Turning Truth Into Something Artistic with Markus Stummer

Austria-born Markus Stummer started his filmmaking journey in the postproduction. Editing TV shows, feature films, hundreds of music videos and movie trailers taught him the skills of good storytelling, timing and humour. After training as a drama teacher and working as a copywriter, he moved into directing and created music videos for European pop culture.

Over the past 20 years Markus has worked with some of the biggest brands and artists such as Mercedes-Benz, Guinness, Ikea, McDonald’s and Lady Gaga amongst many others, giving him extensive experience in all aspects of filmmaking.

He has mastered a wide range of genres, from comedy and lifestyle to automotive and cinematic work, all the while holding authentic character performance in the highest regard. His obsessive commitment, his cinematic sensibility, and his deep appreciation for the actor-director relationship are his signature.

Below Markus chats with LBB about both his and modern audiences demands for truth, what filmmaking and pitching means to him and how his love for technology was his entry point into the industry.

Name: Markus Stummer

Location: Germany

Repped by: Antonella Perillo Agency

Awards:
Gold – Promax International (New York)
Silver and Bronze – Promax/BDA Europe
Young Directors Award – Shortlist, Cannes
Echo Award – Nominee

LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?

Markus> It’s the human factor. When I read a script and get connected or aligned with the characters before I’ve even cast them, that’s when I get excited.

I love scripts that feel emotionally alive, not perfect, not over-polished. It’s human imperfection that fascinates me. Because that’s how life is. I feel this as the emotional soul of a cinematic story. My desire is turning truth into something artistic that would amaze people.

Good scripts leave space for real behavior, like awkward pauses, funny moments, the small gestures, the truth people don’t say out loud. People crave genuine emotion and truth-based connections. I mean that’s why social media came to life. Just think of YouTube’s claim ‘Broadcast Yourself’.

Truth is our most valuable currency, especially in a world where everybody can create everything with AI. People smell when something’s fake and scroll away. And they won’t come back.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Markus> I love the writing part. And it starts with listening. The first call with the creatives is crucial to understand what’s written between the lines of the brief. It’s where the chemistry begins and ideas start bouncing. I consider a treatment as a sequel of this creative conversation with the agency. I love this process, it’s like tuning into the emotional frequency of the idea and what’s it really about, underneath the brand line.

My treatments often become small universes that include interactive decks with videos, music, sketches, even fragments of dialogue. It’s about making people feel the film before it’s made. A good treatment also becomes an early preproduction tool, something every department can instantly work from.

LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?

Markus> It’s essential. You can’t tell a brand’s story if you don’t understand who’s listening.

So I start with curiosity and literally immerse myself into the brand universe. Sometimes I go to places where the brand happens, try the products, read, watch, even scroll comment sections to get what the brand means to people.

It can feel a bit like documentary work: you listen and learn until you understand, and then you build from there. Sometimes it’s simply about talking with the right people. I was working on a campaign in Southeast Asia and I needed to capture everyday family life from the 1930s in Malaysia and Indonesia. But what I found online was only photographs taken by the colonial rulers, which had nothing to do with the real ordinary life of the people. I ended up talking to locals and asking for old family stories. That kind of deep listening changes how I tell the story.

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Markus> The relationship with the producer is the heartbeat of any project. The best ones don’t just protect the budget, they protect the process and are also a creative partner. That’s where trust starts. If that connection isn’t solid, the whole thing turns mechanical.

But beyond that, the relationship to DP is super important for me. They are my key creative sparring partner and a source of inspiration. Appreciation and deep trust are the basis for me here. But producing a film is like building a prototype, and every film needs its own core team. And sometimes it’s the stylist or production designer that are key partners or sometimes the editor, depending on the film.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Markus> Anything that deals with human behavior and character driven stories. I’m allergic to fake emotion. Real is my thing. Slices of life told in a cinematic way. I just love ensemble work, going deep with actors or children. Whether it's dialogue, vignettes, action, cars, comedy. For me, working with actors is my greatest passion.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Markus> Sometimes it seems to me that people think directing is some kind of magic trick.

Sure, our work is about creating magic, but we’re not magicians. We are makers. So besides our experience and creativity, we need sufficient time, tools, crew etc. in order to make magic happen.

LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?

