1) Consider staying independent while you get established. Agencies like ours have created robust in-house production companies where we hire independent directors all the time. Brands are doing the same thing. There are a number of solid reps out there like WinstonWolfe.pro that will be happy to represent you.
Don’t read your treatment when presenting to the agency. We have already read it. We want you to use the time to articulate your vision for the work.
We want you to make our ideas better. Your treatment should show us how.
2) Your job is to turn creative ideas into tangible things. You must approach creative work with a solution-first mentality.
You are the calm, cool center of the storm. Understand that if you are panicked, the team around you will be panicked.
Asking questions is far better (and more efficient) then trying to figure it out on your own.
Having a Rolodex of solid, trusted partners is worth its weight in gold. Watch the reels from your reps and partners and cultivate lifelong partnerships with your vendors.
Always personally call the partners/vendors that did not win the bid and explain why. Give them something that they can learn and grow from. They probably just spent thousands of dollars in hours putting together that bid for you, so an email is not enough.
3) Over the years I’ve produced broadcast spots, content, websites, interactive and innovative campaigns, radio and everything in-between. I didn’t set out to be an integrated producer, but I was able to do this by staying curious and being confident that I can figure out how to get something and anything made. To this latter point, knowing my own limitations is critical and having a list of partners and experts to call is vital. I am currently heading up a project where we want to serve interactive content on the main social platforms in ways that have not been developed yet. My job, in this case, is to work with our development team to research various third-party platforms, find out if they have the capabilities to custom-build the features we want to see, and then find out how all of this can be served. Shooting the video and producing the content is the easy part! This an opportunity for me to learn something new and for my clients and teams to be first-to-market with something super cool. It’s part of the job.
4) I have had the fortunate opportunity to produce a few projects recently which have been firsts for their respective brands. I love the work I did for our clients at Southeast Toyota where we were able to promote the safety technology features that now come standard in the Camry by replicating them on a bicycle and filming a docu-style spot. Not only did we discuss and show off the technology, we brought light to the challenges faced by bicycle commuters every day.
I also worked on the Baskin-Robbins “Got Me Like” campaign that just hit the market two weeks ago. This campaign showcases this beloved, iconic brand in a new light, infusing the language of the internet (GIFs, memes, etc.) with the gorgeous product – a perfect way to attract a new generation of ice cream enthusiasts. From a production perspective, I am extremely proud of the collaboration both internally at 22squared between creative, production and account management and also with our production partners at Psyop. The project was clean, under budget (yay!) and yielded work that surpassed our expectations. This couldn’t have happened if all parties were not as invested as they were and able to work as closely as we did – not always easy being on both coasts.
