Terminal Production: From Bologna to Buenos Aires

Since first appearing on the scene in 2000, Terminal Production is a confident and creative player in the production industry, having worked with huge clients such as Rolex, Heineken and Mercedes, as well as agencies like BBDO, J.W.T. and DDB.

But how did the company get here? Starting from humble beginnings working with a German production company, Terminal has now expanded beyond its Bologna HQ into Argentina.

LBB’s Adam Bennett talked to Luca Callori di Vignale, the CEO of Terminal Production, to find out more…

LBB> Can you tell us a bit about how Terminal Production came about?

Luca Callori di Vignale> We have been working in the international advertising market since 2000. We started off by representing a German Production Company, performing services for them mainly here in Italy. After a short while we became independent and started our own business, establishing a strong presence in both national and international markets. This puts us in the comfortable position of being able to offer added value to all our clients. Nationally, by introducing international standards to them, and by allowing us to approach international clients with the knowledge of being a partner adept at problem solving. 

LBB> What was your vision when Terminal Production first started? 

LCdV> A locally based service production company with knowledge of how to solve problems and create added value to an international standard. 

LBB> Why did you choose Buenos Aires as the right place to expand Terminal? 

LCdV> The Argentine film industry has historically been one of the most developed in Latin American cinema and it has a long list of great professionals. Argentina is also able to provide a great variety of locations and, moreover, it offers productions in inverted seasons with respect to Italy. 

LBB> You've worked on over 150 productions - is there any particular project that stands out as being memorable or important? 

LCdV> Because we consider ourselves problem solvers, each production by itself is a challenge but certainly our eight-day shoot in Argentina for Tudor was very challenging. We shot right across the whole country from the mountains in Salta to the outstanding waterfalls in Iguazu before reaching the stormy coast of Mar del Plata. And it was particularly challenging to shoot at 3000mt in the world heritage location of the Dolomites. 

LBB> The Heineken spot for the UEFA Champions League looked like great fun- how was it to film? 

LCdV> It was both a lot of fun and very challenging at the same time. We ran this project with the help of hidden cameras. We arranged with a travel agency to intercept some of the more passionate supporters who were visiting. We organised their transfer to the hotel which was actually the location for the hidden camera based surprise. Through this project, we gave fans a real taste of Champions League football resulting in many surprised and emotional reactions when they came face to face with the actual Champions League trophy. 

LBB> Is there a particular type of project that you enjoy working on, or that you would say you specialise in? 

LCdV> We've worked with different clients belonging to different worlds. Indeed we can name Bertolli, Heineken, Visa, Samsung, Lamborghini, Rolex, and Ducati among our clients. Each project was very challenging and demanding and the result is always satisfactory. 

LBB> Is there any kind of project that you would like to work more on? 

LCdV> We have a lot of experience in working with different countries: from the Emirates to South Korea, China, Brazil, Germany, Holland, Saudi Arabia, Argentina. It’s always challenging to make contact with new countries and new ways of working and that’s something we will always aim to do.

LBB> I see that Terminal consists of six different 'units'. Can you tell us a bit about why you decided to structure the company that way? 

LCdV> Yes, Terminal Production is structured as an integrated platform, divided into Units according to the different production fields (commercials, services, photos and images, music videos, business and events and virals), which offers its expertise and creativity in every production area and different markets. 

LBB> What does the future hold for Terminal Production? 

LCdV> We live in a sharing economy, and sharing is definitely a quality that we are aiming for. This means that having more basecamps in different countries today is most probably no longer that necessary. It is more about creating contacts and relations in order to offer selected partners the possibility to show up with exactly what the client is looking for. Our network is very solid yet fluid exactly for this reason. And we are planning to establish more and more contacts in the future.