Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Adapting to the Ever Changing Industry with Arlinda Craven

Arlinda Craven is an executive producer and co-founder of Flock Edit, where she saw an exciting opportunity to develop a different model of offline editing and loved the challenge of building something new.

With a rich background in advertising and post production, she brings to years of industry insight from her years at the APA and her experience working as a producer at a VFX post-production house.

LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?

Arlinda> Don’t ever be afraid to ask ‘stupid’ questions. If you are in Production, Post production or Agency side, that’s how you learn properly and develop deep roots which are crucial to be a good producer. Too often now, young producers feel like they should know it all and often lack the basic foundation knowledge.

LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?

Arlinda> When it comes to Production or Post, I think that every producer needs to perfect organisational and communication skills. As a producer you need to be able to lease and negotiate with clients, agencies, crew, post people and from the experience, better people skills you’ve got, easier the job for everyone :)

LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?

Arlinda> Probably one of the main lessons was how important it is to be able to build good relationships within the industry and to appreciate and enjoy each part of the production process. I  had so many great learning opportunities, met so many wonderful friends along the line.

LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?

Arlinda> At Flock we’ve got a fabulous mixture of editors, different genders, nationalities and backgrounds and it all came naturally. 

We are big on keeping Flock and the industry diverse, however, I find that the line is very fine at the moment and I can’t stand when people are asking me for specific gender or skin coloured editors just to tick boxes. I find it rude and offensive. 

I am mainly talking about directors and editors, as in that instance, is their reel that should be their ‘face’. 

LBB>And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?

Arlinda> It’s about time that everyone is treated equally. I am hoping that in the near future, we won’t have to talk about it and make it into a big issue and have to push for it. This should just be organic and natural that humans are just humans.

There are young people getting into production who maybe don’t see the line between professional production and the creator economy, and that may well also be the shape of things to come. What are your thoughts about that? Is there a tension between more formalised production and the ‘creator economy’ or do the two feed into each other?

I think that ‘traditional’ TVC’s and content are going more and more alongside each other. Most of the campaigns that we’ve been working on have a lot of additional social edits and often a separate content film too. It is crucial for young producers to educate themselves in aspect ratios and always sign off all the deliverables with the client, as there can be a lot of that.

LBB> If you compare your role to the role of the heads of TV/heads of production/ exec producers when you first joined the industry, what do you think are the most striking or interesting changes (and what surprising things have stayed the same?)

Arlinda> I think that the industry has changed quite significantly since I’ve started. I feel like the ‘traditional’ model is fading. I quite miss those days where you had Client, Agency, Prod Co and so on clearly defined. Now, as a post producer I feel like it’s challenging to know who is making decisions.

Most of the time it is still the director, however, I found that producers are often in charge of this process as well as the agency. I also feel that having ‘full production’ houses, offering everything under one roof will eventually backfire. We do have to adapt to the new ways of working, client demands, but we also have to keep fighting and educating those involved to make sure that we produce to the highest standards.

LBB> When it comes to educating producers how does your agency like to approach this? (I know we’re always hearing about how much easier it is to educate or train oneself on tech etc, but what areas do you think producers can benefit from more directed or structured training?)

Arlinda> I don’t think that there is anyone who will disagree with me that experience is the absolute must. Like a lot of others, I’ve started from the bottom and I’ve learned so much from being a runner, then production assistant and all I’ve learned, I carried over to my producing days. 

We’ve been getting involved in the APA Masterclass, giving lectures on the offline editing. I used to run this course alongside Steve Davies, and I think that it’s the most amazing way for young producers to learn the whole process. The producers who are mentors on the course are one of the most experienced in the industry and I will recommend this to every emerging producer. 

LBB> It seems that there’s an emphasis on speed and volume when it comes to content - but to where is the space for up and coming producers to learn about (and learn to appreciate) craft?

Arlinda> With experience, comes confidence to be able to say ‘No’. On some occasions, clients expect magic wands and everything to happen instantly, especially in the post production world. It is crucial to give young producers the opportunity to handle smaller jobs on their own while offering support and patience. It is important to remember that we were all juniors at one point and even now I feel like I learn so much form others around me.

LBB> On the other side of the equation, what’s the key to retaining expertise and helping people who have been working in production for decades to develop new skills?

Arlinda> We need to adapt to the ever changing industry and the best to do so, is to connect with others and exchange experiences and ideas. This is my favourite part of the industry. I’ve been very fortunate to work and learn from the most amazing people.

LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?

Arlinda> Organisation, time management, eye for detail, problem solving, but above all, great people skills. Being able to have an honest conversation, support your team and be able to stay cool under pressure. We all love our jobs but it’s good to remember that at the end of the day we are not brain surgeons and everything can be resolved.