Producing Tomorrow’s Producers: Chris Wilkinson on the Nature of Production
Chris Wilkinson has been working in marketing, advertising, and creative production for over 25 years. After working in marketing with major International retailers, and helping launch the Best Buy brand in Canada, Chris shifted his focus to his passion of film production.
As a producer, Chris has produced and executive produced countless TV and radio commercials and several feature films while running his market leading full-service production studio Hadron Films and Hadron Features.
Chris’s sole mission as a producer is to connect passionate talent with world class resources to create quality entertainment that connects with viewers.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Chris> Do it only if it truly excites you to create. If you love being an instrumental part of creating any form of content, you will do it with passion and energy and I’m convinced that’s what it takes to find success as a producer. A producer needs to inspire other talented people to come on board a project and that can only be done with passion.
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Chris> I’d say first start with the basics. Be incredibly organised and detail oriented. Learn how to be a strong communicator, both in person and written, and learn how to lead and inspire people.
Productions are draining, long and filled with challenges, so if you can master these three foundational attributes, you’ll be able to produce with success.
Once you have that down, then I’d say study the field you plan on producing in. If it’s advertising, then learn the latest trends in marketing so you understand what your clients are going to be looking for. If it’s long form, study distribution, if it’s social then see what’s working in online content.
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Chris> I used to work so hard on making sure there are no issues throughout my productions. I’d toil over what could go wrong and stress over it when things did go off the rails.
Over time I realised that no matter how well you plan, there will still be issues. That's the nature of production, where there are countless moving pieces and unknowns. So now I plan just as diligently but I measure our success on not avoiding all issues, but on how well we can respond and pivot when they inevitably arise.
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?
Chris> We are fortunate to have lots of physical resources that we can use to support up and coming talent to film their own projects so we are currently focused on finding and helping local talented diverse directors in building a reel that they can use to get more work and start their careers.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Chris> Our communities are made up of diverse groups of people so it’s only right that these voices are represented in media and entertainment. Underrepresented groups often have a harder time getting started due to a strongly rooted traditional standard and if we don’t help new and diverse voices get a leg up at the start of their careers, this will never change.
LBB> 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?
Chris> For the most part I see these two forms of production as separate businesses feeding different needs. While creator / influencer content has certainly cannibalised the market for traditional larger productions, there should always be room for both types of content as they each reach a certain audience and perform a specific marketing and advertising task.
There will naturally be instances where we will see crossover but for the most part I think there will be an ongoing need for both. While currently companies seem to be doing either one or the other, I feel like there will be the growth of boutique creative production companies that will find a way to produce both at a high level and they will probably find a lot of success there.
And if anyone is going to do that well it’s the next generation of producers.
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?)
Chris> I’d say that 20 years ago production followed a very linear path using a process that had been used for generations. Today, there are far more options when producing content.
There is a broad range of technical options in cameras, lighting, and equipment that offer multiple ways to shoot something.
Same in post production and VFX – 20 years ago the question of what is practical vs what will we do in VFX wasn’t nearly as prevalent.
Tightening budgets and timelines have also made productions more nimble and solution driven than they have ever been out of necessity. What hasn’t changed is the need for great talent and their place in the process.
Great talent will always bring the right ideas and have their finger on the pulse of what’s available and when to use it – and it’s a producers job to match that with their own resources and knowledge.
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?)
Chris> We have always put an emphasis on hiring people who bring passion, energy, and drive and put less of a focus on specific knowledge, skillset or experience. Because of our trust in these innate abilities, we have always trained by throwing new producers into the deep end and offering support and resources as needed.
The best way to learn production is by producing, so we’ll normally give them a (usually smaller) project and watch them make it happen.
A driven producer will always find a way, in fact it’s that ability that makes the best producers. The training aspect of this approach is the inevitable times they do get stuck, and we offer them guidance via our experience and connections, but the lions share of the learning is from them doing it and taking away lessons from what worked and what didn’t.
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?
Chris> I’d say the best way for a producer to learn about craft is by working with other department heads that also take the same pride in their work – ideally on a project that allows them to dictate the time and effort they get to spend on it. It feels to me like the best place to achieve this is by making passion projects like short films and music videos.
Personal projects offer the entire team to dictate the pace and creative elements of the project and be held more responsible for the quality of the final product.
When a team doesn't have imposed timelines and as many outside opinions skewing the ultimate vision, they are free to create to the best of their ability. Unfortunately this likely means that there isn’t much money for the project which adds a layer of challenge, but nothing will forge a producer better than solving those problems.
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?
Chris> For seasoned producers, I’d say seek out challenging projects. Challenges help keep producers fulfilled and it’s always a great way to learn something new. Related to that point would be to find projects that enable them to use new technologies, equipment, and creative partners - the amount of emerging technology and talent that work with that technology is staggering and tapping into that will allow a seasoned producer to bring their expertise to the project utilising it to it’s full potential.
Plus they will learn a lot in the process.
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Chris> Problem solving and being connected to top crew and resources. If you have those two things you’ll always have the ability to take any project from an idea into reality at the highest level. A close third would be keeping cool under pressure. Productions can be a challenge at the best of times so have a thick skin, know that problems will arise, and get good at dealing with them efficiently and with a cool head.
