For This Canadian Production Company, the Team Is Everything
It’s an exciting time for Freshman. Just two months ago, the Canadian creative production company announced it was expanding its director roster, bolstering its arsenal and ability to deliver honest, relevant, and culturally-attuned content via five new talents (Stef, Tom Brown, Rafaela Carvalho, Lee J. Ford, and Raekua).
Simultaneously, the business also launched an all-new brand identity, featuring an original line, ‘Real Always Wins’, and new website. While the former is a vocalisation of Freshman’s commitment to stories with substance, and the latter, a visualisation of the work which embodies this, each ultimately serves as testament to the fact that there’s a demand and place for this type of mindset, nationally and internationally.
More than just ‘producing content’, the team is emphasising each and every piece as a way to bridge gaps, share perspectives, and bring people together – something which has not only earned the shop 30 awards in the past year alone, but makes it a prospect worth keeping an eye on in the months to come.
To learn more about the journey, the ethos informing Freshman, and what sets the company apart, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with founder and executive producer, Dan Libman, as well as managing partner and executive producer, Tim Corrigan, for a chat.
LBB> Tell us a little about your history! How did Freshman get started, and how did you evolve into the production house you are today?
Dan> Freshman started as an idea born out of years of firsthand experience across film sets, commercial campaigns, and production companies big and small. What stood out over all that time wasn’t just the variety of work, but how frequently outdated systems, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities created problems. So, the idea was simple: what if there was a better way? A creative production company that supported talent more intentionally. One that combined a deep respect for the craft with a more contemporary, collaborative way of working.
That seed grew into Freshman. The vision sharpened through the pandemic, and in 2022, I partnered with Tim. He helped us expand into Toronto and polish day-to-day operations, and it quickly became clear that our skill sets were complementary. I brought creative vision and entrepreneurial drive, and he brought decades of experience and a steady hand.
Since then, Freshman has grown into a team that works across Canada and internationally. The roster is strong, but it’s the team behind it (the producers, the leadership, the people shaping the work), that keeps clients coming back. That’s what sets Freshman apart: from the top down, it’s a culture of care, vision, and follow-through.
LBB> What sort of ethos has guided both your company, and your work? Why are these factors so important, and what do they represent to you?
Dan> From day one, Freshman has operated on a simple belief: how stories are made matters just as much as what they say. That shows up in every decision – who we hire, how we collaborate, what projects we take on, and the energy we bring to set. It’s not just about producing beautiful content. It’s about doing it in a way that’s honest, thoughtful, and built on real relationships.
That mindset starts at the top. As leaders, we want to shape a culture where everyone – from the most seasoned agency creatives to first-time directors – feels supported and set up to do their best work. We build trust early and keep it consistent, because when people feel heard, the work hits harder. And, when the process has integrity, the final product always reflects it.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about making ads; it’s about building a creative ecosystem where ideas can thrive, and where the people behind those ideas are treated with the same respect as the product itself.
LBB> Interestingly, you’re located both in Montreal and Toronto, but are headquartered in the former. When it’s the other way around for so many, what made this the right setup for your company? And how do you juggle work between both markets?
Tim> For us, having our headquarters in Montreal feels like a strength. Not only is it a city where a lot of the foundational work happened, but it has deep creative roots, a distinct culture, and a seriously underrated talent pool. It’s where experimentation is encouraged, new voices emerge, and there’s real space to grow.
Toronto, on the other hand, is undeniably where much of the commercial production industry is centralised in Canada – home to agencies, brand offices, and a constant flow of creative opportunities. We’re fully tapped into that world too, and being present in both markets lets us bridge the two ecosystems seamlessly.
Having a foot in both cities gives our team a broader perspective and more agility. It means we’re not pulling from the same shortlists or defaulting to the same formulas. We’re able to pair the right directors with the right boards, tap into emerging talent, and bring a wider cultural lens to the table. It’s one of the ways we keep the work fresh and avoid falling into that recycled, over-iterated feel that can happen when production gets too insular. Really, being based in Montreal but fluent in Toronto gives us the best of both worlds: creative depth and cultural specificity, backed by national reach and production muscle.
LBB> You recently launched a new website, brand identity, and line, ‘Real Always Wins’. What made now the right time for this, and can you tell us about some of the factors which guided this process?
Dan> The timing just felt right. Over the past couple of years, the focus was on getting the work done, building trust, and making sure we had a foundation that could hold. Now that we’ve hit our stride and seen some growth, we knew it was time to level up how we presented ourselves.
The rebrand wasn’t just a cosmetic update, but a chance to articulate what we’ve believed: ‘Real Always Wins’. That phrase came out of a lot of internal conversations about why certain work resonates. In our world, ‘real’ doesn’t mean scrappy or underproduced – it means honest. Intentional. Made from a place of real connection to the culture and the audience. You can feel when something’s grounded in truth versus made in a vacuum. And audiences can too.
We’ve always believed the way work is made matters. This new chapter gave us the chance to say it out loud, and build a brand that reflects it.