Markus> Yes, and I actually prefer it when they’re part of the process early. Because the budget is the simple reality on which we base our work and as I just mentioned we are not magicians. And constraints can make creativity sharper, even if it can feel painful from time to time. I had to learn this lesson right from the start with my very first PPM when I started. Just before the end of the meeting, the cost consultant entered the room and cut the budget by a quarter. You could feel the air vanish from the room. But we adapted the concept, and ended up with something stronger. Limitations aren’t only enemies. They force you to look again at what really matters in the story.

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Markus> I call it challenges because even the best-prepared productions can have some crazy problems. I once shot at Everest Base Camp. Two days before the expedition, we found out that we didn’t have a suitable AC. So, the only option was to train my PA and me.

So we ended up spending an evening in a hotel room in Kathmandu blindfolded practicing how to load 35mm film. Some days later I found myself at 5,400 meters working as an AC for the first time in my life.

That project was wild: government officials demanding bribes, sudden weather shifts, avalanche, and equipment freezing mid-take. Filmmaking is half planning, half surviving what life throws at you.

A couple of years ago we wanted to shoot a snow scene on a glacier. It was October. A few days before filming, it became unusually warm and most of the snow was gone. We rebuilt the scene near Munich at about 30°C and covered a field with artificial snow. It was the first time I truly felt climate change on my own set.

Sometimes the problems are simpler. Like on a shoot in Italy, when the light truck never arrived. We simply grabbed some pizza boxes wrapped in aluminium foil and used them for the lighting. That made it a totally fun and relaxed shoot.

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Markus> To be honest ‘protecting’ sounds pretty old-school. For me filmmaking is not ego-driven, but co-creating. At the end of the day, we build something together. I mean a pitch is a bit like dating. If we have a match then because we like each other’s style and vision. If we trust that, we can experiment. I’m very open at every stage. I love it when someone challenges an idea. If it makes the film stronger, why not? It can be a gift. When I truly believe in something, I’ll fight for it. But usually good ideas evolve in dialogue.

LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?

Markus> It’s totally essential. Different perspectives simply create better stories. Diversity empowers creativity and transforms the vibes on the set. I started on the floor, not in film school, so I know what it means to get a chance. I love having trainees or assistants on set. It lifts the whole vibe.

LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?

Markus> I’m format-aware, but not format-led. The feeling of a film has to survive, whether it’s on a phone or big screen. A wide shot in cinemascope might become a medium shot in vertical, which shifts the emotion completely. But to be noticeable and attention-grabbing it’s more than just a reframe when you go from theatre to TikTok. You have to speak the platform’s language. Usually you need to recut the structure, tell the story quickly or create a hook. And sometimes it's simply better to come up with a different story.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?

Markus> I started as a postproduction nerd, and even trained others for Sony Broadcast back in the day. Technology was my entry point into filmmaking. I love all these new tools, like virtual production, motion capturing, AR, CGI. Also AI is a great tool for preproduction or postproduction. AI expands our imagination and can help to reveal the emotional impact or the cinematic style. Also AI can help to reduce the cost and post-production time. It’s a tempting tool since it seems to make everything possible. But there is a simple technical formula. AI needs human art. But art does not need AI. When AI feeds on its own generated content, its results becomes like generations of incest, dumb and lousy. This problem is known as Model Collapse. Technology including AI may briefly stimulate our dopamine, but only human creativity can create something that moves and that has a lasting impact on the audience. Technology should support the idea and the story, not replace them.

LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?

Markus> I made this fashion film for Centrepoint – ‘Splash’. It’s a portrait of youth culture in the Middle East. I love its documentary energy. It’s a mix of precise composition and raw, intimate youth culture moments in the Middle East.

Also ‘Friends for Life’ for e.GO Mobile. Even though it's an automotive spot it focuses on the madness of everyday family-life, It opens little stories between work, love, coming of age, and the tension between over-parenting and letting go.

‘Sleep Well (No Matter How)‘ for IKEA. This was about a universal problem: snoring in relationships. I loved the simplicity of the idea by the agency Wirz in Zurich. I shot it in only three hours. Not much time.

‘Small Pioneer’ – RWTH Aachen Campus - I find it simply ‘very sweet and romantic’

At the end of the day, filmmaking for me is about empathy and curiosity. Finding truth in small moments and turning them into something cinematic and emotional.