In the latest episode of ScreenMDM Talks, Edgar Jaramillo discusses his transition from VICE Studios to launching his own production company, Break Da Rules (BDR), sharing insights on cultural relevance in storytelling, opportunities in adult animation, accessing lucrative tax incentives in Colombia, and understanding the language of vertical content.
Just a few months ago, Jaramillo, a VICE Studios alum launched BDR to produce documentaries, formats, and films for broadcasters and platforms across the Americas. With a veteran team in place, the venture rolled out operations in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Mexico City, Bogotá, and Buenos Aires and has been busy leveraging that extensive footprint to generate brand-defining content that will cut through the clutter, particularly in the areas of true crime, music documentaries, and animation.
Watch on YouTube below or follow us on Spotify. Amazon Music users, listen here.
Jaramillo emerged from VICE with valuable lessons in creating engaging content. That, combined with extensive production experience across the Americas, including at Endemol Shine Boomdog, “gave me confidence in execution and, on the VICE side, clarity and taste,” Jaramillo tells me.
The contraction in the business last year made Jaramillo’s decision to launch a new venture with his partners—the senior team includes Sony Music alum Cesar A. Ochoa, driving talent and creative partnerships, along with Ignacio Segura, Nicolas Matiz, Gregg Vickers, and Anthony Gonzalez—easier, he says. “When the market tightens, buyers stop chasing volume, and they start chasing distinct voices, clear points of view, and IP with an identity. That’s exactly the pillars of Break Da Rules.”
The slate being developed at the company enters “spaces that feel culturally relevant,” he says; “stories that matter, but structurally underexplored, for lack of a better term. We’re drawn to stories that sit at the intersection of power, identity, and culture: sports through a cultural lens, music as a social force, and political or social events told through personal narratives. We’re a little less interested in the trend-chasing and more in the stories that feel inevitable. We’re looking for those stories that spark a social commentary.”
The company has seen early success, Jaramillo tells me on the heels of returning from a buzzing Content Americas. “The buyers were buying, they were entertaining pitches, they were interested in content. Last year, the general response was, we’ll see, budgets, budgets, budgets…”
Jaramillo also reflected on the role producers now have in getting their shows discovered. “The reality is that the marketing budgets have changed. You’re lucky if you’re in the upcoming previews on any platform. The more presence you can build organically, the more successful you will be at promoting your content. We’re an independent studio, and at the same time, trying to be social influencers with our own brand.”
The company is tapping into the strengths of each of its bases, which include a mocap-enabled animation studio, a dedicated production head in Mexico, deep connections in Argentina’s prolific talent pool, and access to tax incentives in Colombia. In animation, adult-skewing fare is a priority. “We believe that there’s a huge gap in the market, especially in Latin America,” he says.
The company’s focus is on premium content across its core genres (sports, music, and true crime) with an additional strand of scripted productions based on true stories. But it is looking at the vertical video space, as so many other creatives are. “We think vertical content is a different language that we all have to learn how to speak.”
