Seven Senses is a production company based in Madrid-Spain, founded in 2006 by Jesús Pérez-Solero with the intention of producing quality films and offering the Spanish market an open door to international filmmakers. Jesús began his career in the early nineties as a producer of international services, working with the best production companies of the moment. Among his most relevant works, we find the advertisements made for big clients such as Mercedes, Audi, Mahou, Volkswagen, Nivea, or Tía María, always with a fresh, innovative and attractive profile, where quality stands out.
Jesús Pérez Solero, became Executive Producer of Seven Senses after living in Africa and becoming a pilot. And, although now most of his time is dedicated to the production company, when he has some free time he escapes to any part of the world.
Jesús Pérez Solero, Executive Producer of Seven Senses.
Today, we talk to Jesús to find out more about him and Seven Senses.
What characterises the Seven Senses production company?
I think the main feature of Seven is quality. Whether it’s a big or small project, we have always tried to maintain quality standards. I think it is also important to produce both national projects as well as international services, as this gives Seven its own characteristics, which nourish itself from both aspects of production.
What balance can you make after almost 20 years since the creation of the production company?
A totally positive balance, both personally and professionally. We have gone through some complicated times, such as the great economic crises, the Covid crisis, etc., but we have been able to maintain our course; we have adapted to the times and we have continued producing with the features that characterise us, not only professional, but also human, which seem to me to be an indissoluble part of the philosophy of this company, especially in a business in which the team and the suppliers are everything to us. So taking care of that part has been one of our main goals from the very beginning and it is something I am particularly proud of.
I wouldn’t have been able to create anything without the people I have around me at Seven, who have been with me for a very long time, and who have made us a perfect team in the production company.
How does one go from being a pilot in Africa to being an executive producer in Madrid, do you think that those experiences are the best way to make a difference?
I come from a family of advertisers, so in a way advertising and creativity has always been present in my life since I was a child… I had always liked flying and I studied to become a commercial pilot and then I went to Mozambique where I flew with the United Nations. When I came back to Spain, I needed to work to pay the hours and keep my flight licence, so I started as an assistant in the art department. On a shoot, one of the best producers in Spain, Laurent Grousset, told me: “you’re good for production” and he took me to his production company; SETAMA, which at that time was one of the few production companies that made service in Spain. And one of the most powerful. I owe Laurent everything. There I started from the bottom… Runner, production assistant, production coordinator, production manager… until I became a producer. Working with the best international directors and production companies of the moment. This gave me a complete vision of the production process that I think is essential to conceive a project, to know what limitations you can have, how far you can risk, or what is or isn’t important or crucial creatively for the project. I think that regardless of what you study, in this business experience plays a very important role, which you only learn by shooting. And there is a methodical part, of processes, which I think has a lot to do with the method of a flight. In the same way, I think that the life experiences of a producer, especially if you want to work at an international level, are fundamental when it comes to understanding and knowing how to identify the creative and organisational needs of a project.
How do you see the advertising film industry globally?
I think the industry has changed a lot in recent years. And in all parts of the world, not only in Spain. The needs of advertisers are different, both in terms of formats and content, as well as the immediacy or the time that campaigns are on air. This has led to an atomisation of projects. Personally, I don’t think that the broadcasting channels have had such an influence, which, of course, have also changed, from more traditional formats such as TV to more digital formats, because for me, an audiovisual advertising piece has to have good creativity and impeccable production regardless of where it is broadcasted. What’s more, I think that in digital media you need a greater visual impact because the viewer has the possibility to reject or block advertising. It wasn’t like on TV, where the viewer more or less saw the advertising schedule at the time, whether they wanted to or not. Now that there are many more formats and impacts that reach the viewer from multiple media, it is more necessary for the piece to be impeccable and impactful.
What is the future for Seven Senses?
We are confident that we will continue to be one of the production companies that offers international clients the security of having a reliable partner in Spain, honest, with the necessary experience and a creative mentality that can be adapted to all types of production. Seven will continue to be in charge of the international side and at the national level, we are very excited about CUTE, a new brand that we have created together with Alvaro Gorospe (Garlic) and Alfonso Cazalilla, for Spain, which has just started up, and is already bearing very good fruit. So we’re happy with what the future holds.
Interview by Grisel Alboniga
