Where did you work before OfficeMe space?
Before OfficeMe space I had rented a studio with my colleague for almost 10 years, but since the nature of my business changed and since editing is now mainly done on the set during shooting, I used to go to that studio less frequently and eventually stopped renting it. Afterwards I worked from home, but it was not suitable for me. I was looking for something near home, where I could go on foot and where I could go whenever I wanted. I don’t have fixed working hours, sometime it’s necessary to react immediately or not to react at all (laughs), and that’s an option too. From the very beginning I took a half-month lease to test it and it suited me. I don’t need an office every day. OfficeMe offers a 12- or 16-day rent option or one-month option, and you are free to use these days the way you like. It is an ideal solution for those who don’t have to be in their office every day. And you can always add more days when needed.
When you were choosing the space, what was the decisive moment, apart from the vicinity? There is a wide selection of premises to rent, isn’t it?
I was looking at some other premises, but I don’t like when things get complicated. The space and price were the decisive factors. Other premises were somehow confined, some offices were odd with an unusual view, which was not a decisive moment, but again, the price was also the decisive matter. Branko and I reached an agreement easily, the space was light and I liked that half-month option, and the view was better. You can’t see everything you are offered on a paper, but you simply need to feel a space and that’s it.
Do you use conference halls?
If somebody comes for a visit, I use a small or a big conference hall, it’s practical and works well. Editing is a specific job, because we need to be isolated for your and other people’s sake, because we deal with a lot of repetitive sounds that can make someone crazy when listening and that’s why we are always closed. And the open space is not a conventional space for editing, but as I am in photography business as well, it suits me. It was unusual to get used to it at the beginning, but I have headphones. The restaurant/cafeteria is OK, Delta City is just nearby, there is a car park. It would be cool to have a walkway, for example, so that you can chill out outdoors or if you have a meeting, but that’s nothing to do with OfficeMe. They have fast Internet, which is crucial for me, because I work with a number of large files, I have gigabytes and gigabytes of materials. The technical support is here for anything you need and they really respond promptly and solve problems.
How do you organise meetings for material presentation?
Here I have a large monitor, I take it to the conference hall or there is an option of inserting an external card to the plasma display and I run it directly it from my laptop, everything has its pros and cons. It is not unusual in my business, but I needed it a couple of times so far and everything was ok. It’s not complicated to transfer it. The conference is not a conventional editing, people from my business need more time to get adjusted, but everything is changing, everything is digital now. I have been in this business since 1993 and I have worked in various formats, on TV stations, studios, production studios, agencies, I have seen it all. Now this is a change, because if I had the premises where somebody would come once in a month or in three months, it wouldn’t suit me. And in such premises you are isolate, there are some introvert people who like it, but I am not one of them. Even if I were at home or if I had a flat next door which I could use as a study, I wouldn’t like to work like that. I have a colleague producer who works this way, he has a room/study he uses for work. However, it’s not bad to be among other people. Cleaning is something you can organise easily, but this thing about people being around is good, not to be isolated. I don’t like to be like Michael Jackson in some “oxygen chamber “ (laughs).
Do you socialise with people here?
Well, we say hello to one another, there is some small talk, there are some neighbours from the block, we also meet in the garden, but we don’t hang out at home. We don’t go for a coffee, but we mingle, say hello, nod, and that’s it. Everybody works and minds his business, we all have different businesses. Until now, I always somehow worked with the people from by profession, and here there are people of different professions: some offer online courses, some rent cars, some are programmers, it’s versatile. I don’t mind anything here.
What about working hours?
I don’t have fixed working hours. It’s an excellent thing. There is silence before 10 a.m., but I usually cannot have that timing. It is convenient because it is open 24 hours a week, I can come at two or three, whenever it suits me. The security is an asset, because I have the material I work with, although it’s not there physically, but it costs a lot. One recording day is between 10 and 30 thousand Euros, it’s a very expensive toy that you have to protect from damage or disappearing. It happened once (not to me, though) that some people saw something they were not supposed to see, for example, the competitors. It can happen unintentionally. There are many layers, security is, therefore, very important, physical security and video surveillance as well, it’s important that everything is secured and safe. The people are kind, professional, I have met all cleaning ladies, as they are here already about 4 p.m. and we argue about the lights, because I mind the light due to reflection. I chose exactly the section where I can keep my shutter blinds down, I got the exact corner where I can close the shutters, where nobody can see what I am doing for my and his sake, summer is coming, windows are open. My place is in the corner and nobody has complained, OK, we do not depend on photosynthesis, but shutter blinds are simply down or tilted.
Do you have any improvement suggestion?
It would be ideal to have a walkway, a promenade: it was the building designer’s omission. We have gardens on the right, with benches for smokers in the shade. There was a restaurant here, now it will be a café with sandwiches, an option to go out a little. It would be good to have a common space, apart from the kitchen, with lazy bags, a place where you can sit, some internal version of a café. It would be nice to have armchairs, stools, so you can move away from your monitor. These massage armchairs are terrific, but it would be cool to have a space to hang out outdoors, to move away a bit. A space where you can socialise with people from here or simply move away from your desk.
„ “
Dragan Stojkić
