Liz Browne, No.8’s New Head of Production Operations, Feels Right at Home at the 'Fresh Young Studio'

A new hire is always a cause for celebration and No.8 is ready to pop the cork to welcome their new Head of Production Operations, Liz Browne. Liz brings 25 years of award-winning industry experience and a relentless passion for the craft of filmmaking which she honed at The Mill. There she worked extensively across global offices to oversee best practice in VFX workflows and the smooth delivery of all projects. Coming to No.8 is a welcome and positive challenge; one she can’t wait to get stuck into. 

“I’m excited to be part of a fast-growing and immensely talented team of creatives and producers in a fresh young studio. We offer Colour and VFX, which I have lots of experience in, but also audio which I am keen to dive into and learn more about. I have been watching No.8 grow and develop over the last few years and it’s great to be joining at this time,” says Liz.

Her approach to production is elegant and simple – she’s tested its success many times over, to award-winning results on clients like Guinness, Levi’s, Mercedes, Sony PlayStation, and Nike. “Communication and collaboration have always worked for me. Be organised and on the front foot for clients and you shouldn’t go far wrong.”

Liz is keenly attuned to the issues facing the industry today, saying: “Sourcing talent is the number one challenge at the moment. There is so much work out there that artists and producers can pick and choose. I think having a studio that is doing great creative work with a supportive environment offering career development and a good work/life balance is important in recruiting and retaining talent.”

That’s why her focus will be as much on the quality of the work as on recruiting and nurturing talent within the rapidly growing team. “I enjoy nurturing and training within production teams. I’ve been in VFX for over 20 years so I hope I can share that experience while at the same time learning about a new studio and how it works. It’s important to me that managers are supportive and collaborative, plus communication is key!”

Liz’s eye is also already over existing and new director relationships: “Great production and service are at the heart of the No.8 team’s client relationships, which will continue as the studio goes from strength to strength. As for cultivating new relationships, I am already working on that and there are some interesting projects in discussion,” she teases.

And what’s exciting Liz about production right now? “The amount of work that there is right now, across so many different platforms. The streaming giants are the obvious driver of a lot of this but VFX/CG work for virtual production, gaming cinematic, apps, AR, XR, are all pushing the boundaries of what is possible. The development of digital humans within Unreal I’ve been watching with interest. It’s an exciting time to be in the VFX industry.”

No.8 has been going from strength to strength since their launch, working on a continuous stream of exciting, high-profile projects with some of the industry’s biggest names. Their recent refurbishment and equipment upgrade further increased their creative and technical capabilities. Now, with Liz joining the vibrant team and overseeing all of production as well as the development of talent, what No.8 can achieve feels more limitless than ever.