LBB> With all this in mind, how would you say these values are reflected from project to project? Practically speaking, what sets your approach apart?
Tim> At Freshman, we don’t just sell directors, but the team behind them. The reality is, rosters change. But agencies don’t reach out to directors; they reach out to us, the people behind the pitch, treatment, and process. That’s where the consistency is.
For us, it’s about building on creative vision and entrepreneurial spirit, and fusing it with high-level production experience, deep industry relationships, and the ability to navigate any board with calm, steady confidence. That balance is what allows us to push the work while still keeping clients comfortable. We can chase big ideas and support young voices without sacrificing structure or trust.
That’s also part of the reason why agencies come to us. We know how to support up-and-coming directors in a way that still feels senior. We can ‘box them in’ in the best way, creating a strong container around them that keeps the creative sharp and the execution clean. It’s not just about finding talent, but knowing how to surround that talent with the right infrastructure so the idea lands the way it should.
A lot of production companies are still phoning it in – dusty rosters, same names, same thinking. We’re not interested in recycling. We’re constantly out there looking for new creative energy, new collaborators, new perspectives, and then we back that with real experience. That’s the safety net, and our edge. We have a team that shows up, not just to execute, but to think, guide, and actually give a damn.
LBB> Can you give us some examples of this? What are some of the projects from your history which have really stood out, in your eyes?
Dan> A great example is Volkswagen’s ‘Sans Émission’ campaign. It was a bold, unconventional idea: an unprecedented four-hour ad that took over the Noovo network in Quebec. In a world where attention spans are measured in seconds, the idea of running a single piece of content for hours was a massive swing. But that’s exactly what made it so interesting; the concept had a lot of creative potential, but also a lot of room to fail if it wasn’t handled properly.
That’s where having the right team made the difference. Louis-David Jutras, the director, is French-Canadian, and specialises in the rhythm, cadence, and nuance of Quebec comedy. He brought the right voice to the piece. Together, we helped create space for that vision to flourish without drifting. We protected the creative, while giving the client confidence it would land. It was a risk (and the client knew that), but they backed us because they trusted the team behind the work. That kind of partnership makes this kind of execution possible.
In the end, the campaign didn’t just turn heads, it created a cultural moment. It also proved something we always say: if you bring the right voices to the table, and you support them with the right team, you can take risks that actually pay off.
LBB> Speaking of turning heads, you’ve earned over 30 major awards in the past year alone. To what do you attribute this recognition, and how has it impacted the business, if at all?
Dan> We attribute the recognition to the people behind the work. Strong creative teams, directors with vision, clients willing to take risks, and a production team that knows how to support all of that without getting in the way. It’s a collective effort, always.
With that said, for us, awards aren’t about prestige. Rather, they’re about momentum. They help open doors in markets where we’re newer, or with clients who might not know us yet. But our focus always stays on the work – backing the right ideas, putting the right teams in place, and building the kind of trust that allows great work to happen in the first place.
We’re proud of the wins, but what they really show is that the system we’ve built, the team behind the scenes, the directors we back, and the relationships we’ve forged, are delivering. That’s the part we care about most.
LBB> Equally important for any business is a willingness to continually evolve. How are you going about this, and working to pen your next chapter?
Tim> Evolution is baked into how we operate. From the beginning, Freshman was designed to challenge the status quo, not just creatively, but operationally. We’ve never been interested in legacy for legacy’s sake. If something isn’t working, we don’t wait around, we rethink it. We’re not chasing novelty for novelty’s sake; we evolve when it meaningfully improves the creative, the process, or the outcome. Whether that’s integrating new production workflows, experimenting with virtual production, or rethinking how we collaborate across teams, we’re always asking the same question: ‘does this make the work better, more efficient, and more resonant?’.
It’s also about structure. We want to build internal systems that let us support directors properly, manage complexity cleanly, and deliver at scale without losing that sense of care and detail. That’s where we put just as much energy as what’s visible on screen.
Ultimately, our responsibility is to keep pushing – to stay aware of where the industry is going while always grounding ourselves in what actually serves the work. That’s the lens we’ll continue to build everything through.
LBB> Finally, in the same vein, what are your goals for 2025 and beyond? What can the industry expect to see of Freshman in the coming months?
Dan> Looking ahead, we’re focused on continuing to grow Freshman in a way that supports both the directors we back and the team that makes everything possible behind the scenes. That means deepening our investment in talent, helping our directors push their craft, building trust with new voices, and developing projects that carry weight beyond the brief.
We’re also committed to building space for emerging creatives. There’s no shortage of bold, relevant voices out there, just a lack of platforms willing to bet on them. We see that as part of our role: to mentor, to back, and to create room for the next generation to break through.
Longer term, we’re exploring the foundations of an original content division, along with international partnerships and potential creative residencies. But at the core of it all, it still comes down to people. The team sets the tone. That’s what agencies are buying into, that’s who clients trust, and that’s what we’re going to keep building around as we move forward: a culture of creative bravery, backed by real experience.
