Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Multitasking, Clarity of Communication and Patience with Pip Smart
Pip Smart has an impactful history in the industry, having worked at the coalface of commercial and film production as a producer and executive producer for twenty-five years.
She is currently partner and EP at the highly awarded production company Revolver.
She has produced countless high-profile campaigns for some of the world’s best directors including Steve Rogers, Kim Gehrig and Andreas Nilsson to name a very select few.
She has contributed to global campaigns for clients including Apple, Supercell, Nike, Heineken, Old Spice, Uber and Tourism Australia amongst many others, which have in turn, received numerous Grand Prix, Gold Lions and other international awards.
Throughout her time at Revolver, Pip has played an integral role in nurturing creative talent within the company, helping to develop and launch many new director’s careers with an acute understanding of creative film making and advertising. An advocate for inclusive filmmaking, Pip is currently sitting on the Advisory Committee for the Disability Employment Summit for Film, TV & TVC Production.
Pip has a deep knowledge and understanding of filmmaking, commercial production and ultimately what makes the best work, an understanding that comes from a genuine wealth of experience.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Pip> Find the best mentors you can. Watch great people work. Work out the things people do that you like and admire and the things people do that you don’t want to take on.
Understand your strengths and weaknesses. You have control over the kind of producer you want to be.
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Pip> It's important to understand everybody’s job. Good producing is allowing people to do their job well. If you don’t understand what has to happen, you can’t really do that. Ask questions and learn about everyone’s job, including how every job is evolving. Technology is changing all aspects of production, so it’s important to always be asking questions and learning.
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Pip> I think you have to have an opinion, and you have to have good taste. You can’t make good work if you don’t know what it is, and just getting the boxes ticked and the project delivered isn’t enough. That’s the easy part. So I think the lesson is that the work isn’t meant to be easy, its meant to be good. And that can difficult. Navigating that difficulty and keeping a team on your side is the ultimate challenge.
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?
Pip> We try pretty hard at Revolver to address this on a number of levels and we are always asking ourselves if we are being inclusive. We are always training up on all levels.
Everyone who starts on the front desk works their way up, and we put a lot of time and energy into that training. We’ve been doing a lot of work with Bus Stop Films on our program to have attachments with mixed abilities on every production, alongside our commitment to Inclusively Made.
We also have an ongoing mentoring relationship with Indigenous owned production company Garuwa through Screen Australia, who are doing great work and are one to watch.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Pip> It’s important for any creative industry or business to have diverse voices, to lead by example and to support the creation of successful and diverse businesses and technicians who can blaze their own trail.
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?
Pip> They are pretty separate at the moment. What we find is that people tend to come to Revolver, either as a client or as a potential collaborator wanting to step up to perhaps a more formal and higher level of production. But we do have to stay on our toes, and be continually looking at how we do things, making sure we don’t get stuck in our ways and that we can evolve with the market.
That’s what the younger people from the creator economy can offer and add. I find that really exciting and interesting to be watching what’s possible, but then also adding our craft and care and level of personalisation that is so important to what we do.
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?)
Pip> The interesting evolution I think is that a lot of EPs now really primarily do sales. Sales is an invaluable part of the job, and you need to be able to do that of course. But on top of a solid bed of experience as a producer to draw on, it’s the skills in communication and diplomacy and creative management that really makes a great EP.
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?)
Pip> I hate to sound old fashioned, but I think the bulk of learning in this job comes from watching, learning, talking to other people. I think young producers learn from those around them, and this takes time and attention. You know how to solve a problem because you have good instincts, but also usually because you’ve come across something like it before.
That’s why it’s so important to have a solid team who nurture each other and communicate effectively. As a producer you need to constantly bounce ideas off your team and work out a path through each project in the most effective way. It’s a hard job to do alone.
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?
Pip> Young producers can learn a lot and get good opportunities at the moment given how challenged budgets are! But this requires careful supervision and oversight from EPs and production companies supporting the learning and being there to catch any issues if things go awry. We’re always encouraging our younger team to back their instincts and push for creativity, over and above just delivering the schedule and budget. That’s where the value of what we do comes into play.
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?
Pip> No two jobs are the same. So most producers continue to evolve and learn even after decades of producing. It never gets old. I think mixing up teams and working with different creative combinations of directors, producers and production teams can make even an experienced producer think about their impact and effectiveness. Its good to be continually challenged in this way. And if you work with great people, the rewards are endless.
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Pip> I think the most important personality traits are an ability to do more than three things at once, clarity of communication and patience.
