1) Get yourself in front of agency producer and creative types. I’m not talking about rep lead presentations. I’m talking about grassroots reaching out to people like me, and getting your foot in the door that way. We’ve had a few young directors that were based locally come in for some face to face meetings, and it led to good things for both of us. We’ve had the same luck with some young talents in New York. These are essentially independent directors vs rostered talents. Though, two have now moved on to formal representation, and more work.
And be collaborative. It’s necessary.
2) To be humble, and become a world class listener. There is nothing that will hobble a young Producer’s career like not admitting what you don’t know, and talking before listening to what your team/client/vendor partner are really saying, so you can understand where the issue or opportunity is – and then making an informed and smart comment on the best next step. Even if that comment is an honest, “I don’t know, but I will go find the answer.”. It’s okay that you don’t know everything. You’re learning, and you should just embrace that and soak it all in.
3) Well, the most recent one was today and it has to do with an existing SAG waiver that, when used in a certain manner, can be very helpful with the challenge of costs for the myriad of assets being desired. But I think the thing I’ve learned the most is…that even after 18+ years as a Producer, every day is a new day, and a new opportunity to expand your knowledge base. It might be a SAG thing, or a new bit of tech that you can wrap an idea around to make it stronger, or just a different way to approach a VR shoot to control costs while still maintaining quality. If you seek out information, and allow yourself to admit what you don’t know, you’ll be far better off. I preach this to my team, and practice it myself.
