The young entrepreneurs

What does a business owner do when he has employees he doesn't want to lose? "On average, people stay for five years. Then they want to move on and have more responsibility as well as skills," says Reiner Roduner of Absolutturnus Films in Zurich. If an employee wants children in the process, that's its own story. "But with many other motives, you can steer against it." And that's by "getting the employees involved!" is Roduner's conviction.
You give your best specialists new tasks and more responsibility. The energy that arises when you get people involved "is a completely different one," Roduner believes, and now wants to see this confirmed with the founding of Shining Pictures. In addition, this policy also fits perfectly into Absolutturnus' concept and is an ideal reaction to current developments in the market.
Shining Pictures is the result of an opening strategy of Absolutturnus Films. The foundation was based on the same idea as the outsourcing of Seed Audio-Visual Communication from Reiner Roduner's company. The strategic goal is called integrated communication: Seed for corporate films, Shining for commercials, Utainment for TV formats and Absolutturnus Films for new media. With such a structure, Roduner wants to be able to offer his own competence centers for the entire audiovisual sector.

The returnee
"It makes sense if I can communicate clearly to the outside world: We do advertising, we do corporate, we produce TV formats," Roduner says. Otherwise, he says, it's difficult to make a name for yourself if you offer everything. Corporate films are a different world for advertisers. That's why Roduner has divided and clearly structured his Absolutturnus. "Of course, we remain a tight-knit team. There are eleven of us now. When we brainstorm, everyone is there and has to think along. That also reflects modern developments. After all, a commercial today is no longer just a commercial. Integrated communication is the spirit of the age. Customers want to be able to use their moving images in as many different ways as possible. We have the means to do that, and now we have all the specialists under one roof."
Take Caroline Braun, for example. After completing her commercial training at a bank and her vocational baccalaureate, she first wanted to "travel extensively. The half-New Zealander visited her homeland and also hitchhiked through Australia for a long time. The "road movie" finally ended up being the real thing. With Susanne Henggeler and Christian Aeby, Braun got a chance as a production assistant at the then Tin Tin Film in Zurich. She quickly knew all about cameras and action: "That's my world." When Henggeler left Tin Tin, Braun was also looking for a new challenge and shot for the first time with Reiner Roduner. She stayed with the early Absolut Film as production manager for three years. Then she wanted to "look a little further." Caroline Braun managed to gain admission to the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. A coveted training position, because only ten out of hundreds of applicants are accepted here each year. The specialized course, which no longer exists, was called "TV Producer. The students learned the craft of producing series and feature films in a very practical way. How is a material developed? What are the processes of an in-house production? This professionalization also involved two internships at ProSieben and Sat 1.
After film school, Caroline Braun had an offer in Berlin. The city was "very exciting" for her - but somehow also a bit "too big". So she preferred to work as a freelancer in Switzerland for the next four years. From this time, she remembers countless spots as well as a "big box" with Stefan Zürcher and Leonhard Gmür for "Band of Brothers," a production by Hollywood greats Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Other valuable experiences also brought a few assignments for the Bloofeld Entertainment event agency, before the now experienced media woman was again looking for "something more permanent". The ideal offer finally came from Reiner Roduner, who in the meantime had expanded his Absolut to Absolutturnus. Five years after her departure, Braun's "remake" followed in 2005, this time in the role of producer.

The sporty creative
Stefan Bircher also found his fortune at Roduner. After graduating from business school, Bircher studied journalism. Film - that had been his dream for many years. After countless small productions of his own, his first opportunity to enter the professional TV business came at Star TV. There he was able to take over the then still externally produced show "Freestyle" as producer and from then on produce it in-house. "Marco Schwab, who was very controversial at the time, as he is today, because he was a very provocative and polarizing presenter, and whom I brought onto the show back then, is still with us today," says Bircher happily.
In his almost three years at Star TV, the producer enjoyed above all the many freedoms. "You can make a lot of decisions yourself at Paul Grau, but you also have to take a reprimand if a show doesn't work." Bircher very quickly found the right visual language for his young target audience. He was just the right person for this show about extreme sports - after all, he has a strong background as a skateboarder himself. As an eight-year-old, he discovered a passion for the rollerboard.
After his time at Star TV, professional contract offers followed. Bircher had to make a decision and knew, "I have to do it NOW." He followed offers from Levis and DC and was sent all over the world as a brand ambassador. "At the time, I was able to make a good living. I wasn't making the big bucks, but I had almost no expenses either. Hotels and travel were paid for, cars and equipment were provided." Most valuable during this phase, however, was his insight into the professional world of media. "I experienced firsthand how sponsorship works. To that end, I was also able to participate in many international film shoots."
Bircher also got to know fellow professional athletes like Marco Lutz and Johannes Eisenhut back then. The two snowboard legends and other friends from that time also ended up in advertising. Bircher finally found this curve seven years ago via the acquisition of the federal marketing communications planner and his entry into Reiner Roduner.
Twelve women had applied to be production assistants. The boss's opinion was already formed when Stefan Bircher suddenly appeared and stole the show from the girls. "He just somehow ticked completely different and convinced me immediately," Roduner is still happy about his decision today.

Andreas Panzeri

Shining Pictures, under the umbrella of Absolutturnus Films, already has major contracts in the can for McOptik, the Concordia health insurance company and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Currently, a spot for Zimtstern Streetwear with Marco Lutz as director is in post-production. Various pitches are also in progress. What's particularly interesting is that more and more clients or agencies are not just submitting one spot, but several forms. Viral films, cinema trailers, billboards: cross-media is the order of the day today. And the Absolutturnus network can handle it all in-house.