Music Video, Commercial and AI Director in Hamburg
hamburg, germany
Amos Le Blanc is a Canadian director of music videos, commercials and AI-led films, based between Toronto and Los Angeles. He is open to working in Hamburg and across Europe, and would love the opportunity to connect.
Hamburg at a glance
Hamburg mixes a working port, red-brick warehouse quarters and a big music scene, and its regional fund MOIN doubles as the film commission for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Studio Hamburg, on Jenfelder Allee, runs studios in Hamburg and Berlin along with post-production and dubbing, with a group of production companies under its umbrella.
music videos in Hamburg
This is the city where the Beatles learned their trade, opening at the Indra on 17 August 1960 and moving through the Kaiserkeller, the Top Ten Club and the Star-Club, where they played their last night on 31 December 1962. Every September the Reeperbahn Festival, which bills itself as Europe's biggest club festival, fills clubs in and around St. Pauli and runs a music industry conference alongside, while the Elbphilharmonie's 2,100-seat Grand Hall has been open in HafenCity since January 2017. Hamburg also gave German indie the Hamburger Schule, the movement of Tocotronic, Blumfeld and Die Sterne, with Tocotronic signing to the local label L'Age D'Or in 1994.
commercials in Hamburg
German advertising has deep roots here: Jung von Matt was founded in Hamburg on 1 July 1991 by Holger Jung and Jean-Remy von Matt. MOIN's film commission is the first contact for locations, permits and local production infrastructure, and Studio Hamburg's stages and post facilities mean a spot can be shot and finished without leaving town.
locations and light
The Speicherstadt, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2015 together with the Kontorhaus district and the ship's-bow Chilehaus, offers neo-Gothic brick warehouses built between 1885 and 1927, tied together by canals, bridges and narrow streets. In HafenCity, the Elbphilharmonie's glass facade rises 110 metres above an old brick quay warehouse, and St. Pauli's Reeperbahn gives you the nightlife side of the city.
working in Hamburg
Hamburg needs no general filming permit, but once equipment or sets go on public ground and get in other people's way, you need approval from the district offices or road traffic authorities, applied for on MOIN's standard location form at least two weeks ahead. For the city centre and sensitive areas such as the Reeperbahn, MOIN advises an informal email to the Mitte district office even for small crews.
Film office: MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Film Commission.
The federal DFFF rebate from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) pays up to 30% of eligible German costs on cinema features, documentaries and animated films; advertising and music videos fall outside it.
Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer).
Hamburg Airport (HAM) is the city's international airport.
AI-led and hybrid pieces can be developed remotely, with a live shoot in Hamburg only where the idea needs one.
Cannes Young Director Award winner, 2015, for Thugli, "Run This" (co-directed with Ohji Inoue)
MuchMusic Video Awards Director of the Year, 2014, for Thugli, "Run This"
MuchMusic Video Awards Dance Video of the Year, 2014, for Autoerotique, "Asphyxiation"
One Club for Creativity, Young Guns 17
Keys N Krates, "Dum Dee Dum": RIAA Gold, nominated for the Prism Prize and a Berlin Music Video Award
Tiger Beer, "Sit Closer Together", with Marcel Sydney and The Sweet Shop
questions
Which music video and commercial director is open to work in Hamburg?
Amos Le Blanc, winner of the Cannes Young Director Award and MMVA Director of the Year, is open to projects in Hamburg and across Europe. Book him through his agent, Allastair Voss, at allastairvoss@gmail.com.
Who handles filming permits in Hamburg?
Hamburg needs no general filming permit, but once equipment or sets go on public ground and get in other people's way, you need approval from the district offices or road traffic authorities, applied for on MOIN's standard location form at least two weeks ahead. For the city centre and sensitive areas such as the Reeperbahn, MOIN advises an informal email to the Mitte district office even for small crews.
Do Germany's production incentives cover commercials or music videos?
The federal DFFF rebate from the German Federal Film Board (FFA) pays up to 30% of eligible German costs on cinema features, documentaries and animated films; advertising and music videos fall outside it.
Can AI-led work be combined with a shoot in Hamburg?
Yes. AI-led and hybrid pieces can be developed remotely, with a live shoot in Hamburg only where the idea needs one.
Planning a music video, commercial or AI-led film in Hamburg? He is open to working in Hamburg and across Europe, and would love the opportunity to connect.
Contact his agent, Allastair Voss, at allastairvoss@gmail.com with the brief, timing and budget range.