Meet Your Makers: Being Naturally Curious with Melissa Tifere

Melissa Tifrere is an award-winning producer with over 17 years of experience working alongside some of the Advertising industry's best creative thinkers and makers. Collaboration, curiosity, and a deep love for the craft of film making continues to be her driving factor for every project produced. Melissa is currently the head of integrated production at Havas New York and Annex 88, overseeing and advising on all productions across the agencies and leading a team of talented producers. Throughout her career Melissa has produced content for brands such as BMW, Microsoft, AT&T, Footlocker, PepsiCo, Reebok, Chase, Marriott, Verizon, Crayola, Samsung, Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York, New York Presbyterian and Adidas to name a few.

LBB> What first attracted you to production - and has it been an industry you’ve always worked on or did you come to it from another area?

Melissa> I began my career in Advertising as a receptionist and then moved into account management, I thought that was where I wanted to be. About two years into my account management career, it dawned on me that the only part of the job that excited me was when the producers would get brought into the process. No matter what crazy request we threw at them they always had an answer and a solution. I wanted to be a problem solver and I wanted to work closer with the creative’s teams. Switching from Account to Production early on was the best career decision I ever made.

LBB> What was your first role in the production world and how did this experience influence how you think about production and how you grew your career?

Melissa> My first role in production was as an associate producer assisting the head of production and the EP’s on projects. One of my first projects was to go on a shoot and shadow my HoP, Roseanne Horn, on a very large production in LA. Watching her in action managing every single aspect of the project was incredible. She had a way of seamlessly navigating all the communication between the creatives, the director and the clients and magically getting everyone on the same page. She set the bar for the type of producer I wanted to be. To this day if I call her with questions she still always has the perfect answer.

LBB> How did you learn to be a producer?

Melissa> I learned from shadowing the EP’s and asking questions. I had a lot of questions.  How did they know how to respond to all the situations that came up during a project, How did they know they were giving the right answers and doing the right thing for the creative. The answer of course is experience. Producing is a craft, the more you do it the better you become. You learn how to react to situations with calmness and how to set a tone of confidence so that your team knows that no matter what is happening everything is under control and being handled.

LBB> Looking back to the beginning of your career, can you tell us about a production you were involved in where you really had to dig deep and that really helped you to grow as a producer?

Melissa> It was a project for a large telecommunications company, I had been producing spots on my own for a few years at this point and my HoP thought it was time to give me a bigger challenge. It was a big visual script with not a lot of turnaround time to get it on air. I took one look at the creative and immediately knew who the perfect director to single bid was and the creatives agreed. It was a 48 hour bid/treatment and award, two days later we were on a plane to New Zealand scouting over 10 locations, casting over 300 talent and working with a chemist to custom create over 10,000 sparklers in a week so that they were the right shade of the brands colour and would burned slow enough for us get good takes. We delivered a big visual brand film in under four weeks. It was hard and intense, but it was a turning point for me where I felt that after that I could produce anything.

LBB> A good producer should be able to produce for any medium, from film to events to digital experience. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why/why not?

Melissa> A good producer will be able to figure anything out and get it done, but I do believe in specialties. Producers are at their best when they are producing in a space that they are passionate about. If a producer’s passion and expertise is in film, they may not be that excited or passionate if they are assigned to an experiential project. On the flip side of that they may discover something new that they are good at. I think it’s good for a producer to try new things, but it’s also ok if they know what they like and concentrate in that area as well.

LBB> What’s your favourite thing about production and why?

Melissa> Every job is unique. It never gets routine or boring. There is always a different cast of players and different situations to solve for.

LBB> How has production changed since you started your career?

Melissa> Smaller budgets, different mediums to create for and more deliverables. When I started big TV spots were still the lead for all the campaigns. That doesn’t work anymore, how, where and when people are viewing content has drastically changed. Producers have had to learn how to produce for smaller screens and how to make a budget work harder and deliver for all the new ways of reaching the consumer.

LBB> And what has stayed the same?

Melissa> The creative ideas are still big and ambitious. Just because the budgets have shrunk does not mean the creative ideas will. It’s coming up with new solutions on how to pull off what at first seems like the impossible.  

LBB> What do you think is the key to being an effective producer - and is it something that’s innate or something that can be learned?

