Martin Feuerstein de Cortez Brothers
Executive Producer Martin Feuerstein of Cortez Brothers says they’ve had the luck to keep working despite the pandemic. “It was something that came as a surprise for everybody and is leading to many changes in production,” he said, “but we’re lucky that in this business we’re used to adapting to problems and solving them.” The production company recently shot a commercial for a phone company in Florida while respecting all today’s security requirements. The director was the husband of the star, her sister worked on the shoot and they brought in the fewest possible number of assistants from outside. “Today, QTAKE allows us to see at a distance in full resolution what is being seen through the camera,” Feuerstein said. During the shoot, people’s temperatures were taken, tests were run, the greatest social distancing was maintained and everyone wore face masks. “These requirements are hard to implement. No one is used to working like this,” he said. “I think the greatest change has to do with time, because everything takes longer and there are new roles, such as the health coordinator in charge of having these requirements fulfilled on the set.” Feuerstein added that they usually work with crews numbering between 60 and 100, which signifies “a lot of people who need work, so we want to create a safe work environment. Complying with the standards is a complicated business but entirely necessary. I think constant testing is the key.” The executive producer spoke of the need to move forward with eagerness and effort since “compared to June last year, our production volume has dropped almost 50 percent. We feel it, it’s real, but we have to keep going and be thankful we’re lucky enough to still be working.” Feuerstein understands perfectly when a client can’t have a new commercial made, not only because of Covid-19 but due to everything else that is happening in the U.S. “There are greater issues we must focus on, like improving as a society. And because so many people are locked in their homes, the need for original content is enormous. Therefore we are getting into that area, which we can thanks to the great creative roster we rely on.”
Ed Rivero de Cortez Brothers: Nuestro roster de directores está muy sólido
