Terra Mater Studios

Ivo is Terra Mater Studios’ space cowboy: He is hooked on stars, galaxies and black holes and, to him, the sky is no limit. So, it may come as no surprise that Ivo is a true Science Fiction fan, too.

Not least because of his special interest for topics that are out of this world, Ivo was the Executive Producer for one of Terra Mater Studios’ most successful and prestigious productions to date: the multi-award-winning science TV documentary ‘David Attenborough’s Light on Earth’, which presents the seemingly otherworldly realm of bioluminescent creatures.

However, Ivo has also quite a “down to earth” approach – especially, when it comes to meteorites that are hitting our planet, or to the amazing spectacle of the Aurora, the polar lights: Ivo was the writer and director of the two respective TMS productions, ‘Aurora – Fire in the Sky’ and ‘Meteor Menace’.

Aside from producing, Ivo is overseeing a lot of blue-chip natural history shows and series. Being a loving “dad” of two Maine Coon cat sisters, he has a very personal connection to big cats; therefore, it’s a real privilege and pleasure for him to be the EP for an amazing and ambitious production: the three-part series ‘Okavango – River of Dreams’ – a special gem in natural history filmmaking, and yet another highlight in TMS’ extensive catalogue.

Before joining Terra Mater Studios, Ivo worked as an editor, writer and director for the science department of the ORF, Austria’s public service broadcaster, for almost two decades. He produced many stories for several science TV magazines and was involved in the development of new programs. He joined the ORF Natural History Unit as an Executive Producer, before leaving to share the TMS team’s vision.

There are few situations which could make Andrea lose her calm. As Executive Producer, Andrea focuses on the development and production of premium natural history, science and history programs for the national and international market. She is also responsible for the acquisition of natural history and science programs for the Terra Mater TV strand on ServusTV, the German-language free TV channel from the Red Bull Media House.

Andrea is a graduate of the Vienna University Faculty of Earth Sciences and supervised as a scientific researcher projects in the field of sediment petrology and archaeometry. Before joining Terra Mater Studios, she worked as producer and Executive Producer for the science department of ORF, the Austrian public service broadcaster, for almost two decades and has been a member of the editorial staff of ORF UNIVERSUM.

As Executive Producer at TMS, she supervised award-winning series like ‘White Lions – Born Wild’, ‘Nile – The Ultimate River’ and ‘Amur – Asia’s Amazon’. Furthermore, Andrea followed the paths of very wild cats in ‘Leopard Rocks’, ‘Leap of the Lynx’, ‘Power of the Velvet Paw’ and takes a closer look at what happens when a ‘Panda goes wild’. She saw (and supervised) the rise of the ‘Hippo King’ and worked intensely on the majestic two-parter ‘The Alps’.

When the going gets tough, Sabine is in her element. As Head of Specialist Factual at Terra Mater Studios she oversees the television documentary output of the company. Sabine works with co-production partners all over the world, focussing on the production of premium nature, science and history programs for the national and international market. In addition to her international activities, she acts regularly as an Executive Producer for Terra Mater productions and also runs the Terra Mater TV strand on ServusTV, the German-language free TV channel of the Red Bull Media House which broadcasts world’s very best nature, science and history programs. She is also responsible for pre-buys and acquisitions for this TV slot.

Before joining Terra Mater Studios, Sabine worked for two decades for the science department of ORF, Austria’s public service broadcaster. Together with Walter Köhler she led the development of UNIVERSUM from being a domestic TV success to a global brand. At ORF UNIVERSUM she was responsible for acquisitions and scheduling of natural history and science programs, as a producer she directed her own films, as Executive Producer she supervised a great number of the ORF Natural History Unit’s documentary output.

As Producer at Terra Mater Studios, Petra works in the Specialist Factual Department. Organising and conducting shoots around the globe, covering the most diverse topics of TMS productions, are some of the tasks a Producer can never grow tired of. Petra loves being in the field and over the last few years has worked on the science production ‘Chasing Quakes’, coordinating and taking care that shoots went smoothly in Italy; together with her colleague, director Markus Mooslechner, she has dug deep into the quickly advancing field of AI, organising, and conducting interviews and shoots in Europe, North America and Asia for the extraordinary multi-awarded TMS science production ‘SuperSapiens’; and has taken first steps in producing nature documentaries by following the past, present and future of the famous Trakehner horses in rural Austria and Russia in ‘Back from the Brink – Saving the King’s Horses’.

