We've picked the beautiful brains of our award-winning Video Producers to bring you their top tips for success in the industry.
To gain their insights, we asked them:
"What have you learned from your years of producing? If there's one piece of advice you could give, what would it be?"
Here's what they said...
"Never lose sight of the original brief."
Always stay close to the objectives of the content you're producing.
Scheduling creative teams, allocating work and ensuring high-quality content is delivered on time and to the budget relies on a solid video brief. They're the most important asset for any successful Producer.
Keep your original brief in your line of sight at every step of your project to ensure you deliver exactly what the client asked for, in the best possible way.
"Don't try to do everything yourself."
Producers have such an immense toolkit of skills squirrelled away in their beautiful brains, it may be tempting to save the day by 'getting shit done' yourself.
But in order for you to tackle the intricacies of your job to the best of your ability, it's incredibly important to make sure you delegate work to the appropriate skillset.
"Nurture your working relationships with empathy."
Your working relationships are your most precious assets. Protect them, nurture them and enjoy them.
After all, a good working relationship with your client helps you earn their trust. And when you deliver what and when you say you would, they'll reward you with honesty and loyalty. Ultimately, you should always aim to be the person who is making their life easier.
And don't forget to care for your creative team! Appreciate them, understand what drives them and motivates them, and try to see things from their perspective. Be the person who makes it easy for them to do their job brilliantly.
Never lose sight of the humanity of the people you're working with.
"say what you'll do; do what you say."
It sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, but setting accurate expectations and following through is the most powerful tool you can craft as a Producer.
At the end of the day, agency Producing is about delivering on results, we all want to deliver sooner rather than later, because it shows efficiency and a willingness to prioritise.
But you'll find, in the longer term, you can build more trust with your clients when they know a date from you is the date, and a longer timeline is for good reason and in the interest of quality.
"Make your call sheet the resource your team deserves."
"Don't ask me a question you can find the answer to on my call sheet." I will always remember an Assistant Director saying to (fortunately not me!) one of the crew.
A bit rude? Sure. But the 'take-away' for me has always been to take the time to make your call sheet the resource your team deserves. If you can set the pace of the day clearly here, remind the crew of wet-weather precautions, flag the last shot and picture wrap for a round of applause for your talent, and, of course, confirm you recognise lunch is a thing.
It's a great way to check-list the day and bring yourself and the team up to speed on priorities and considerations before you all arrive on set. And of course, if you wanted to be that guy, you can say... "It's on the call sheet."
Interested in joining an award-winning creative team? Venture has a great opportunity for an experienced and motivated Video Producer to lead our busy in-house Production Team. You'll be managing both live-action and animation projects from concept to completion, and beyond.
Follow this link to learn more about the Lead Producer role, salary, and benefits and apply.
