Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Thinking 5 Steps Ahead with Chloe Scott

Chloe is an executive producer who’s been working in the advertising world the past 13 years. She built her foundation at 72andSunny where she helped produce campaigns for iconic global brands like Target, Starbucks, Coors Light and General Mills. After seven years there, Chloe then moved into Hecho Studios where her role evolved into a hybrid creative producer. Here she got exposed to the client direct model and was able to become a true swiss-army-knife producer making content for Adobe, Google, YouTube and Universal Studios. Currently, Chloe is an integral part of The Many Studios, where she oversees work for Panda Express, eBay and CareCredit. Her integrated production background and deep leadership skills not only ensures the success of all current endeavours but also positions her team at the forefront of the ever-evolving production landscape.

LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?

Chloe> Become a sponge for knowledge. Meet with as many people as possible from different companies and pick their brains. Learn how they got to where they are and what they feel their secret sauce to success was. Read the trades, watch work from directors you admire and keep your finger on the pulse of the industry. Curiosity, open-ness and hustle will always take you far.

LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?

Chloe> Learn the social content landscape on a deep level and keep up with the ever evolving trends regarding how things are getting made and what type of content is performing best on social.

There’s a huge value in being multidimensional, so don’t silo yourself to just the production world and make sure you also know enough to be dangerous about other facets of the industry like creative, strategy, and business affairs.

LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?

Chloe> To always be thinking five steps ahead. Before shoots now I like to create a contingency planning doc outlining all the things that could potentially go wrong, along with correlating solutions for each situation. Being proactive in this way helps me feel much more in control and better able to navigate any challenges that may arise along the way. 

LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?

Chloe> We’re currently building out a rolodex of content creators and makers from all walks of life. Our goal is to empower as many diverse voices as possible and help provide them with the backend support and production infrastructure they’ll need to succeed. 

LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?

Chloe> Our industry needs to represent the full spectrum of humanity so that all voices get heard and the larger cultural dialogue is not limited to just one faction of society. 

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?

Chloe> The only real constant in life is change, and you have to be able to continuously adapt to the ever-evolving production landscape. I think this shift into the maker economy is an awesome opportunity to expand our capabilities as producers and learn to adjust our paradigms and processes based on what kind of content people are most craving right now. Both types of work still very much serve a purpose, so viewing this less as an existential threat and more as an expansion of our skill sets is the right stance to take.

LBB> If you compare your role to the role of the heads of TV/heads of production/ exec 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?)

Chloe> I think the most striking difference is just how far the pendulum has swung into the creator space vs the big budget, super traditional campaigns I cut my teeth working on. We’re making more work for less money and building the plane as we fly it in terms of understanding the best way to create content in this new world. 

What makes an all-star producer regardless of the type of work they’re creating though is impeccable communication skills, high emotional intelligence, being able to creatively problem solve and always being 10 steps ahead of the game.  

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?)

Chloe> The bidding process is a nuanced skillset that I think producers could benefit from formalised training on. Being able to truly read a bid and understand all the thinking behind it to make sure your job is being properly approached is a core area of expertise that all producers should master.

LBB> It seems that there’s an emphasis on speed and volume when it comes to content - but where is the space for up and coming producers to learn about and learn to appreciate craft?

Chloe> This is a great question. I think it’s important that each of us take the initiative to immerse ourselves in culture and draw inspiration from artists and film-makers throughout history. Growing up my parents exposed me to a huge amount of creativity, and watching Fellini films in particular left such a wonderful imprint on the way I see the world and really shaped what I considered possible on a lot of levels. Make art a seminal part of your life experience and just continually keep expanding your mind through exposure to new people and perspectives. 

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?

Chloe> Being able to tackle both traditional big budget campaigns and scrappy low-fi social content is crucial. Giving producers opportunities to work across this full spectrum of work will help keep their toolkit sharp and current. Sometimes it helps to pair a gen-z coordinator with a senior producer so that the coordinator can serve as a guide since they’re actually native to that space and know how it operates on such a deep level. 

LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers? 

Chloe> Extreme organisation and attention to detail.

A sense of urgency and proactivity.

An ability to think strategically and creatively problem-solve.

Rich emotional intelligence and people skills.

Always thinking ahead and contingency planning for any unforeseen challenges that may arise.

A love for storytelling in all its many forms.