Javier Williams, SVP of Spanish Content at 3Pas Studios was with Ríchard Izarra at #PRODUprimetime. The Mexican producer with 30 years of experience – 28 in Televisa-, has worked with all kinds of genres, series, unscripted, contests, children’s programming, many concerts, and live events.
HOUSTON-MEXICO-LA-MIAMI
Williams joined Eugenio Derbez’s 3Pas Studios in 2019, he is also CEO of Visceral, the production arm of 3Pas. “The intention was to greatly increase the projection that the company had within the Latin American market in Spanish and, above all, based in Mexico, where I spent much of my career at my beloved Televisa,” said Williams, who lives in Houston.
Visceral provides production services, in addition to those developed by 3Pas in Spanish. “We provide production services for all kinds of genres, unscripted, scripted, series, reality shows, long and short fiction,” he said, after commenting that they are making a documentary together with Juanpa Zurita for Amazon Prime Video.
When asked why he lived in Houston, Williams explained that he has lived in that city for 11 years, even when he was working at Televisa. After joining 3Pas, he moved to Los Angeles, but the city was not the best place for his family, neither the distance nor the time zone was convenient for working in Mexico, so they decided to return to Houston, a midpoint between Los Angeles and Miami, from where he also works with the office in Mexico.
NOT ALL THE CONTENT IS EUGENIO
He commented that the company is doing very well and that they are starting to make content not centered on the figure of Eugenio Derbez. “Little by little we have been opening the panorama and the range to work on other types of projects, some without necessarily having the presence of Eugenio, because even if we and he wanted, he can’t cut into 35 pieces, well physically we can’t do it anymore,” said Williams.
William is grateful for working with Derbez, not only as a collaborator but also as a friend. “It is a pleasure to work with him, for me it has been a professional achievement to make this change, to work in a company that is doing fun things, which was one of my motivations,” he commented.
Williams recalled that his friendship with Eugenio Derbez began when he was a producer at Televisa in 2006. “One of the things that I love about Eugenio, and it is one of the reasons why at the end of the day I decided to join the company that they are putting together, is that they have this belief, very American, that with collaboration everybody grows,” he explained.
GOOD MOMENT OF THE MARKET
Williams comments that finally justice is being done in regard to the capacity of Mexico and Latin American countries to produce and develop projects, both in physical production, creation, writing, development, investment. “It is a time when, fortunately, the market in Mexico is experiencing rapid growth, both in projects and in productions, and that in turn entails, and that obviously is a rule of basic economy, more competition,” he said.
This situation will raise the quality and level of production from Mexico and Latin America, he said.
He is sure that the size of the Mexican market matters, but above all the talent, there is still work to do and the lack of budget is not enough.
BEGINNINGS ON TELEVISA
Williams recalled his beginnings on Televisa when he was studying industrial design. “A relative who worked at Televisa needed designs for a children’s program. Finally, they liked my designs so much that they began to drag me as an art director in different projects,” he recalled. That was how he began learning about the different areas of production.
From writing scripts to how to structure a contest show. “I was fortunate to participate in all kinds of projects during all those years,” he said.
He noted that he also has a PhD in History. “The advantage of having studied History helps you a great deal to organize your mind, the inputs and training that you are receiving in order to synthesize all this and turn into a new experience that is ultimately one of the primary objectives of History. And that mental methodology throughout my career has, in turn, helped me to apply it to the different projects,” he said.
View interview here