Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Why Film Is a Process with Ada Zuiderhoek
Ada Zuiderhoek, born and raised in the north of Germany. Her first job, training at a bank, still forms her basis for figures and sophisticated budgets. Later she studied literature and politics. Parallel to her studies came her first internship at Silbersee Film in Hamburg that led to a long-term and happy career decision.
After two years at Silbersee Film and a short period as a freelancer, she joined Soup Film, where she went from junior to senior, executive producer and finally partner.
LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?
Ada> Look for the right environment, a production house that will give you the space to grow – find small projects to practice your skills - do it!
LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?
Ada> I feel it is best to learn on the job, and be open to learning opportunities within each project's challenges. Of course it helps to know how to plan, determine financial priorities, basic leadership skills all of which will grow in use….
LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?
Ada> Film is a process – be prepared to give each part of the process the best amount of space. Set a goal for your project – yet always be open to change it for the better! I learned about these ideas very early on and still practice them always.
LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?
Ada> Inclusion and diversity have always been core values of our company, we naturally address them in our recruiting process as well as living them within our present team structure.
LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?
Ada> The film industry and especially mainstream media plays a big part in storytelling and representation, its only natural, that we would try to be as diverse as possible.
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?
Ada> From my point of view those are two individual fields of work that can inspire, work hand in hand or learn from each other. To me, so far the differences are still very visible.
LBB> If you compare your role to the role of the 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?)
Ada> I feel the role has pretty much stayed the same – luckily there is much more diversity and the EP´s have overall become a bit younger. What has stayed the same is the enthusiasm and the passion that I feel most of my fellow EP´s have for their work.
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?)
Ada> We train our producers in task forces, job shadowing, 1:1 mentoring and workshops within our union. I think the most important thing is to trust young producers with their own projects/responsibilities and let them find their way.
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?
Ada> I feel the younger generation of producers is rather keen on “old school” craft such as working with 35mm and their interest in green production also helps with a more sustainable approach to creating content.
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?
Ada> We have a very age diverse team and treat the educational needs of all of us equally – I guess the chance to learn and grow is key to keeping the team passionate about the job. There is so much change – we need to embrace it in order to enjoy it!
LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?
Ada> I think every producer needs to have passion for the part of the job that she feels enthusiastic about, should it be numbers, directors, creation, film crew or else – it’s a hard business for people that lack motivation.