Furthermore, since joining in 2012, she oversees the TMS website and the in-house coordination of all marketing materials for her department.
Volunteer work at film festivals in Austria and Sweden, internships at Austria’s public service broadcaster ORF (Sales Department and Natural History Unit UNIVERSUM), and two finished diploma studies with distinction have led Petra to join TMS in early 2012.

As Production Assistant, Daniela works directly with the Head of Specialist Factual, Sabine Holzer. The main focus of her day-to-day work is the exchange of information with ServusTV, the German-language free TV channel of the Red Bull Media House, and with TMS production partners worldwide. She monitors incoming and outgoing materials, ensuring content is delivered on time.
Before she started with TMS she worked within TV production environment for seven years, having worked at ORF, Austria’s public service broadcaster.

A lovable animal needs soft fur, four paws and two big eyes? Not so for Susanne: She’s the Executive Producer with a soft spot for creepy-crawly creatures – may they have at least six to eight legs and the same number of eyes! Susanne’s passion for wildlife of any size combined with her experience and expertise in natural history productions characterise her work. At Terra Mater Studios, she’s strengthening the Specialist Factual team – and her cycling skills within and around the urban jungle of Vienna.

Susanne graduated her studies of biology in Berlin with a diploma thesis about electron-microscopical research of unicellular organisms. Returning to the world of multicellular animals she added a university degree in science journalism. Based in Munich she wrote for renowned German newspapers and science magazines. Germany’s public broadcaster NDR attracted her to Hamburg, where Susanne worked in the team of Doclights / NDR Naturfilm  on primetime wildlife productions.

Predators, large or small: there’s no escaping Susanne. As Executive Producer in Vienna she supervises productions like the Romy Award winning series ‘The Lions Rule’, discovers the hidden gems in a world of ‘Dragons & Damsels’ and works closely with the director on the in-house production ‘Cute little Killers – The Predators with Pouches’ about Australia’s tiniest marsupials – with a bite.

Martin is the creative magician of the TMS Specialist Factual Department, using his sharp mind to conjure up brilliant writing. As Executive Producer he works on a variety of TMS productions and future projects at any one time, with emphasis on new technologies. As writer/director he produced the TMS 3D-feature “You, Planet – An Exploration in 3D” which broke new ground in stereoscopic imaging and the use of stereo-microscopy.

Prior to joining Terra Mater Studios, Martin had 20 years of production experience in a broad range of non-fiction TV, both as a writer/producer for independent companies and as an Executive Producer at the Natural History Unit of ORF, Austria’s state broadcaster.

Birgit is a bundle of energy and our resident adventurer. Her shoots and private expeditions have taken her around the world, on land, under water and in the air. An Executive Producer at TMS, she is responsible for the development and production of high-quality nature documentaries as well as international commissions and co-productions.

Before joining TMS in 2020, Birgit was Senior Commissioning Editor and Deputy Head of Department at ORF UNIVERSUM, responsible for producing blue-chip wildlife documentaries for Austria’s largest broadcaster.

She studied law in Prague, and Journalism and Slavic studies in Hamburg, where she went on to complete her training in the field of nature documentary and gather experience in a variety of different fields.

Birgit has written and directed nature and wildlife documentaries for ARD, NDR, ORF and Vox, as well as for international co-productions such as the BBC/NDR series ‘Pacific Abyss’, for more than ten years. She has also taken the audience on adventurous journeys as a presenter of the series ‘Adventure Ocean’ (ARD) and ‘Wonders of the Namib’ (NDR), as well as other formats.

Nature and animals have been Birgit’s overriding passion since childhood. She has combined her interest in both travel and horse-riding by undertaking extensive expeditions around the world on horseback. She also enjoys a range of other sports like diving, swimming, volleyball and speaks several languages fluently, including Czech and Hungarian.
Birgit has always pursued her goals with a compelling blend of optimism and perseverance, in accordance with her life motto: “I will. I can. End of story.”