Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Jana Melzer’s ‘Learning by Doing’ Ethos
Jana Melzer was born and raised in Munich, Bavaria. After school, travelling the world, and starting a career in front of the camera, she changed sides and started to work for model agencies and photo productions. In the early 2000s Jana moved to Berlin and started with soup film in 2009 as PA, then producer and executive producer.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Jana> Working as an intern or PA is a good first starting point into the production business.
Be passionate and patient. This industry is constantly changing with a lot of ups and downs.
Building a network is super important as well. Be true to yourself and present and most important have fun!
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Jana> First of all be kind and empathic. Create a friendly and safe environment for cast and crew. Bringing the right people together to create something can be an art form.
Furthermore, we are moving towards a completely different process of producing films and commercials in the future. But hey, it's new to everybody. And even though it's all happening so fast we have to embrace this.
Be up to date with new technologies and tools for easier workflows and their endless possibilities.
Be curious. Surround yourself with people that inspire you and learn from them.
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Jana> Producing a commercial is a process, and sometimes things happen which are beyond our control. Always keep calm and listen. It will be fine in the end. (most of the time).
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?
Jana> Diversity and inclusion always has been a part of my and soup films identity.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Jana> As storytellers we have the chance to include diversity, inclusion and visibility seamless in our films and work. For us it´s a no-brainer to do so.
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?
Jana> I necessarily do not see a tension. In my opinion the lines between traditional production and content are still very visible. Of course sometimes clients want us to merge the content world with the classic production world.
LBB> If you compare your role to the role of 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?)
Jana> I don't think the role has changed that much. The budgets nowadays have changed significantly though. Also, the importance of social media has brought a lot of changes with it. (The amount of versions that need to be delivered is definitely out of this world and not comparable at all to, let's say, 10 years ago).
LBB> When it comes to educating producers how does your company like to approach this?
Jana> Here at soup film most of our producers started as interns or production assistants and grow up within the company. It is a fluent and “learning by doing” process. Of course good mentoring is key. On a regular basis we also create little working groups for different topics to train and educate 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?
Jana> I think there´s still a lot of crafty jobs out there. Since the budgets are tending to be smaller and smaller now we must be more resourceful and flexible. Have a look at work from people that inspire you. Surround yourself with your dream crew and learn from them.
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?
Jana> Especially now where everything is moving so fast, it´s important to foster a culture of continuous learning and exchange within the team, so we are encouraged to expand our skill sets and stay updated with industry trends. We regularly organise internal workshops to experiment and share experiences.
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Jana> Always communicate. You have to learn how to be able to work under a lot of pressure.
Be transparent and reliable.
And most important, never lose your sense of humour!
