René Ribberholt Kæseler, Visual Marketing Coordinator at Martec.
Student at European Film College 2003-2004.
What did you do after EFC?
Following the departure from EFC I spend a couple of months, trying to find a way into some kind of position in the “business.” I come from the north of Denmark, so I kind of had to move to Copenhagen, if I were to find something film and movie related. I made a very poor attempt. Visited a couple of companies in the Copenhagen area. I had no direct connections inside the walls, so I found it very difficult to get my foot in the door. That made me lose interest and passion very shortly.
I went back home, got myself a couple of unskilled jobs just to make ends meet. About a year and a half of this drifting around, I enrolled in the University of Aalborg. I got my Masters in Mediated Communication five years later in 2010, with a master thesis in Viral Marketing and social media. During my time at the university, I was part of the university TV-station making different programming around and about the university, the people, groups on campus etc.
I spend some years trying to land a job, got a few short time project related employments, mainly in corporate communication and independent film production companies, organizing shoots, writing scripts, and doing interviews. In a short period of time, I was even playing around with the thought of starting my own Marketing/Production company with a friend and fellow alumni from the university. But all the administrative stuff, like hunting potential clients, budgets, all the practical stuff just broke the ambition…I just wanted to create.
Today I am part of the Marketing department at a maritime education center in Northern Jutland called MARTEC. My primary function is promoting our educations through fairs, visiting schools, talking to potential new students, copywriting, and making movies for our website, social media channels, marketing campaigns for cinemas etc.
What did the EFC experience mean to you?
In short: It made it very clear for me, that making movies, had to be a part of my work life…in some capacity. Of course, I also have a lot of great memories and I met a lot of amazing people from all over the world plus some legendary “movie-people.” We had some great parties at the EFC.
In some ways it opened my world in “how” to watch a movie. Many find it annoying to watch movies with me because I can get kind of lost in the technical stuff, the writing and the acting and such. But I can also get a little snobbish and critical at times: “just watch the damn movie!”
I attended EFC in a time of my life that was very much transitional. I just finished business college (high school) and had absolutely no idea what to do with my life, even though all roads lied open for me education-wise. I believe that it was part of shaping me. I moved out of my parents house to go to Ebeltoft. Standing on my own two feet for the first time. I came home a completely different person.
During those 8 months living in close quarters, in a tight knit community, navigating through different nationalities, cultures and way of life had a positive effect on me. I was more open for new possibilities and in some ways, just go with the flow and jump into new experiences.
In what way is EFC a part of your life today, if any part?
The quick answer is that EFC has no part in my life today whatsoever. But even though I am never there psychically, or in the business today, EFC has an everlasting effect on me mentally. In a positive way.
In another way, it gives me great joy to follow the careers of my fellow EFC alumni. It is very easy with social media to be a part of everyday life, but also when I spot a name on a credits list after a show or a movie.
In a more visible way, I have a great scar on my hand, after jumping down the hill behind the main building in a black thrash bag functioning like a makeshift sled on a snowy day. That’s my forever souvenir!
In what way is film a part of your life today, if any?
Professionally, I make films almost daily. But in a marketing context. Often it is testimonials aka films based on interviews seasoned with cover photos, almost in a kind of news genre. I enjoy the interview part, setting up the interview and conducting the interview. I love immersing myself in the editing process, finding new quirky ways to edit an (maybe long and for some, boring) interview.
We also do short clips for social media, often with a handheld device like a phone. This is much more immediate and provides in many ways a greater form of creative freedom.
I am still very passionate about watching movies, and still very pickish, much to the frustration of my wife. It takes forever to choose a movie friday night when our son is put to bed!