We had the good fortune of connecting with Lena Bahrs and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lena, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Success comes naturally when you work hard and follow your passion. I love what I do and all those creative people I work with. The people who chose to work in the film industry are driven by a strong creative vision, passion of their art and their love for making movies. So am I. I feel honored to have worked alongside creative minds responsible for globally recognized shows like Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, and film legends like Ridley Scott, Michael, Bay, Zack Snyder, Seth MacFarlane and Roland Emmerich, just to name a few. Each one of those names couldn’t be more different from one another in style and tone, but their longevity in this business speaks to their passion and their ability to have a clear vision of what they want and how to execute it. It’s the love of what we do that makes our work exciting, brings fulfillment and in the end success.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Nowadays I am an accomplished Producer with credits in Film and Television spanning from Europe to the US. To get here I’ve worked my way up from humble beginnings working the stage door at a musical theatre to a 2nd Assistant Director working on a movie set to producing movies myself. On my way, I have learned first hand the financing, production, and distribution of movies from the various perspectives. That helps me have empathy and to see the situation through the eyes of the people I work with such as the financier –who writes the checks – or the filmmaker –who spends that check.

After many years of honing my craft in Germany and Europe as a whole, I relocated to the US to dive into the world of visual effects to add this to my tool belt. My hands-on experience on set and in the trenches of guiding physical production through budgetary landmines, while not loosing the creative integrity, helps me every day in my roles as Executive Producer and Head of Studio at OPSIS a Los Angeles headquartered Visualization Company, offering services from Pre/Tech and Post Visualization, to final visual effects shot work for its global clientele.

In my experience, there is never enough time or money to do what needs to be done, but guess what? In the end, it has to get done, so I love the challenge that producers like myself face on a daily basis – finding creative and innovative solutions to bring to life a director’s vision. It is exciting and extremely rewarding to find a solution that serves creatively and works within the budget.

It is important to build long-standing business relationships. As I mentioned before, this business is held together by people, and the longer you work together with someone, the more you cement that trust, and can anticipate each others needs. The more you know each other, the less you have to explain to one another. It becomes implicit. You just know. For example, I have a strong relationship with Michael Bay and his teams at his two production companies Bay Films and Platinum Dunes.

I first worked with Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company on the 2021 film Songbird. When we found ourselves in an unprecedented situation like a pandemic, where there was fear and paranoia at the beginning, and no vaccines existed, most of Hollywood shut down but we somehow managed to work through it and create a successful film created a special bond between us. If you can get through a deadly pandemic together, you can get through anything. It’s no surprise we re-teamed a year later for Michael’s 2022 film Ambulance, and we just finished our third project, a World Cup commercial for Frito-Lay starring phenom soccer player David Beckham and football legend Peyton Manning.

My credits include Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, Ridley Scott’s Raised by Wolves, Michael Bay’s Ambulance and Songbird, Netflix’s Stranger Things, HBO’s Hacks and Perry Mason, Seth Mc Farelane’s The Orville, Warner Bros D.C. Films’ Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Sony’s animated features Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,and Paramounts most successful movie Secret Headquarters. I am currently working on soon to be released Disney’s features Haunted Mansion and Dashing Through the Snow, Sony’s feature Harold and the Purple Crayon and Universal’s upcoming feature Strays.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love being challenged at my job but my constantly problem-solving brain sometimes needs a break and a reset. Pilates, hikes & good food – does the trick for me so that’s what we gonna do. Here are my favorite things to do in LA to reset.

Every morning a pilates class at my absolute favorite studio Pilatessmith on 2110 Main St #100, Santa Monica
Hike Tuna Canyon hike with ocean view
Lunch at Cafe on 27, Topanga on 1861 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga,
Hike Topanga Lookout Trail
Acai Bowl at Sunlife Organics at the Malibu Country Mart
Dinner at Nobu Malibu on 22706 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu
Tacos in Topanga at La Chingona Tacos 137 S Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA (Tuesday, Friday & Sunday 4pm-8pm)
Dinner at Pace, cozy, romantic Italian restaurant on 2100 Laurel Canyon Blvd,
Walk along the beach to a breakfast at the Sunrise Brew Airstream on 169 W Channel Rd, Santa Monica
Lunch at Soho Little Beach House Malibu, 22716 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu
Dinner in Venice at Wabi on Rose,
Dinner at Gjelina on Abbot Kinney
A day at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Dinner at the Garden Restaurant at Soho West Hollywood on 9200 Sunset Blvd.
Hike Topanga Eagle Rock
Watching surfers with take out dinner from Tocaya 1715 Pacific Ave, Venice, on the Breakwater Venice Beach
2 nights at my absolute favorite hotel the Sparrows Lodge on 1330 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs
Trip to the Wayfarers Chapel, also known as “The Glass Church in Rancho Palos Verdes unique organic architecture and location on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.
Lunch at Nelson’s on the oceanfront patio at 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out to the amazing creatives and production team at OPSIS. This lovely group of passioned and hard working people make my job a s a Producer and Head of Studio Operations a lot easier and way more fun.

OPSIS
https://opsis-hq.com/

Website: https://opsis-hq.com/

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5297230/

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