BRW USA

International Production Company Finds a Home at Hollywood Center Studios

BRW USA is the newest affiliate of one of the oldest and most widely respected production companies in Italy. Launched last September, BRW bills itself as a media content company and it produces commercials, branded content and other forms of visual media—with plans to eventually move into long-form production. If you watched the Winter Olympics, you likely saw a splendid example of their work, a spot for Samsung in which a skier passes through various eras in Olympics history as he glides downhill. The spot was shot in Spain by director Nicolas Caicoya.

"It starts in the early 1900s and continues to the present day," explains BRW USA managing director and executive producer Andy Traines. "It was historically researched and accurate down to the ski outfits and the skis themselves. We had to be accurate because the Olympic committee checked it and insisted the details be exact."

Traines, whose background includes a post as executive producer at Anonymous Content, said that Hollywood Center Studios makes a great home for new companies like BRW. "The lot is an incubator," he observes. "Many companies have started here or been here at some point in their development. It's very convenient and makes it easy to get going."

BRW USA has, itself, gotten off to a very fast start. In addition to its Samsung work, it recently collaborated with its Milan counterpart on a project for Italy's Banca Intesa. With an additional affiliate in London, the company has the resources to work virtually anywhere in the world and can tap into a deep pool of directing talent.

For a production company like BRW, there are many advantages to being located on a lot. As it grows, it's easy to add more space. (BRW is currently weighing the merits of adding in-house visual effects and design services.) And according to Traines, it's also fun to work on a lot. "The staff is wonderful and the atmosphere is very friendly," he says. "It makes us eager to have people come to see our facility. We're proud to be here."