Producers on agency, production co. sides of the biz offer advice to aspiring directors, producers
By A SHOOT Staff Report
“Break a leg” is theatrical slang for good luck. But there’s more than luck involved in breaking successfully into the industry and evolving into a working producer and/or director.
Each step along the way is a challenge—one we hope to make a little easier through career advice offered by a cross-section of producers from the ad agency and production house sectors.
To help foster opportunities for those seeking a meaningful foothold in the business—and in the spirit of SHOOT’s 16th New Directors Showcase event set for Thursday evening, May 24, at the DGA Theatre in NYC—we invited agency and production house pros to offer career counsel to aspiring directors and producers.
To gain prudent career-building advice, SHOOT posed the following four questions to established producers:
1) What advice do you have for new directors?
2) What advice can you offer to up-and-coming producers?
3) Learning is an ongoing process even for the most seasoned producer. Would you share a recent lesson learned on the job, perhaps related to a project involving new technology (i.e., VR, AR, AI, etc.) or another experience?
4) What recent project are you particularly proud of—and why? You can include a direct link to it.
Here are portions of some of the feedback and informed counsel we received.
CLICK HERE to page through the survey responses, or click on the NAME or HEADSHOT below.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More