#WFH Diaries: Commercial Director Florian Meimberg

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on everyday life, we’re checking in with creative people to see how they’re faring. Here’s the word from German commercial director Florian Meimberg, who was doing a tour of short film festivals worldwide for his latest project, the microseries Tiny Tales, when all this went down.

Give us a one-sentence bio of yourself.

I am a commercial director from Germany.

Where are you living right now, and who’s with you?

I am living close to Dusseldorf in Germany with my wife and two sons, ages 9 and 11.

What’s your work situation like at the moment?

My industry has pretty much shut down. All shoots were canceled. I am still in post-production for one project, and prepping another one that was postponed until April (for now).

Describe your socializing strategy.

Normally, I am very much of a socializer, going to all the big events like Cannes Lions and stuff. Also on productions, I “socialize” a lot, skipping no dinner or wrap party.

How are you dealing with childcare?

We are in a lucky situation. My wife writes novels from home, and I myself am also home a lot at the moment, obviously.

What are you reading?

Not that much right now; the industry press a little. 

What are you watching?

Netflix, Amazon Prime, and at the moment, some awesome master classes on masterclass.com.

What are you listening to?

Music on Spotify.

How are you staying fit?

I sometimes use my own cross trainer at home. 

Have you taken up a hobby?

Not really. I have an electric drum set in my home office. Maybe I’ll use that more often now.

An awkward moment since all this started.

The moment I had to decide if I would do that one last little shoot—very close to home, reachable by car, small team. I did.

Best work email you got since all this started.

An email from my agent telling all her directors that we will get over this.

An aha! moment since all this started.

Aha. It IS really as bad as the news says, and every single one of us better stay the fuck home now for a couple of weeks!

What’s your theory on how this is going to play out?

I really, really hope that in a couple of weeks, clients will start to spend their money again. Because they have to. And because the economy needs to keep running.

See the full #WFH Diaries series here.