Producing Tomorrow's Producers: The Learning Never Stops for Eugene Marchio
Eugene Marchio discovered a love for brands and advertising at an early age. He studied creative advertising at Centennial College and got his first break into the business at JWT where he worked on the Kellogg’s and Unilever account services team.
From there he moved into production and worked as an agency producer for over a decade. With a strong desire to understand the production business further he moved into post production and animation where he was an executive producer at Topix Studios.
Finally rounding out his skillset in production, the heart of creating, Eugene continued on to spend nearly 10 years as executive producer at two notable film production companies. During his time there he has lead large integrated productions for TELUS, Coca Cola, Desjardins, Shoppers Drug Mart, Toyota, and Tim Horton’s to name a few.
Eugene is now an executive producer at The Deli.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Eugene> Do whatever it takes to stand out from the crowd. Do your homework, learn about producers and production leaders in the industry and reach out. Just submitting your resume isn’t going to cut it. You need to get noticed and show your producing mindset right out the gate. One meeting can lead to many more and eventually you’ll get your foot in the door. Our industry is small, everyone knows everyone so meet as many people as possible. Be creative, be relentless (without being annoying) and be unapologetically you.
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Eugene> As producers it's critical to know about a lot about different areas of production. Immerse yourself in new technology, AI, experiential, film production, post-production, audio production and talent unions. Those are the obvious ones but don’t forget to learn about the process. You need to have a solid understanding of how to make great work which also comes with a good knowledge base of how agencies, clients and production companies work. Having a solid understanding of how everyone contributes to making great work will only help you be a standout producer. It’s not just about a 30-second spot anymore.
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Eugene> The biggest lesson and most important thing I learned early on in my career was to power myself with knowledge. Ask questions. We are human and we don’t have all the answers so it’s important to be vulnerable and if you don’t know ask. We are lucky to work in an industry that has so many people with different skill sets. Knowing that it's okay to not have all the answers will make you stronger. Never, never, never stop asking questions.
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?
Eugene> At The Deli, we have a focus on people. We are a diverse group of producers and directors, striving to give opportunities to everyone. We look to have diversity in all areas of our production and are supporters of leading organisations like Hire Higher. The industry as a whole has made some big steps to address the issue over the last few years, but we need to continue to do more and keep this topic top of mind and at the forefront of everything we do.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Eugene> We live in one of the most multicultural cities in the world and it's key that we have representation of that within our industry. When we create work, we are speaking to many different people, and we must have a diverse group of people to help us tell authentic stories. Everyone should be represented in the stories we tell both on and off screen.
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?
Eugene> In my opinion professional production and the creator economy are very different but there is a place and purpose for both. Professional content is more controlled, and process driven. It also allows for high production value and on a large brand level that’s important. Creators tend to work more organically within the digital space.
I don’t think there is tension between the two worlds at all because they are so different. We must educate our clients when the topic comes up. If production is planned well there is room to amplify the brand messages from both angles. They need to work together, and clients need to understand the trade-offs when producing a large brand spot vs social content.
LBB> If you compare your role to the role of EPs 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?)
Eugene> I’ve been fortunate during my career path in the industry to have worked as an agency producer, post producer and now an executive producer in the production space and one thing that has changed in all areas is how much more flexible and creative we need to be with budgets and execution of big ideas. We’ve always said that the budget doesn’t match the idea but that has never been more on point.
In my role I find myself very involved in the creative process from briefing to treatments to working with directors and producers to maximise our production resources to produce the best quality work possible. It was once said that EPs have a cushy desk job but in my experience that chair isn’t that comfortable and I am okay with that. It allows me to use the skills I’ve learned over the years to produce good work. Involving producers and production partners earlier in the process will help drive production solutions.
This has never been more important.
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?)
Eugene> The Deli is led by a strong team of executive producers who come from various backgrounds of the industry from agency to post, film and production. We strive to immerse our up-and-coming producers into all aspects of production allowing them to see the process through from script to execution and really understand how it all works. It's critical for us to let them in on all conversations, meetings and planning of a production.
You can only learn so much about what we do in school and the real learning happens on the job. We encourage our producers to talk to all department leaders to learn about the different areas of production such as cinematography, lighting and grip, location scouting, and production design. The most valuable training happens on the job and helps producers understand that there really isn’t a handbook. Every job is different, and the learning never stops. We expect mistakes to happen and people to learn from them.
Having a culture that allows for this is important.
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?
Eugene> Advertising has always been a game of speed and continues to pick up speed as new technology emerges but that shouldn’t compromise the craft or the learning process. It’s important for producers to maintain control and manage the process. That’s part of being a great producer. There is always room and time for people to learn even at a fast pace which in turn will only make them better, stronger producers.
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?
Eugene> Our industry is known to be a “move from job to job” type space. That’s just part of learning, growing and expanding your skills. It doesn’t always mean you weren’t happy with your job. A positive work environment fuelled by strong leaders, energy and room to grow is always important in the workplace. What’s equally important is enabling people to learn new skills, and the freedom to make the role they want it to be.
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Eugene> No matter how much the business changes, the key personality traits that will never change for a producer are having an organisational mindset, creativity, problem-solving and a can-do attitude. It’s important to remain curious and adaptable to new ways of doing things. Most importantly BE KIND. I love people and have always found being a solid human will only allow for better working relationships and in turn better work.
