Trevor Lang on Turning Constraints Into Creativity at Dearfriend.tv
Trevor lang is a partner/EP at Dearfriend.tv’s west office based out of Vancouver, BC.
LBB> Working with nimble budgets often requires a different approach. How do you adapt to these constraints to maximise the creative potential of a project?
Trevor> There’s always a creative solution - sometimes it’s about what ends up on screen, and other times it’s about how we navigate a production challenge behind the scenes. It could be rethinking how we use locations, finding clever ways to maximise talent schedules, or leveraging technology to streamline the workflow. At Dear Friend, we see these challenges not as limitations but as opportunities to innovate.
Really, it all comes down to how we work as executives. We approach every project with a mindset of collaboration and flexibility. It’s about partnering closely with directors, crew, and clients to ensure every decision serves both the creative vision and the practical realities of the budget. That could mean reimagining an entire scene to make it work within constraints, or finding unexpected efficiencies in the process.
Ultimately, we treat every challenge as a puzzle to solve, and that problem-solving mentality is what allows us to deliver work that feels bigger and bolder than the resources might suggest. It’s about having the right team, the right mindset, and always keeping the focus on creating something extraordinary, no matter the hurdles.
LBB> This past year has seen you produce some truly impactful work. How has this experience shaped your growth and perspective as a producer?
Trevor> When I transitioned from cinematography to producing, I initially felt like I was giving up my creative side - the very thing that fuelled me and what I got into this industry for. But I soon realised that the skills and insights I gained during that chapter weren’t lost; they’ve made me a more dynamic, distinctive producer, especially in how I collaborate with and support our directors. I’ve also discovered that I don’t just care about pretty images - I genuinely love and care about the advertising space.
LBB> Can you walk us through your role as an executive producer at Dearfriend.tv? How has your approach evolved over the years?
Trevor> My role as an EP is a bit unique, and it’s taken on a strong shape over the past few years. My main focus is supporting directors - both during production and beyond. I stay close to the production once it’s awarded, a habit rooted in my early years as a DP, when I worked closely with directors to break down scripts, understand their vision, and get a sense of why they make certain choices. I’ve always been drawn to that process of collaboration, relationship-building, and building trust, and I carry that same mentality as an EP.
For me, it’s not just about executing a job; it’s about pushing the creative, challenging ideas, and doing so in a way that stays true to the project’s identity. It’s incredibly rewarding to build strong teams, help shape the work, and see it thrive through collaboration.
LBB> We’ve seen marketing budgets have tightened significantly. How have you adapted your workflows to meet these challenges?
Trevor> I think it’s just looking at each project with an even sharper lens. Unpacking the budget early and immediately aligning it with the creative, knowing there won’t be much contingency to fall back on later. We’ve built a really strong foundation here at Dear Friend and have a really deep network when it comes to building out the right team for any size job.
LBB> What are some of the most memorable projects you’ve worked on this year, and why do they stand out?
Trevor> The Salvation Army project I did with our director Andrew Litten was a really special project. Every director is so different in how they work, and it’s one of the things I appreciate so much about my role is all the different personalities and creative minds I get to work with.
As soon as we got into the treatment, Andrew started to reference films from Jean-Pierre Dardenne and photographers like Eugene Richards. I knew exactly what kind of project this was going to be. I’ve never seen a director pull out a camera during casting and just start recording the auditions himself and really directing them. He’s just one of those unique directors that brings everything to the table, wants to pull all the layers back and has such a beautiful way of looking at the world.
This project felt like we were making a film, not selling a product. It was all about these characters and creating an emotional connection with the audience. You could feel it on the monitors on the day of shooting - it was something really special.
It also helped that our creative partners at The Grey came to us with what was already a beautiful and powerful creative. They had big aspirations from the beginning and really opened up the floor for Andrew to build the world out even more.
LBB> Collaboration is key in this industry. How do you work with directors to ensure both creativity and practicality align?
Trevor> This is one of the most important things to me personally. Ensuring the director and all department heads feel supported from start to finish. I take great pride in building the right team for each production. Again, I think with my experience as both a DP and producer. It gives me a unique perspective on how I digest briefs and communicate and work with directors as well as our agency friends.
LBB> How do you balance client expectations with the realities of limited resources? Can you share a specific example?
Trevor> Transparency from the start is key - there’s nothing worse than overpromising and underdelivering or surprising the agency with last-minute budget issues. The Canadian Cancer Society campaign is a great example. We needed to shoot a holiday scene in August, where a family pulls into a driveway with snow and Christmas lights. Given the budget, we couldn’t afford to fully dress the house. The simple solution? Keep the camera inside the car. This allowed us to focus on dressing the windows and windshield with a few lights. I think in the end this allowed for a better performance between our leads and a more intimate moment overall.
LBB> How do you foster creativity within constraints without making it feel like a compromise?
Trevor> I think it's healthy to challenge each other, ask questions. Offer an idea or a thought that will get the director thinking in a different way. Rarely is there ever one way to do something.
An example would be the Salvation Army job I did with our director, Andrew Litten. We had a handful of locations, a lot of scenes and of course limited time with a smaller budget. We decided early on what we wanted to prioritize and that was giving Andrew time with the talent, room to explore and experiment. With that meant we needed to find all of our locations within a small radius to minimize company moves. By doing this we were likely going to end up with locations that weren’t perfect, some where, but some we compromised on. The main one was the apartment. However, because of the team we had in place we felt comfortable doing this because we had a really strong PD (Diala) and her and her team absolutely delivered on what was a pretty big ask. In the end we all felt this location turned out better than what we had initially planned for.
LBB> What advice would you give to other producers facing similar budget challenges in their projects?
Trevor> There’s always a solution. Oftentimes once you understand your limitations early enough and you’ve been transparent with your director on what size ball field they are playing in. You’re going to stumble upon something that you likely never would have if you didn’t understand those limitations. Outside of all that. Work with and hire the best crew and department heads possible. Before anything else. They are worth every dollar.
LBB> Looking ahead, how do you see the commercial production landscape evolving, and what’s next for you and Dearfriend.tv?
Trevor> I think the commercial production landscape is only going to keep trending in the direction we’ve seen it going in 2024 - media buys and deliverables ballooning while budgets go the other direction. It’s our job to continue to find innovative ways to support our agency friends as they are also under more pressure from their clients.
Fortunately with the progression in AI and technology we have more and more solutions and different avenues to explore with solving the two most difficult things in production, time and budget.
I look forward to this. I want to continue to shape our identity as a prod co that tells authentic and original stories, concepts that are expertly executed and approached with a collaborative and solution oriented mindset. I can’t see this ever going out of style.
