Tony Hertz, Radio for Art Directors

I spent Friday at a workshop led by the mighty Tony Hertz (not him below, btw, just an image he uses in his talks).



There's only ever been two black pencils awarded for radio in the history of the D&AD awards. One went to Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, the other to Mr Hertz. As well as running a production company and still writing, Tony tours the world giving his talks. The one he gave us was called, 'Radio for Art Directors'. My ears pricked up immediately when I heard the title. Leaning toward the AD side of stuff I've struggled in the past to get to grips with radio. By the end of the day, though, I felt a lot more confident of my abilities thanks to Tony's no. 1 rule: start with an image. Of course it should be relevant to your idea, but the process leads to what is all important in any form of creative advertising - originality.

The principle kicked off a fantastic day of helpful tips on writing techniques, pitching to clients and directing actors. By the end, I felt I might actually be able to pull this whole radio malarkey thing off.