Melissa> I think the most effective producers are great communicators, organised, and creative thinkers with an eye for talent. As a producer you need to be able to look at a reel and know what production partner will bring a script/idea to its fullest potential. I think that some of these skills come more naturally to some people, while some may need to be taught more. The thing that you cannot teach someone is taste, which is key if you want to be a producer whose input is respected by the creative teams.

LBB> Which production project from across your career are you most proud of and why?

Melissa> There was a project for AT&T where the scripts required that we hire a BIPOC director. It’s important to note that this was pre 2020 before most clients began asking for more diversity.  After being in this industry for over 17 years and being on hundreds of commercial sets in my career, this was the first time that I ever encountered a crew where every single department head was a person of colour, which in turn trickled down to the entire crew being more diverse. It was the first time where I went to set/work every day and at least half the people in the room looked like me. Sadly, this has never happened again since, but I am very hopeful that as an industry we are working toward more diversity on sets, agencies and the brand side.

LBB> Producers always have the best stories. What’s the hairiest / most insane situation you’ve found yourself in and how did you work your way out of it?

Melissa> I was in LA prepping for a big production mid-March of 2020. Before flying out there were the beginnings of news coverage around some virus that was starting to spread. No one was really taking it that seriously at the time yet. We arrive in LA and we are on the tech scout in the van with the director and crew, we all get a phone news alert that the NBA is cancelling the remainder of the season, I think that is when people started to worry. The next day we lost our house locations and had to scramble to find back-up options. The morning of the first day of shooting LA announces limitations on how many people can gather in one place.  Me and the line producer are trying to figure out who we can cut to meet this new mandate and still make the spot. In case they shut down the airports I’m looking into an RV to drive us back to New York. Everything was falling apart all at once. There were no production precedents set for Covid yet and no idea on what was or was not covered by insurance. After a very stressful day of putting out fires and having a plan B and C for every aspect of the shoot, the clients eventually called it and we all ran to the airport and got on the next flight home. 

LBB> As a producer your brain must have a neverending "to do" list. How do you switch off? What do you do to relax?

Melissa> I have a hard time switching off, but I have found techniques to allow me not to be anxious. Things I need to do or that I think I should be doing constantly pop into my mind, even when I am asleep, I’ll wake up and think, oh you cannot forget to do this or that. I have figured out that if I write the thing down immediately I don’t have the anxiety that I will forget to do it.  Then I take that to-do list and I prioritise the items on it, because even though my mind says so, not everything is an emergency or needs to be solved ASAP. Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and tackle one thing at a time in a more thought out manner.

LBB> Producers are problem solvers. What personally fuels your curiosity and drive?

Melissa> I was born curious. Growing up my Dad always said I asked too many questions and that I had an answer for everything. He thought this would lead to me to a career as a lawyer, sorry Dad. I love information and I love having the answer to things, if I do not have the answer I will get back to you with the answer. A producer does not need to know everything on the spot, but they need to be the type of person that wants to figure it out and start pre-planning an answer for when the question comes up. I encourage all producers to ask all of the questions.

LBB> What advice would you give to people who are interested in becoming a producer?

Melissa> Producing is a craft, you will need to be passionate and patient on your path to becoming a producer. It takes time and practice to hone any craft. Don’t give up or get discouraged if everything isn’t clicking immediately or if you feel like you don’t know any of the answers. It’s the drive to want to be the one with the answers and to solve the problems that will make you a great producer.

LBB> From your experience what are the ingredients for a successful production?

Melissa> One team, one dream. Get everyone aligned in the upfront as soon as you can. Get clients and accounts aligned on the key dates that you must hit and the budget and what is covered in that budget. Get the creatives and director talking frequently so they can establish a rapport and have open dialogue on what the vision is for the spot. Over communicate with everyone, do not make any assumptions.

LBB> What’s the key to a successful production-client relationship?

Melissa> Open communication and dialogue is the key to any successful relationship. Sharing information and working together on solving issues. The moment one side starts dictating to the other side the relationship is going to crumble because no one likes to work that way. Collaboration and Communication.

LBB> One specifically for EPs: Producers are naturally hands on - they have to be. How do you balance that in the more managerial role of an EP?

Melissa> Hire smart people you trust and let them do their job. Always make yourself available and approachable for when they have a question, and they will come to you when they need to. As HoP I try to only ask my most senior producers to keep me looped in to a few key things; who are the directors you are considering for the job and send me rough cuts once they are ready to share internally. No one likes to be micromanaged so I try my best not to do it. But I will have questions.