, music and branded content plus ‘talent management.’
Tenser says: “I want us to be known for bringing a unique wealth of senior experience to everything we do. Being able to spot the risks and opportunities opens up the door to making amazing work.”
Marques says: “We want to work with people from the embryonic stages of their projects. We believe we can help with both the craft and the creative thinking.”
Which might sound quite like an agency but Wilderness insists that strong creative partnerships with agencies are key to the way the new company will operate.
The line between production agencies and creative agencies is blurring all the time. Most the UK’s established production agencies (Tag, network, Zone and Tapestry among others) hail from a press background originally. Tag, owned by Williams Lea, is also active in film and video through its Smoke & Mirrors subsidiary.
Wilderness seems to be targeting film and video primarily, given the background of its founders and the tie-up with Pulse Films. As such it may come up against another newcomer to the London scene, WPP’s rather mysterious Gramercy Park Studios, which is part of WPP’s in-house production agency Hogarth. Gramercy Park, named after a WPP location in New York, appears to be an in-house production and post-production facility.
