Producing Tomorrow’s Producers: Balancing Patience and Impatience with Jared Floyd
Jared Floyd is an innovative executive producer and entrepreneur, renowned for his company’s remarkable growth and entrepreneurial spirit. As the visionary leader behind Ajax Creative, a full-service creative production company, Jared has orchestrated commercial campaigns for global brands such as Microsoft, Air Canada, and Unilever.
His unique blend of creativity and technology enables him to craft compelling narratives that resonate across both commercial and cinematic realms. Driven by a passion for storytelling and entrepreneurship, Jared has transformed Ajax Creative into a powerhouse within the creative production industry.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Jared> Treat relationships with the utmost importance. When building relationships do the simple things well; create win-win scenarios, do what you say you're going to do, under promise & overdeliver, and be there for them if they need help or a favour.
Find your clique of creatives that you work well with, are passionate about growing as well, and strive to always go above and beyond on your projects together.
Always strive to be better tomorrow than you are today.
Never give up and be relentless in your pursuit of your goals.
Embrace feedback.
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Jared> Adopting software like monday.com to manage your projects more efficiently. Also develop databases so you can keep track of your contacts.
Integrating AI into your workflow from a brainstorming, feedback, and analytical perspective. The tough part of being a producer is you're always having to juggle multiple hats, like understanding best practices for hiring, project management, client relationships, finance, legal, etc. sometimes in different locations. When you're starting out, you may not have the resources to have a specialised accountant or lawyer on standby, so having these tools in your back pocket will help put you ahead.
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Jared> I’d say the biggest lesson I’ve learned in the production industry is the importance of being patient and impatient at the same time. I think the unfortunate reality with any project-based industry is there are highs and lows so you have to be patient with the process.
We call them the ‘peaks and valleys’ at Ajax. You need to go down the valleys sometimes to reach the peaks. It’s important to be patient and keep working away. I believe it is important to be a little impatient too though so it can fuel you to try and expedite your success in the industry.
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what is your team doing to address this?
Jared> When it comes to diversity and inclusion, our philosophy is simple - to always find and hire people based on merit. What we look for is their skills, personality, and integrity. Everyone should have a fair shot at getting any job based on their skills and merit no matter their background.
When it comes to broadening access to production, we love giving upcoming talent a shot. When working with new upcoming talent, we typically like to start them on a project and if they do a great job then we continue to give them more work which can also mean evolving to working on bigger jobs.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Jared> 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.
LBB> 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?
Jared> I don’t see any tension as they both have their purposes and can coexist.
LBB> If you compare your role to the role of the heads of TV/heads of production/executive 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)?
Jared> I think the most striking change is how fast technology is advancing and this is where the upcomers have a huge opportunity as they’ll likely be able to understand and adopt these technologies faster. The things that have stayed the same (that I don’t think come as a surprise) is in the art of storytelling, building a network and strong relationships.
LBB> When it comes to educating producers how does your agency like to approach this?
Jared> When it comes to educating producers - when they start we like them to work side by side with an experienced producer so they can gain practical experience. On an ongoing basis we always have our producers paired with an executive producer who is overseeing the project as it’s helpful to have somebody who can also provide advise and you can brainstorm with.
We also encourage our producers to maintain relationships with other producers in the industry as this allows for broader access to knowledge, contacts and experience in case either party runs into an issue that hasn’t been dealt with before, you can help each other.
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?
Jared> I think one of the most missed opportunities for producers/production companies right now is doing more charity / pro bono work for charities that allows you to have creative freedom. There emotionally impactful, provide a positive impact in your community, and allow you to showcase your creative capabilities.
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?
Jared> I’d say the keys to retaining are being aligned with your mission, having clear expectations, and having open communications.
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Jared> Creativity, integrity, passion, problem-solving, trustworthiness, dependable, bravery (people who are bold enough to come up with big and different ideas and brave enough to pitch it and do it).
