Darko Skulsky’s Advice to The Next Generation of EPs

Darko Skulsky is an American-born producer and co-founder of Radioaktive Film, one of the top production service companies in Europe. With over 25 years in the game, he’s produced award-winning spots, music videos, and branded content for global heavyweights like Apple, Dior, BMW, Nike, and Google. And long form projects like ‘Chernobyl’.

Based out of Kyiv, Ukraine, he has helped put the region on the map as a go-to location for high-end international shoots.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Radioaktive has pivoted – relocating some of its top teams to Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Georgia, and Canada.

LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?

Darko> Start doing. Don’t wait for perfect gear or permission, say yes to everything early on – carry the cables, bring the coffee, take the notes. The work teaches you more than any class.

LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?

Darko> Know how to use different tools from Excel to ChatGPT. Know how to talk to people too. You can’t produce if you can’t read the room or write a decent email.

Also learn how content moves – platforms change fast.

LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production – and why has that stayed with you?

Darko> Nothing goes to plan... ever. You can freak out or you can roll with it and rolling with it wins every time the calm producers are the ones that get hired again.

LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?

Darko> For us this depends on what market we are talking about. Our HR teams try to be sensitive to all walks of life but I see our industry in general as an equal opportunity employer.

LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?

Darko> All diversity brings a wider scope of ideas and flavors. You need everyone's opinion to get an idea that covers a broad scope of people.

LBB> There are young people getting into production who maybe don’t see the line between professional production and the creator economy, and that may well also be the shape of things to come. What are your thoughts about that? Is there a tension between more formalised production and the ‘creator economy’ or do the two feed into each other?

Darko> There’s no line anymore. It’s all blending – creators move fast, formal crews bring structure, both can learn from each other. If you’re smart, you mix both.

LBB> If you compare your role to when you first joined the industry, what do you think are the most striking or interesting changes (and what surprising things have stayed the same?)

Darko> Changed: the sheer pace of work, the volume of deliverables, and the expectation to shoot globally, deliver quickly, and distribute everywhere. Producers today are platform-aware and data-literate

What’s stayed the same: the value of trust, hustle, and creative instinct. You still need to know how to manage people, get the best out of talent, and solve problems on your feet.

LBB> When it comes to educating producers how does your agency like to approach this?

Darko> Our training is more peer to peer. Our company has been working for 28 years and more experienced people have been with us for 20+. The first generation learned from teams coming to our markets that brought experience and adapted this to our individual markets.

Though you never stop learning, there is a point when you grow, and the next generation comes in. They were taught on the ground, but by the teams that worked in front of them.

LBB> It seems that there’s an emphasis on speed and volume when it comes to content - but where is the space for up and coming producers to learn about (and learn to appreciate) craft?

Darko> You make space for it.

Even if timelines are tight, you slow down on the things that matter – treatments, edits, feedback. Teach them to care about the small stuff.

LBB> On the other side of the equation, what’s the key to retaining expertise and helping people who have been working in production for decades to develop new skills?

Darko> We mix the teams. Young folks bring new tools and veterans bring calm and instinct, you keep learning or you fade out – that’s the rule.

LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?

Darko> Stay calm. Communicate clearly. Care about the details. Be human. And bring snacks – people trust the snack person.