On the Rise: A New Kind of Production Leader

Two types

Production leadership is changing. The trend of production studios being launched predominantly by sales and business people persists, but in the face of a growing number of creatively-minded individuals starting their own production studios. My own journey from actor to director, to now founder and EP of SOCIETY, was a process of discovering the distinct value of truly hands-on, day-to-day creative partnerships.

The industry has always rewarded sales and business-minded leaders’ keen sense of supply and demand, giving them lucrative and high-profile creative work, but it’s now shifting to accommodate a different kind of production leader.

As content stretches into new mediums, more attention is turning to the aesthetic quality and creative value of our work. Just as hundreds of new broadcast channels and streaming services are being cited as ushering a new golden age of TV, the expansion of branded content formats is forcing commercial production studios to step up their game and give greater artistic consideration to their product. The leadership at these studios is changing to reflect the more competitive landscape, in turn evolving more creative minds, directors and artists into founding and managing EP roles.

Market demands for more artistic influence

There are a number of unique qualities creatively oriented leaders possess. Maybe most notably, they have the skill set to add artistic value and voice that differentiates their product in a crowded market where the internet has enabled every ambitious director to start a small studio driven by their style and imagination.

One founder embodying this paradigm shift is Ari Kuschnir, founder and EP at m ss ng p eces, who started his company in order to explore the kind of compelling stories he could tell in the emerging digital markets immediately following the launch of YouTube and the first video iPod.

“There’s a level of creative ideation and problem solving that comes naturally to me because I’ve never even considered running a traditional business,” Kuschnir admits. His fundamentally different approach, an emphasis on compelling creative before all else, is the style of thinking driving this growing trend.

To survive in this market, large production houses have placed greater emphasis on curated talent led by a consolidated creative vision. Previously, clients were content to know that their large studio would simply make a good product, quickly, and at a good price. Now, they need to know that the product is nuanced and inspired, unique enough to get noticed without feeling like additional noise. This growing emphasis on quality creative and consolidated voice heavily informed the creation and mission of my own production company, SOCIETY.

Achieving this sort of consolidated vision can be difficult for anyone, but especially for those without substantial experience in creative roles. Successful studios are being defined less by their ability to ship finals on time and under budget and more by their ability to drive forward-thinking, innovative work.

Former Uber Content co-owner/EP Preston Lee (below) founded his new production company, Sanctuary, with the industry’s renewed emphasis on quality in mind. He stresses that: “without a doubt, producing top quality, creative work always means more than any marketing or sales strategy.” Lee goes on to clarify that balance is important, and marketing and sales are part of any business, but emphasises: “focus on the work and the rest will fall into place.”

Creatives make better advocates for other creatives

Formerly, when there were only a few trade newsletters and a handful of major accounts up for review each year, staying relevant and winning business required considerable sales acumen. As a result, production leaders became skilled crowd workers with broad networks and formidable negotiation skills. Now, young and untested directors can be tapped to shoot for major brands on the back of a passion project or viral video.

The market is moving to look more like a meritocracy, where the most talented artists won’t need sophisticated marketing strategies to get noticed, but instead will need to cultivate the best possible style and aggressively develop their skills. In such a meritocracy, creatives make powerful advocates and mentors for their artists. Sam Penfield (below, right, at the shots Awards in 2015), partner/EP at 1stAveMachine, notes this skill, saying: “more than anything, it takes substantial creative experience to listen to a client’s marketing needs with a disciplined ear; to catch the subtleties of what they say and don’t say, then work closely with the director to find the most powerful way to tell their story."

She elaborates that being a creative EP entails being empathetic to directors in order to nurture their ethos and aesthetic, but also to be certain their storytelling style is the right match for the client: “There’s a puzzle of disciplines and interests that have to come together to make good content. The ability to find common ground between those parties and disciplines requires creative fluency.”

Success follows passion

“Creative, creative, creative,” Sanctuary's Lee reiterates. “In my experience, success follows passion.” The rise of new, creative-led production companies can certainly be described as a passion-driven movement. And that movement is picking up steam, adding more and more rolled-up sleeves to an industry that not so long ago only featured cufflinks.