Newsletter
Events
Sylvain Tron of CYLNDR Studios Explains His 'Maker-First' Model
Tapping skate culture for Meta and Oakley
Sylvain is managing director of CYLNDR Studios. His career spans independent film, projects for directors Greta Gerwig and Werner Herzog, and campaigns for agencies including R/GA and Havas.
We spent two minutes with Sylvain to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired.
Sylvian, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Gap, a small town in the French Alps. I currently live in Los Angeles.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
In the middle of junior year, I came to the U.S. for a couple of weeks as part of a language program. After a few days, I called my parents and told them I was staying. Being in the U.S. just felt right. I dropped out of my French high school and moved to New York. You could say I’m still kind of in that language program, nearly 30 years later.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper. It’s an incredible L.A.-based novel that intertwines the lives of an ambulance-chaser lawyer, a concierge to high-net-worth individuals and a low-grade streamer/journalist. It’s a visceral commentary on modern L.A. that the author calls “every city in America.” It gave me a lot to think about. An exposé on Los Angeles disguised as a crime book.
Your production company has a ‘maker-first’ model. Please expand on this.
Ideas are shaped by how they actually get made. The goal is to eliminate the friction created by handoffs between strategy, creative and production that often lead to a disconnect between the idea and final output. CYLNDR Studios’ model eliminates these gaps by integrating makers into the concepting phase, resulting in stronger, more culturally relevant work. The studio is also investing heavily in applied AI. The company’s approach to AI is framed more as a full business transformation than a standalone capability.
A recent project you’re proud of.
The work we did for Meta and Oakley at the end of last year is something I keep coming back to. We tapped skate culture icons to create a series of cinemagraphs and films in L.A. that made the tech feel native to the culture rather than the other way around.
Your main strength as a creative person.
Movement and positivity. I’m always moving forward, and I understand that you need to start by putting one foot in front of the other. That lets me celebrate wins and move on from setbacks equally. I’m an optimist at heart and can always find the half-full part of the glass.
Your biggest weakness.
In direct contrast with that last answer: I’ve been known to get excited and try to do too many things at once.
What you would be doing if you weren’t working in the creative sphere.
I might have gone all in on poker. I had a brief stint in the late 2000s where I played professionally and could eventually come back to that. I still play in the World Series of Poker every summer and stay sharp just in case. Poker is surprisingly useful when running a creative company.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
