Merlin Ortner
Artist & Production Designer
After studying physics Merlin Ortner moved on to graphic design, founded a graphic design agency, sold furniture, and finally graduated in 2013 from the
Weissensee School of Art.
Merlin has worked as an art director and production designer since 2006. He has had the pleasure of working with well-known German Art house director Christian
Petzold on several projects over the last year, the latest being as production designer for the film “Undine”.
In the last couple of years, Merlin has focused more on short formats and high-end commercials, giving him the freedom to spend more time with his family, which means a lot to him. He collaborated with brands such as Telekom, Armani and WWF, and design the German band Rammstein’s video “Deutschland”.
Statement:
The combination of Production Design, Photography and the Fine Arts are essential. Only all the parts together make my work and my mind a complete system. For me, these pieces belong together, like the human body can’t work in a right way with a organ missing. I believe neither of these elements can work well without one another.
This website should give you an general impression how I try to live out that philosophy. I’m still at the beginning of this journey. Yet I have a strong believe that this is the right way.
In Production Design Represented by:
BITE MANAGEMENT
Esther Kurle
Co-Founder
Office +49 30 555 28 714
Cell +49 172 690 71 00
E-Mail esther@bite-management.com
Tieckstrasse 37
10115 Berlin | Germany
Contact me directly: +49-179 74 09 776
FILMOGRAPHY (Selection)
Feature
“Undine” – Production Designer
Director: Christian Petzold
DOP: Hans Fromm
Schramm Film Koener & Weber
Germany
“Rammstein -Deutschland” – Production Designer
Director: Specter Berlin
DOP: Armin Franzen
MMMAATCH
Germany
“Narziss & Goldmund”- Supervising Art Director
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky DOP: Benedikt Neuenfells
Prod. Designer: Sebastian Soukup
Tempest / Mythos / Lotus Film
Austria / Czech Republic
“Suspiria”- Art Director
Director: Luca Guadagnino DOP: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Prod. Designer: Inbal Weinberg
Fresny / Mutfilm
Germany / Italy
“Robin Blood”- Prod. Designer
Director: Florian Sigl
DOP: Pater Matjasko
It’s Us Media GmbH
Germany / USA
„The Young Karl Marx“- Art Director (Post-Prod)
Director: Raoul Peck, DOP: Kolja Brandt
Prod. Designer: Benoît Barough
Agat Films, Velvet Film, Rohfilm and Artemis Productions.
Belgien & Germany
„Phoenix“- Supervising Art Director
Director: Christian Petzold, DOP: Hans Fromm
Prod. Designer: K.D Gruber
Schramm Film – Koerner & Weber
Brandenburg, Poland
„Gold“ – Art Director
Director: Thomas Arslan, DOP: Patrick Orth
Prod. Designer: Reinhild Blaschke
Schramm Film – Koerner & Weber
British Columbia, Canada
„Barbara“- Ass. Prod. Designer
Director: Christian Petzold, DOP: Hans Fromm
Prod. Designer: K.D Gruber
Schramm Film – Koerner & Weber
Brandenburg
Commercial (Selection)
“Chanel- Blue” – Production Designer
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Tempomedia – Berlin
“KRYS” – Prod Designer
Director: Matthäus Bussmann
DOP: Carl Nilsson
75p , Paris
Budapest
“NEFF” – Prod Designer
Director: Marcus Werner
DOP: Simon Dat Vu
It’s us Media GmbH
Berlin
“Opel New Leadership” – Prod Designer
Director: Matthäus Bussmann
DOP: Ekkehart Pollack
Tempomedia GmbH
Barcelona
“Geschenkideen” – Prod Designer
Director: Djawid Hakimayar
DOP: Björn Knechtel
It’s us Media GmbH
Berlin
“EM-Eukal” – Prod Designer
Director: Tim Löhr
DOP: Stephan Burchardt
Wolff-Brothers GmbH
Berlin
“Depot” – Prod Designer
Director: Jaci Judelson
DOP: Jens Masboel
Tempomedia GmbH
Berlin
“Audi R8 Spyder” – Prod Designer
Director & DOP: Laszlo Kadar
Kiefernümann GmbH
Braunschweig
“Tolino Good night Stories” – Prod Designer
Director: Jan Bohmann
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
“Vitafy- Tu’ dir selbst was gutes” – Prod Designer
Director: Micky Sülzer
BigFish Filmproduktion GmbH
Berlin
“Mc Donalds- Big Rösti” – Prod Designer
Director: Micky Sülzer
BigFish Filmproduktion GmbH
Berlin
“TB Guide” – Prod Designer
Director: Jan Bohmann
