What was the biggest challenge posed to you by a recent project? Or share insights to a recent project you deem notable. Briefly describe the project, why it was particularly noteworthy or what valuable lesson(s) you learned from it.
Every project is unique which is why I love what I do. No two days are the same and no two projects require the exact same skill set. Production is creative problem-solving, and as the industry shifts, each new problem requires a newly learned skill.
Currently, the biggest challenge is how stretched every company is on marketing dollars compared to the amount of content they need to produce in a given year just to keep up with our short attention spans. Two of our recent projects stand out to me. They could not be more different as far as the creative is concerned, but what they have in common is the list of deliverables. In both instances, we were able to deliver a huge list of films for a jaw-droppingly reasonable cost per film. We focused on creating multiple assets at once, prepping and shooting them in tandem to make the dollar stretch even while they might have divergent strategic goals. This required us to expand the ways we thought through our approach to casting, locations, and production.
Since both projects have yet to go live, I sadly can’t reveal the projects or clients at this stage but can say for sure this has been a whole new creative challenge. If done right, when we see how all of that smart upfront planning pays off, it can be as satisfying at the end of the day for us as it is for our clients.
Gender pay disparity, sexual misconduct and the need for diversity & inclusion are issues that have started to be dealt with meaningfully. While the industry has made strides to address these issues, there’s still a long way to go. What policies do you have in place or plan to implement or step up in order to make progress on any or all of these fronts?
As a business owned by a queer woman with a business partner who is a man of color, this topic is always at the top of mind. How did we get here, how can we help others get here, and how can we change this industry (at least through our small business) from the ground up? It is challenging because, simply put, the industry wasn’t built on a diverse base. So, our approach is to start with the opportunities. We have to provide them for a more diverse group of young people to grow into the next generation that will run this industry. As a company, we’ve focused on building women into more creative roles, including art directors, editors, motion graphics artists, and producers. Ideally, creating the opposite of the “boys club” mentality that has dominated this industry for so long.
I do feel there has been an incredible shift in the industry overall and it is exciting to see what this does to the final work in the long term. I strongly believe that when there is diversity in the room, there is diversity of thought and therefore, stronger creative.
