Meet Your Makers: How to Make the Impossible Possible with Melanie Wickham
Melanie is an esteemed production leader, having led teams for the past two decades at award-winning creative studios. In addition to putting the building blocks in place to do any job, Melanie is known for her ability to collaborate with artists and clients to solve all production challenges and arrive at the best creative solutions.
In 2020, Melanie co-founded Preymaker, the award-winning collective of creatives, producers and technologists who create content via an advanced custom cloud-based platform, along with proprietary tools. She is instrumental to on-boarding clients, agencies, directors, producers and artists to the company’s future-facing work model. Her previous experience includes senior production roles at The Mill, Absolute Post and Animal Logic. The common thread throughout her career is being one of the best at building and sustaining artist and producer teams responsible for some of the industry’s most talked about work.
Melanie is a trusted resource for a long list of agencies and brands, and has played an integral role in many award-winning campaigns working with some of the industry’s most noteworthy directors.
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?
Melanie> I went to university with the aim to be an economist, I absolutely hated it. I spent most days skipping school and going to the cinema. When my parents realised what I was doing, they told me to drop out and get work experience in film and television. So I did some work experience at a post production company in Sydney, Australia and I loved it.
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?
Melanie> After my work experience, the company offered me a job as a receptionist. I accepted and worked my way up from there. At that point there were no courses or degrees for this part of the industry. It was all hands on learning experience. The industry was so small, you really had to work hard to move up the ranks as there were very few openings. I took any job - big or small - to get to the next level. It taught me no job is beneath me. It also showed me the value of being proactive and of helping my co-workers succeed because ultimately working collaboratively helps everyone succeed.
LBB> How did you learn to be a producer?
Melanie> I was lucky to learn under two industry legends, Derryn Clarke and Pat Joseph. I was Pat Joseph’s co-ordinator (Pat was co-founder of the Mill). Pat taught me how important it is to have a voice and to love the creative process. He taught me how to make the impossible possible. Derryn, who was head of production at the time, taught me the structure of producing, process and having clear communication. It was a great combo.
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?
Melanie> That is a tough one. All jobs have their challenges, even now, some more than others! I am still growing.
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?
Melanie> I am going to say yes, a good producer should be able to produce for any medium. In one of my previous jobs, I was told I was only a VFX executive producer, so in other words, stay in your lane. To me this was limiting and counter intuitive, production skills are transferable. At Preymaker we believe producers can work across multiple platforms and contribute to the conversation, whereas at my previous company the roles were very siloed. Preymaker is much stronger for having a production team that understands a wide range of tech and production methods and platforms.
LBB> What’s your favourite thing about production and why?
Melanie> I love the creative process, especially creative brainstorming early on for a project. I love being part of bringing a project to life. I have been very lucky to work with some incredible directors such as Darren Aronofsky, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Michel Gondry, Fredrik Bond, Baz Luhrmann, Doug Liman and Kathryn Bigelow, to name a few. The value of building relationships is one of my most favourite parts, working with amazing people from brands, agencies and production companies is very rewarding.
But the thing I'm most proud of is nurturing young production talent. At Preymaker we invest a lot of time in our young talent. We’re incredibly proud of our amazing team, I love helping them grow their careers.
LBB> How has production changed since you started your career?
Melanie> It has changed so much, It has not stopped changing in fact. When I started, television commercials were delivered to broadcasters on 1-inch tape. In London, runners would hand deliver masters, they even had to bring in their passports to work every day just in case they’d have to take a ¾” tape to New York for meetings for the agency to get client sign off. I worked with Diane Jackson, who was at DDB US at the time, on the largest campaign at that time. Diane had to stay in London for over six months solid while the post was being done. This would never happen today as we would just jump online to review the work.
We're in a real point of change at the moment in the industry in the sector that I’m working in. It's an incredibly exciting time. We are finding ways to use technology to overcome production limitations and we are developing new ways of working and collaborating. Content is being delivered to so many different mediums and platforms. Preymaker is a big part of redefining the new cloud based process these days.
LBB> And what has stayed the same?
Melanie> The importance of strong creative work.
Always striving for excellence.
The value of relationships.
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?
Melanie> Sometimes production does come naturally to people and they are very lucky. Key to being an effective producer … It’s about active listening, being organised, being empathetic to the people you work with and your clients, being curious, trusting your instincts. I think it is also understanding where your strengths lie in being a producer. Most importantly, you need to be a good communicator.
LBB> Which production project from across your career are you most proud of and why?
Melanie> I am most proud of Preymaker’s original animated short film, BLUE. What we created here is truly remarkable. We were in the middle of the pandemic. The entire team was 100% remote, collaborating around the world. We were building our new cloud platform and using technology that had never been used in production in the cloud. We had to push the limits of what was possible in Unreal to create something that was Pixar quality. It was really challenging, we learned a lot and we had so much fun making it. BLUE the film has gone on to win so many awards and play many film festivals. I am excited to see what comes next for BLUE …
LBB> And in terms of recent work, which projects have you found to be particularly exciting or have presented particularly interesting production challenges?
Melanie> FanDuel “Think Like a Player,” directed by Aaron Stoller/Biscuit via W+K NY. Preymaker worked with Aaron and W&K to come up with an Artificial Intelligence pipeline that enabled us to turn around the spots efficiently and create a believable young Charles Barkley in his prime.
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?
Melanie> I worked on a project with BBDO and Park Pictures, an AT&T project for the London Olympics about 11 years ago. We had to composite Olympic footage of an event that happened earlier in the day into a phone held by an athlete in the commercial. The ad was aired just after the athlete’s event was shown in the US. We only had three hours (ish) after the event to get a tape of the event, create the composites, master and get the final master back to the broadcaster. Before the Olympics we did time trials on the whole process from compositing and getting the tapes to where they were being played out from. The day of the event, we would have a courier in a car taking the tape plus a bike courier and a runner on the tube. If we didn’t make the turn around time the spots lost their moment. All commercials made it to their on-air slot.
LBB> What are your personal ambitions or aspirations as a producer?
Melanie> Keep learning and growing. To do the best creative work, inspire our team at Preymaker and to keep pushing the boundaries of emerging technology for our clients.
LBB> As a producer your brain must have a neverending "to do" list. How do you switch off? What do you do to relax?
Melanie> I love watching films and series, this helps me relax and switch off.
LBB> Producers are problem solvers. What personally fuels your curiosity and drive?
Melanie> I would say I operate best when things don’t go according to plan and course correcting/ problem solving is needed. I love the challenge of keeping things on track no matter what obstacles are thrown your way.
LBB> What advice would you give to people who are interested in becoming a producer?
Melanie> Be curious. Value your relationships. Have the ability to be flexible. Work hard, be nice to people.
LBB> From your experience what are the ingredients for a successful production?
Melanie> Clear communication and expectations. Surround yourself with amazing people. Everyday at Preymaker I look around at the people I work with and get such a buzz out of how talented and clever they are.
LBB> What’s the key to a successful production-client relationship?
Melanie> Understanding that you’re partners in the process. You can’t underestimate that. That there’s always a bit of give and take. But when your partners need help, you’re there to support them and vice versa. This can be lost a bit today. Some old school VFX companies are more focused on profit and scale rather than the relationships and the creative. If you look after people and the creative, I strongly believe everything else follows.
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?
Melanie> This is difficult. Sometimes it’s easier than others. My partner in crime, Verity Grantham, helps remind me of this - everyone has their own way of working, we are individuals! As hard as it is to let go, you do have to let people find their own path. We all get to the end point, it’s just the path you come down is your own.