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
“VW- Hide & Seek” – Prod Designer
Director: Robin Polak
DOP: Roland Stuprich
Markenfilm Berlin
Berlin
“Hagebaumartk- Hier hilft man sich” – Prod Designer
Director: Alex Feil
DOP: Ekkehart Pollack
Tempomedia GmbH
Lübeck
“Media Markt – Wer Will der Kriegt” – Prod Designer
Director: Alex Feil
DOP: Peter Matjasko
Tempomedia GmbH
Berlin
“The S5 Pulse Challenge” -Art Director
Creative Director: Jeremy Hofmeister Mac Lynn
Acne Production GmbH
Berlin
“WWF I am Nature” – Prod Designer
Director: Alex Eslam
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
“TNT Glitz” – Prod Designer
Director: Jonty Tossey
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
“Co-PS” -Prod. Designer
Director: Hakan Can, DOP: Arsenij Goussev
Apartment Blue Factory
Berlin
“Berlin Fashion Film Festival”- Prod. Designer
Director: Sandin Puce, DOP: Tobias Jail
Acne Production GmbH
Berlin
„Mycare“ – Prod. Designer
Director: Carsten Gutschmidt
AVANGA Filmproduktion
Berlin
„ENERCON“ – Prod Designer
Director: Carsten Gutschmidt
AVANGA Filmproduktion
Berlin
“Conrad, voller Ideen” – Prod Designer
Director: Jonty Tossey
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
Short
“The Barbiers Blade”- Prod Designer
Director: Hakan Can, DOP: Carlo Jelavic
Apartment Blue Factory
Berlin
“90 Grad Nord”- Prod Designer
Director: Detsky Graffam, DOP: Hanno Kunow
K17 Films
Brandenburg, Berlin
Other
“Grönemeyer- Morgen” – Prod Designer
Director: Kai Sehr DOP: Björn Knechtel
Who’s McQueen Pictures GmbH
Berlin
“Kovacs”- Prod. Designer
Music Video
Director: Sandin Puce, DOP: Tobias Jail
Acne Production GmbH
Berlin
„Open Doors“ – Director
Documentary
Exss Films
Berlin
„a family drama“ – Director
Short
Exss Films
Burkina Faso
„Vietnam in Berlin“ – Director
Short
Exss Films
Berlin
„11 Seconds“ – Director
Short / Video installation
Berlin
EXHIBITIONS
“Photoshoot 2016”, Black Gallery, Oregon, USA
“Transzendenz des Geistes” Treffpunkt Kunst, Ottobrunn, Germany (Solo)
“ARTiges 2016”, Kunstverein Ottobrunn e.V, Ottobrunn, Germany
“Allgäuer Kunstpreis-Ausstellung 2016”, Galerie Kunstreich, Kempten, Germany
“Geister” Maerz-Galerie Plus*, Leipzig (Solo)
“Spinnerei-Rundgang 2015 /Maerz-Galerie Plus”, Maerz-Galerie, Leipzig
“Chronopraph”, Darkroom Gallery, Vermont, USA
“Art Takes Miami”, Miami Art Fair, Miami
“Ich sehe mich Niemals selbst”, Maerz-Galerie, Berlin (Solo)
„Familienaufstellung“, Uferhallen, Berlin
„Exposure 2013“, See.me Galerie, New York
»Magie des Abdrucks« Fotohof Gallery, Salzburg
„23 Fotografische Positionen“, Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Berlin
»Ouagadougou« Galerie HbK Saar, Saarbrücken
„Und dafür Zahlen wir Steuern“, KHB, Berlin
„Through the looking glass“, Bar Barbette, Berlin
Querschnitt 20 & 21 Kunsthaus Bethanien, Berlin
Neukölln bei Nacht & Nebel, Berlin
48 Stunden Neukölln, 2007 bis 2010 ( Exhibition & Performance), Berlin
„Die Viele“, Schillerpalais (Solo), Berlin
Workshops
Matserclass, Simon Norfolk, Athens, Greece
Artist- Workshop, Villa Romana, Florence, Italien
Int. Artist-Workshop, Skoki Poland
Publications
“Chronograph”, Exhibition Catalog, Vermont, USA
“Chapeau, der Kunstmarkt”, Exhibition Catalog, Innsbruck
“Fotoausstellung Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz”, Exhibition Catalog Berlin
” Through the Looking Glass”, Exhibition Catalog, Bar Barbette
Awards
“Allgäuer Art Prize 2016, Kempten, Germany
“ARTiges 2016 Award” Kunstverein Ottobrunn e.V, Ottobrunn, Germany
“Honorable Mention” Moscow Photo-Award 2016
EDUCATION:
2013
Gradutated from the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee,
The Berlin Weissensee School of Art.
Class of Prof. Friederike Feldmann
2008-2013
Study of Fine Art, Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, The Berlin Weissensee School of Art
04/2004-10/2005
Berliner Technische Kunstschule, Graphic-Design
10/2003-04/2004
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Physics
08/1998-06/2001
Secondary School, Svendborg, Denmark, University-entrance-diploma
Since 2002
Working as Artist and Graphic-Designer in Berlin
2003-2008 Owner of the graphic design buero. „Dreamwalkers Design“