Meet Your Makers: Naturally Being a Problem Solver with Lydia Evitt
Lydia Evitt is head of production at creative studio, Coffee & TV. Before joining the Coffee & TV family in 2018, Lydia Evitt embarked on a vibrant professional journey, showcasing her talents as a VFX producer at renowned places like Smoke and Mirrors and MPC. Throughout her time at Coffee & TV, Lydia has been the driving force behind some incredible projects for well-loved brands like Bentley, Louis Vuitton, Superdry, and Walkers, to name just a few. Climbing the ranks within the company, she's become a cherished member of the senior management team, playing a pivotal role in exciting ventures like forging direct relationships with clients.
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?
Lydia> My production career started at Smoke & Mirrors as a colour production assistant. I’d been on reception before that time but this was my first ‘proper’ job out of uni. At that time I was working with colourists Mark Horrobin and Duncan Russell under the watchful eye of Andy Salem, all complete industry heroes. I learnt an incredible amount around both the technical side of post and data management as well as the invaluable skill of client services both ahead of the session and in person, as it was an incredibly fast paced, busy department. It really was such a great way to start a career in VFX and I still believe that anyone wanting to get into production having an understanding of the colour process is an excellent place to start.
At the time I was also so fortunate to be a part of an amazing production team, lots of whom are still really good friends. We’ve all grown up together in the industry, motivated each other to succeed and challenge ourselves and they all definitely played a huge part in me sticking with production as a career path.
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?
Lydia> My first job involving CGI was an ad for Mitsubishi where a live action car was comped into all CG environments. At the time I was completely lacking in experience so I really had to learn on the job, and quickly. For a new producer the concept of managing a CGI project from start to finish, from previs to delivery with a large team, technical jargon and pipelines is intimidating, let alone having to manage complicated relationships between client and a high profile director.
The experience was definitely a baptism of fire - creatively the look that was briefed in was very specific and that involved a lot of back and forth and delicate client conversations before we got it right. Practically I hadn’t worked on a job of that size before and the director really knew their stuff when it came to CGI so it had to get there with quality. As with many of the most challenging jobs, time and budget were also not on our side so it involved a load of late nights and spinning plates!
That experience really taught me that knowledge is power when it comes to the VFX process. After that I made a conscious effort to understand more about the technical side of any project, querying the artists and sitting in the suite with them throughout so that if clients caught me off guard with questions I had the knowledge and confidence to go back to them instantly and know I was right, rather than just relaying questions and answers back and forth as a middleman. As soon as I felt like I could respond to questions about a job without even having to double check with the team, I developed a sense of ownership. I knew I could be trusted and was making progress with my career.
LBB> What’s your favourite thing about production and why?
Lydia> As cheesy and basic as it sounds it’s so exciting to see words in a script, a deck or treatment physically come to life in front of you. To be a part of that and watch it evolve from start to finish is really special. I get to work with such an incredible team of talented creative people and I love being a bystander to creative conversations between artists and clients.
It’s so satisfying when a project you’ve been talking about for months finally delivers, and it pops up when you’re watching TV one evening. That feeling when you see it off your laptop and in your living room never gets old.
Also I’m naturally a problem solver (almost to a fault!) so it’s a good fit with my personality.
LBB> How has production changed since you started your career?
Lydia> There’s a lot more focus on work/life balance now, perhaps as a product of enforced working from home due to covid when we were all working silly hours. When I was learning the culture was to take on as much work as possible even if that meant working late into the night or on weekends to almost prove how efficient and capable you were, and there wasn’t any focus or care taken around our well being.
Nowadays - and particularly at Coffee & TV - there’s more attention paid to people’s workloads to avoid burnout.
In terms of the work, client expectations are a lot greater now and budgets are expected to stretch a lot further. One execution needs to cover a huge array of platforms. Gone are the days of a single 30” master laid to tape; we’re now covering all manner of social, OOH, digital edits, sometimes into the hundreds. There are few words that producers' hearts sink at more than “deliverable matrix spreadsheet is attached”.
LBB> And what has stayed the same?
Lydia> By the time the job reaches post production inevitably there have been curveballs along the way and it’s down to us to be nimble and adapt to those changes. The budget’s getting squeezed, the scope of work has increased, time is running out. It’s all part of the buzz of production but there’s an odd paradox in the only thing that’s stayed the same is that goal posts change constantly.
LBB> Which project from across your career are you most proud of and why?
Lydia> For me personally, it’s not a project specifically but getting promoted into the head of production role after returning from maternity leave is my proudest achievement. After a year away returning to work felt scary, especially into such a fast paced industry but this promotion really showed me I was supported by the company and could really hit the ground running. It felt very progressive and I’m not sure other places would offer the same level of support or belief.
LBB> And in terms of recent work, which projects have you found to be particularly exciting or have presented particularly interesting production challenges?
Lydia> The industry is evolving constantly and gone are the days of being chained to the desk for 9+ hours a day in the office. As we’re all set up to work from home we’ve fully adapted to hybrid flexible working so we’re able to enjoy the best of both worlds, but with that comes teething problems. Fluid communication has never been more important and ensuring the client experience is still as good as it can be whilst remote has required some thought. I’m proud of C&TV for embracing it as it’s not going anywhere soon.
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?
Lydia> I once hand delivered a roll of processed neg to a post house in Paris so they could work on it over the weekend. The project I was producing was super intense and was pushing the boundaries creatively, so we were really up against it time wise. Plus it was the only copy and I didn’t want to leave it in the hands of someone else (control freak much?!). The can arrived back late from Cinelab Friday night and so I hopped on the first Eurostar the next morning, dropped it off and then back in the afternoon straight into work to carry on. Managed to squeeze in a quick shopping trip in the middle so it wasn’t all bad!
LBB> From your experience what are the ingredients for a successful production?
Lydia> Over communication, trust and perspective. Sounds obvious but problems tend to rear their heads when people don’t have all the information that they need. There’s a skill to filtering that through to all parties, and knowing what to share and when to share it to keep the process running as smoothly and with as minimal stress as possible on both sides. In my experience the best producers are those that are juggling hundreds of things but when they’re with clients you’d never know they were stressed and they still make them feel like the most important people in the room. Working with a team you trust and believe in is crucial as at the end of the day you’re going to get there one way or another but you can’t do it alone. Also, keep it light hearted. Try and maintain a sense of humour and remember it’s only telly!
