Are More Agencies Shifting Towards Producer-Led Production?

Starting the conversation by asking about the origins of Upstart, it’s clear Anita is as passionate about production today as the day she entered it. “When I set up Upstart, I wanted to create a company that would support young directing talent as well as the established directors. We’re all aware of ever-decreasing production budgets but for many, this means cuts to creative experimentation. If we don’t have that, how will we ever uphold the integrity and creativity of our production industry?” Anita says. 

With a lot of conversation currently focusing on agency production training, it’s clear to see why agencies and clients are looking to the more experienced creatives and producers to advise and lead on new campaigns. Asking Anita if she thinks this is likely to become a trend she says, “Well, up until recently I would have said ‘director-led’ production, where agencies would actively seek out a specific director for a campaign, has always been the standard model. Although interestingly, I’m starting to notice more and more instances of agencies opting to choose their production partners based on the experience of the producers.” Explains Anita. 

‘Trust’ is a word that emerges frequently throughout the production discussion. “When I started out in production as an assistant, I was practically glued to my producer’s heels. I went everywhere they went and learnt everything first hand. These days, the lack of budgets and trust means it can be years before young staff are exposed directly to a client, let alone taken on shoot. This has filtered from the top down. Clients don’t seem to trust agencies to make the right production decisions anymore and that’s one of the reasons young directors are struggling to make a break. The director recommended by the agency for the job used to be chosen 99% of the time. These days, clients want to look for themselves and that’s why we’ve seen an explosion in cost consultancy. The positive thing is most clients are willing to buy good work, if the value can be demonstrated effectively. And agencies are still willing to consider the experimental creative options and young directors– if they have the experience behind it.”

In an age where agencies can be wary of working with fresh and exciting young directing talent – preferring instead to work with the same familiar faces – Anita reckons that the production-led approach can help them mitigate risk and embrace the ‘new’. With her extensive production experience, Anita’s ‘safe pair of hands’ has meant that several agencies have opted to experiment with the young talent on the Upstart roster. 

 “I’ve worked for many years on both agency and production side and I know each one inside out. I work with both established and young talent and the combination of our experience-levels allows for a much more flexible, experimental, yet safe offering for agencies and clients. Our directors are supported by our experience on every single project no matter how many campaigns they’ve worked on,” comments Anita.

The other sweet spot in Upstart’s offering is creative mentor, Paul Wilmot.  Paul works with both the young and established directors at Upstart to ensure they have the confidence they need on every shoot. “Paul is a fantastic resource for our directors, he has worked in a creative capacity on a large number of major campaigns– so he knows more than a thing or two about film production. He’s always had such a keen eye for spotting new talent, be they from any walk of life. The value he can add to both directors and agencies we work with is huge.”

Forever a staunch believer that creativity is key, Anita feels that when you come down to it, creative is what will drive brands forward. “Data is of great importance in today’s world of advertising but we shouldn’t let ourselves forget about spontaneity and experimentation. A person’s best work can come from that space to experiment. That extra moment of experimentation can be the difference between a good commercial and great commercial. Coming full-circle, being part of a society with ever-growing communications channels, that experimentation could also lead to an abundance of richer social media content and data.”