EP Nick Haynes on His Multi-Faceted Career across Europe and US
From editing to VFX and eventually producing, Nick Haynes has a varied history within the advertising industry. He has spent the last 21 years in New York building out facilities, growing and managing teams as well as producing jobs for a variety of world-class brands including Johnson & Johnson, Guinness and Converse.
He is now executive producer at The-Artery, a creative production studio that offers everything from visual effects to full service production and post production for film, television, and brands.
In this interview, Nick chats to LBB about his start in the industry, his most incredible shoots and his love for photography.
LBB> Briefly tell us about your career history and how you got into producing.
Nick> It started a long time ago, as a runner in London. I started to go down the editing route, with the advent of Avid, but slowly crept into more VFX-based roles. My last London-based role was with The Mill, who very kindly brought me to New York. From there, I left to start up Absolute, essentially as general manager. The slow creep arrived again and I found myself producing a few jobs here and there and evolved into the EP role with Absolute. I moved on to MPC and then Carbon, before finally and very happily landing with Vico Sharabani, Deb Sullivan, and the amazing team at The-Artery.
LBB> Looking over your career, what would you pick out as your top three highlights so far and why?
Nick> Honestly, I think every job I've had has its highlights and really, very few disappointments. To pick three would be doing a disservice to so many other fantastic memories, but since you asked... I would say hitting NY with The Mill was a serendipitous moment and we enjoyed riding that little wave. It really felt as though something different was being served up in the US market overall and that it was making an impact.
Secondly, starting Absolute was a big step for me in terms of moving away from a technical role into something bigger and broader. I learnt loads.
Lastly, I'd have to bundle some memorable shoots, from an enormous fortress on the edge of the frozen Black Sea in Ukraine, to most recently a terrific shoot with The-Artery for a German luxury car brand in LA. It was a real eye opener in terms of the creative opportunities these stages offer and for the people I get to work with. I get the chance to travel and work at the same time and I never tire of seeing new places.
LBB> You joined The-Artery in November 2022, what is it about the company that caught your attention?
Nick> Having known and admired Vico as a master of what he does for several years now. I’d known Deb, initially as the 'best' client at Absolute, but also simply as someone so widely known, liked, and trusted in the industry. It was easy for me to join up with them. We'd been trying to find a way to make it work for some years and so when the right moment appeared, it was a no brainer.
LBB> Tell us about your role at The-Artery.
Nick> I've worked in VFX houses for a while. My most recent experiences have tied in with production too. The-Artery offers similar opportunities to clients, but so much more. My first challenge with The-Artery was a pitch for a project which had very little to do with VFX, but the shoot was a massive component, albeit as essentially a BTS, as was the need to find a way to tie disparate pieces of technology together. They came together as one to provide an incredible experience to a certain portion of the populace who are traditionally underserved. People approach The-Artery for projects such as this because we're seen, from my perception prior to joining, as being able to truly offer creative solutions to creative problems, which I love. My role fundamentally is to be resourceful in finding solutions for clients. We'll always take the call; the more out of left field, the better.
LBB> In your professional opinion, what makes great, memorable work?
Nick> I used to always say the story, but especially now, we can still be beguiled by a visually stunning piece of work. The tech we have and the artists who deploy it have never had a bigger moment to be expressive and really push for the extraordinary. That said, when I do try to recall favourites, I keep coming back to some fairly old spots from my youth – all story driven.
LBB> What are some of the biggest and most exciting production trends you’re seeing for 2023?
Nick> The experience I just had on the volume stage convinces me that we'll be using that tech a lot in production in the near future. We're still wrangling Unreal into a really useful shape. AI is becoming more present. I also think in 2023, people are again revelling in the opportunity to travel again for shoots on a large scale.
LBB> Outside of work, what are your inspirations and influences?
Nick> I love photography. In particular, I’m still drawn to a lot of the great photojournalists and wish there was less media overall, but of a higher quality. I'm also influenced entirely by my children – they're very good at it, influencing.
