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. 

Amber Wimmer
Director of Interactive Production
KBS

1) It is definitely a challenge when you’re starting out. My number one action - create work to show. Get out there and partner with people, and whenever possible create spec material for jobs you are bidding on to gain experience. Build up your reel and keep it fresh. You have to put yourself out there, so reach out to those you admire most and have them introduce you to industry people that are like-minded. Finally, showing your willingness to constantly try new things will keep you top of mind when teams are concepting.
 
2) A good Producer not only works to inspire others but dives in to help solve problems and find creative solutions. Get to know the people you work with, take the time to truly understand their personalities and needs, and look for unique ways to engage with them. That said, you also need to take time to do research, establish a clear point of view and to get excited about new technologies.
 
3) From the kick-off, ensure that the team is working towards the same goals. Do your research on the technology and make sure that you have the people in place.
That said, embrace what you know but also be prepared to enter the unknown. With new technology, sometimes you have to throw everything out the window and start fresh with experienced participants who are also embracing the unknown by researching, prototyping and constantly learning from new innovations. This was my experience for a recent project using AI. If the goals are focused to map new technologies to conceptually driven work, then the outcome will most certainly delight you, the team and the audience.
 
4) I recently spent time working with a team developing tools to turn casual conversations into innovative voice experiences. We prototyped using a range of techniques to incorporate voice interaction with devices and explored how complimentary voice actions can initiate music. It was an extremely rewarding project with an amazing creative team. 

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