‘It’s always exciting for us at Cinelande to receive boards from PNMD,’ says Alex Sliman, VP and executive producer at the Montreal-based commercial production company.

Sliman is particularly excited when boards from the PNMD creative team of writer Stephane Charier and art director Martin Beauvais pass though the Cinelande offices. For Sliman, Charier and Beauvais are special because of their national perspective grounded in an understanding of the local market.

He explains: ‘What’s different about them from others in Montreal is that they have more of a national feel. It’s very important for us to understand the local market. What I like about this team is they have a certain way of working, a certain vision. It’s a little more than just doing local jobs. They see local. They respond to the market locally. But at the same time, creatively, they have a bigger picture. That’s why I find their work very exciting and very interesting. Because they have a bigger sense of what they want to convey.’

According to Sliman, Charier and Beauvais are one of the top creative teams in Montreal. Sometimes their boards are a challenge for the production company, but as Sliman says, ‘that’s part of our job.’

‘It’s always a challenge, but the challenge is always constructive and positive. So it’s always moving forward. It’s not something where you’re dealing with a single-minded situation or scenario. Very often, they are able to go beyond the client’s expectations, which is very important.’ Having worked together on such high-profile jobs as Chrysler, Sliman has lots more to say about what makes this team special.

‘The first thing that comes to mind is that when there’s a creative idea that stands well, and it’s maybe against the grain of the client’s research or what they had in mind, these guys are ready to fight for it. And it’s always a great thing for a production house to hear that kind of stuff. For us to start dealing with people who just go with the flow and end up with a mediocre job – it doesn’t look good on anybody. Certainly, it doesn’t look good for the production house. So that’s one thing that really stands out with these guys.

‘And the other issue is the confidence they have with directors,’ says Sliman. ‘They give out their spiel, they explain what they want, and they just let people do their jobs. Agencies are in a position now where they have to respond more and more to increasing client needs and expectations. So they are always trying to justify what they are doing. Yet [Beauvais and Charier] are able to step back and say, ‘Hey, we think we’ve hired the proper people to do these jobs. Let them do their jobs.’ And that’s a big plus.’ *

-www.pnmd.com