Yvonne Catterfeld, Christina Stürmer, Tim Bendzko, Cro, Sido and Nazar, Andreas Gabalier and Mathea – these are just a few prominent artists for whom Illuminati Film has shot music videos. The Purkersdorf company was registered as a GmbH 20 years ago.
“The founding was a gradual process,” says Ramon Rigoni, who built the company together with Stefan Tauber.
Black comedy “Leichenschmaus” as a start
“Stefan and I grew up on the same street and once during the summer holidays we shot a movie. It was a parody. That’s how our passion started,” says Rigoni.
– Ramon Rigoni is currently working with 8WS (Lucas and Florian Fendrich).
Photo:
Illuminati Film
–
After two years, the two got more serious about it and filmed the black comedy “Leichenschmaus”. “We put everything together and financed it ourselves, actors like Reinhard Nowak and Adi Hirschal were even there at the time,” reports the Purkersdorfer about the film, which was even shown in the Schikaneder cinema.
However, Rigoni and Tauber soon abandoned such long formats and specialized in music videos. “I’ve always watched MTV and dreamed of making videos like this myself and working for international artists,” says Rigoni.
Videos for rappers Cro and Yvonne Catterfeld
Rigoni really realized that he could live his dream with a video for Cro. When the rapper was at the peak of his career, Illuminati was commissioned to do a video for the song ‘Whatever’.
“I was just training in the gym when I received the audio files. At that time I thought to myself, ‘wow, no one has heard this song and we, as a small Purkersdorf company, can now think about a video concept for it'”.
Shooting with Yvonne Catterfeld in Cape Town was also special for Rigoni. “Being part of something like this – in a destination where others go on vacation – was a highlight,” he says. One or two music videos are created per week. Current projects are currently running with Zoe Straub, Ness or Christina Kosik. “It’s important that the videos are easy to retell and have a certain character,” says Rigoni.
The drama of the sport should come across in videos
In addition to music videos, the company also produces advertising and due to the cooperation with Red Bull, the sports sector has also opened up. “We have been looking after the MotoGP for Servus TV for five years,” says the man from Purkersdorf.
Here the focus is on conveying the drama and portraying the athlete as a hero. “Viewers need to understand that this person’s whole life is focused on sport,” said Rigoni, who is currently working with MMA fighter Aleksandar Rakic.
–
Stefan Tauber is part of the Purkersdorf film company.
Photo:
Illuminati Film
–
Tauber and Rigoni also create advertising clips, for example for the sports app Runtastic or the photo book app Journi. “This industry has changed a lot in recent years,” says Rigoni. Customers no longer want huge spots, but rather cheaper videos and ones that can be changed quickly. “They also have to be social media friendly.”
Flexibility plays a big role. “For example, during the first lockdown, we had to redesign the advertising for the Journi app. At first it was about being able to make a photo book with little effort, but during the lockdown we changed the direction so that customers can now look through their many photos at their leisure and create a memory.”
Martina Reuter’s fashion talk has also become a favorite project: “We only recorded fashion tips beforehand, then Virginia Ernst came to us as the first guest and we noticed that the videos with celebrities are much funnier and have a special dynamic,” says Rigoni, who has known Reuter since childhood.
In the future, Illuminati also wants to rely more on Tik Tok and Instagram and expand the team “in order to be able to offer our customers all-round support”.
No conspirators in Illuminati
Incidentally, Illuminati has nothing to do with conspiracy theories. The name came to Rigoni long before the Dan Brown film of the same name.
“I read the word on a skateboard and found it mysterious and appropriate for our industry,” said Rigoni, who was concerned that customers might have a problem with it. “But the concern was completely unfounded, after all, we have also worked for ministries and parties that had no problem with it.”
