Brand and product communication are increasingly becoming a powerful tool of advertising. In the same time communication has become a very volatile tool which is consumed in a very short time. In today’s market, animations and short videos have proven to be the one of the most effective advertising tools marketers use in social media.
Have you ever wondered where those interesting animations you saw on social media came from? What could’ve been on the creator’s mind?
Working with our internal PR Specialist, we improvised an interview with Olti Dulaku, Head of Video & Animation at Vatra Agency, about life in a dynamic workplace, creative process and what it takes to succeed.
Editorial Manager: Hi Olti. What is your job at Vatra: Who are you? What do you do?
I’m the Head of Video & Animation at Vatra, but curiosity spurs me into getting involved with all the bits and pieces that attract my attention. As a department, we look after the whole production process of creating video content, from concept scripting and storyboarding to live-action filming, character-animation, motion graphics, etc.
I like to have face to face meetings with clients and get more involved, so I can get a better grasp of what they want.
I enjoy art directing and concepts a lot, that’s why I like to get involved in scriptwriting for TVCs and closely work with other creatives to introduce new ideas and develop further the ones thrown around.
My profession must keep up with the latest trends to be in line with the industry standard, so I spend my free time zapping through different (digital-artist) forums to fuel my motivation and keep ideas flowing.
EM: What are the most important skills you need to be effective in your job?
In-depth understanding of the market and current trends to be better at implementing ideas to be more effective for a specific target audience is something that requires an in-depth understanding of the market and current trends. It’s a skill you need when you work with various clients with different needs and requests. Also, multitasking is necessary when you are in this line of work, and by multitasking, I mean using several types of software across projects and different disciplines.
From experience, I can highlight tidiness and focus as some of the other skills that help a lot in my work. I’m always open to new skills and often I find myself working with new software because you always need to test new technologies and gain new skills to achieve your goals.
Having said all that, I believe that problem solving is the most important skill that higher management needs to have to deal with the variety of problems work hits you with.
EM: Can you please describe a typical working day…
It usually starts around 9:00 a.m. with a very short espresso, swiftly browsing through emails and creating a good picture of the workday ahead. A typical day can extend to meetings with my fellow directors for project planning and execution, client meetings, brainstorming, PPMs or caretaking the postproduction process.
This would be the office day. Then there are shooting days when sometimes you need to get up as early as 5:30 a.m. On these days, it’s important to assist the production team and actors and to make sure that every plot is being shot in the right context and everything is following the plan. Our last TVC for Credins Bank is the perfect example of a day like this. Even though these are not typical workdays, I enjoy them a lot as they indulge a small break from the comfort of the office.
EM: What do you love about your job? What sucks?
I like creating something that entertains people, something that is shown everywhere and that sparks conversation about a product or service. This is a part of the job that I will always enjoy.
What sucks? The part when some of the best ideas remain in the drawer because clients don’t prefer to take a lot of risks, or in some other cases when ideas may require a higher budget to come to life. We live and work in a tiny market so that’s to be expected. Sometimes I feel like “If we could have had just some more time and a bit more budget, this project may have come out a masterpiece.”
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, getting positive feedback from a happy client will always be amazing. That feel-good feeling is shared within the team and stays with us for quite a while.
EM: What are your favourite tools that help you get the job done?
That depends. I’m married to Adobe Creative Suite. I use After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere and even BlackMagic, DaVinci Resolve and 3DS Max. However, recently I’m enjoying getting the job done using Microsoft Word. (laughs)
EM: How did you land in this role, and where might you go from here?
It all came gradually as the agency expanded. I had been working at Vatra for almost 5 years and during that time, there were a lot of discussions about the position. As both the scope of work and tasks were increasing, it was easy to find common ground with Gerton, our CEO. We have always spoken the same language.
Regarding the future, even though I find myself in the right role now, we’ll see soon enough what’s in store for our agency and our market.