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Peer Review: Lisa Verzilli
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With a strong background in post production, Dessert Before Dinner producer, editor and director Lisa Verzilli employs her passion for people to craft eye-catching, empathetic, human-focussed content. Here, she talks new motherhood, Ms. Rachel, and rejecting the 'hustle' mentality.
Who are three contemporaries that you admire?
I’ll start by sharing that this is a bit of an odd time for me, as far as consuming content and the latest trends. I became a parent about two years ago, which has exposed me to a whole new world of content, while barring me from keeping up with the latest releases and trends in the industry.
It’s created a really interesting time in my career, where I have a deeper sense of empathy and understanding of people and life that helps tremendously in my work, while letting go of content that shouldn’t hold my limited time. That being said:
[Motherhood] created a really interesting time in my career, where I have a deeper sense of empathy and understanding of people and life.
This American Life is my longest consumed show. The first time I heard Starlee Kine she was producing a story about her break-up by writing a love song with Phil Collins. She’s gone on to produce so many great stories on various platforms, and I very much admire her unique interviewing and storytelling techniques.
Ms. Rachel. She’s a children’s YouTube educator and she’s brilliant. It’s a perfect example of knowing your audience. The production quality is low, the green screen work is bad, the videos are all made up of the same 12 or so songs and yet, aside from family, she’s probably a lot of kids' best friend. She’s helping a whole generation be better parents, and she became a multimillionaire by doing it.
Good writing and smart editing are always going to win me over before anything else.
Ava DuVernay, her career path is inspirational and her work is perfection. She raises others up through her company Array, and shares her process and methods on set through her social media. I can’t wait to check out her film Origin.
Above: Multimillionaire Youtube educator Ms. Rachel is perfect example of knowing your audience
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Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great production
Good writing and smart editing are always going to win me over before anything else.
American Animals, was Bart Layton's first narrative feature and blew me away. It perfectly combined my love for documentary with unconventional narrative choices that surprised me and kept me thinking about this film years later.
Editing was my first love in production and is a tool so many filmmakers use as an afterthought, rather than a driving force to the story that it can be.
The Rehearsal & Jury Duty both totally impressed me from a production standpoint this past year. The pre-production on both had to be extremely unique and innovative.
Not a specific film, but I’m a huge fan of Edgar Wright’s storytelling and comedy through editing. Editing was my first love in production and is a tool so many filmmakers use as an afterthought, rather than a driving force to the story that it can be.
Above: Trailer for American Animals (2018)
What do you like most about the work that you do?
Interviewing people from all walks of life. Finding the story, and making something from nothing. Collaborating with very talented peers.
My Dad has an amazing memory, we camped regularly in my childhood and we would beg him to tell stories from this life around the campfire.
What was your journey to becoming a producer?
I started as a PA in NYC. I worked my way up the ranks editing and producing my own shows at the music production company where I worked, gaining years of experience in high pressure productions. When I moved to Pittsburgh, I started working in the commercial industry more regularly. I went freelance almost a decade ago and found my experience and skills taking me to a producer role. I now have a steady and successful freelancing career which I’ve built up over the last decade. I collaborate regularly with companies and creatives whom I admire and respect. Dessert Before Dinner, bmp creative, Vinegar Hill, to name a few, and I'm fortunate to receive opportunities with new folks as well. I’m about to start a longer term contract with a team I haven’t worked with before, so I’m very excited for this next challenge.
Above: Trailer for HBO Original's The Rehearsal
What inspired your love for human storytelling and connection?
My Dad… and [American radio host] Ira Glass. Ha! Both amazing storytellers. My Dad has an amazing memory, we camped regularly in my childhood and we would beg him to tell stories from this life around the campfire. Hilarious tales about a mischievous kid. He always presented a compelling arch and complex characters who were real people. Does it get any more idyllic than that? And This American Life will probably always be the show I compare all else to. Ira Glass is the GOAT.
Rest. I'm not kidding. The grind is real, we're producing work at rates so much faster than our predecessors.
What is the most valuable skill you’ve learned in your career so far?
How to interview, and knowing how to edit that interview while conducting it. It helps me guide my instincts in the story.
Above: Trailer for Amazon Prime series Jury Duty
What is one thing every producer needs?
Rest. I'm not kidding. The grind is real, we're producing work at rates so much faster than our predecessors. If you're a millennial like me, we came up in an era of extreme hustle culture. I've seen great producers burn out and second life to a new trade, which is also great. But this idea of constant hustle, it'll burn you. I’ve had to step back on the “do it all” mentality in recent years and I was surprised to find it helped me turn down work I shouldn’t have been taking in the first place. It’s the main reason I’m still freelance, when I've been offered many full time positions in the past. I read something about trees the other day - in almost all habitats and all sites, the same link between growth and lifespan was found: faster-growing tree species died younger than slow-growing ones. I think there’s something to that.
I had a real drive to learn and listen, and him to teach and share, and we fell into creative sync.
Who was the greatest producer of all time?
Oh gosh, who am I to say? Producer is such a vast term. I’ll take a page from Billy Eichner and “name a woman.” Here are four that you should know:
Darla K. Anderson, Nancy Updike, Sheila Nevins, Dede Gardner
Above: Trailer for Ava DuVernay's film Origin
Did you have a mentor? Who was it?
I was very lucky to find an amazingly talented mentor when I first moved to NYC. He was the Creative Director at the production company I started at, and while not my direct report, was pretty intimidating. We were from different backgrounds and had nearly nothing in common when we met. I had a real drive to learn and listen, and him to teach and share, and we fell into creative sync. Many of the professional skills and traits I have today came from this mentorship. Today, he continues to inspire me with a career change as the artist and owner behind Yardley Tattoo.
In almost all habitats and all sites, the same link between growth and lifespan was found: faster-growing tree species died younger than slow-growing ones. I think there’s something to that.
What’s changing in the industry that all producers need to keep up with?
There’s only one answer and it’s AI. There’s plenty of ways we can use it for good vs evil. It wrote all the answers to these questions, for example. Just kidding. Or am I? You don’t know, and that’s the point.
