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Meet Your Makers in association withLBB Pro User
Group745

Meet Your Makers: the Variety and Creativity of Production with Sam Barbrooke

07/12/2022
Advertising Agency
Christchurch, UK
56
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CHS' producer on starting out in photography, working with actors in a studio and filming with labrador puppies

Sam joined CHS in 2015 and leads the film department. As a producer, Sam works alongside the creative team to finalise the scripts and storyboards before sourcing locations, talent and crew, and arranging shoot logistics. When it comes to the shoot itself, Sam directs and ensures the creative idea is translated accurately.


LBB> What first attracted you to production - and has it been an industry you’ve always worked on or did you come to it from another area?

Sam> From an early age I didn’t have much interest in subjects which had yes or no answers. It was always the ones which allowed creativity and variety to thrive. This started with music and art, then design, photography and now video production. The attraction is in part down to the unknown, things never being the same twice - but also because I enjoy collaborating with people and making a finished piece out of the sum of different parts. That said, before my current role I spent five years in account management, which I feel enabled me to build up my confidence in communicating with different personalities and also to appreciate how processes can help ensure projects stay on track when there’s loads of different factors to consider.


LBB> What was your first role in the production world and how did this experience influence how you think about production and how you grew your career?

Sam> My first experience in production was at university while I was studying photography. We had to build a set as part of a joint project with a team of six people that didn’t really know each other. At first we all had grand ideas of what we could build and everyone had to fight their case (it was a bit of a mess to be honest). In the end we picked one but half of the team always felt bitter that their idea wasn’t chosen and put in half the effort to build the set. It stuck with me as I’ve since realised that you often get a better output if people feel involved and valued in the process. This can sometimes mean having difficult conversations about why an idea hasn’t progressed, but when you take subjectivity out of it, it’s often much easier and far better than brushing it under the carpet.


LBB> How did you learn to be a producer?

Sam> It was very much learnt on the job pulling on my experience in photography and account management to work with people in a way that gets the best out of them. I started at CHS seven years ago when we didn’t have a film team, but in the past four years we’ve slowly built a department and learnt from our mistakes to constantly improve our process, to the point where a brief I would have been petrified by four years ago now excites me as I can often think of multiple ways to produce it, rather than struggling to think of one.


LBB> Looking back to the beginning of your career, can you tell us about a production you were involved in where you really had to dig deep and that really helped you to grow as a producer?

Sam> One of my first production jobs was a biggy. It involved a shoot over two weeks with 22 locations, 40 models, a crazy deadline and a lot of room for error. I felt out of my depth, but quickly learnt that you need the support of others to produce an amazing end result. If you try and do too much on your own you can often make more mistakes, forget things, or get blindsided by little details and miss the big picture. I learnt not to take things personally on that project and always keep in mind that it shouldn’t be possible for a project to fail on a single person or mistake. A plan A, B or C is a must.


LBB> A good producer should be able to produce for any medium, from film to events to digital experience. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why/why not?

Sam> I disagree. You can work with people who are amazing at each one of those things, without ever touching the other. I wouldn’t avoid working with a film producer because they haven’t done a live event and vice-versa.


LBB> What’s your favourite thing about production and why?

Sam> I love the variety. Especially working in an agency, I can be working with actors in a studio one week and then filming with seven labrador puppies the next (yes that has happened). I also love working with people and seeing them thrive and get excited about producing work. There’s nothing better than seeing a team of people who are really proud of the work they’ve produced at the end of a project.


LBB> How has production changed since you started your career?

Sam> Even though I’ve been in production for a relatively short period of time, the demand for video has increased exponentially. Because of that demand, there’s pressure to make things quicker, cheaper and more frequently. I think the rise of influencer marketing has shown us that most of the time you don’t need to spend £200k on fancy production, the idea always wins - not the quality of the camera or the sound.


LBB> And what has stayed the same?

Sam> Despite all of this, there is still a demand and an appreciation for high quality production. We probably wouldn’t give the next series of The Crown the time of day if it was shot on an iPhone - but we need to be adaptable to be able to produce at different ends of the production scale.


LBB> What do you think is the key to being an effective producer - and is it something that’s innate or something that can be learned?

Sam> You have to learn to give up a bit of control. You’ll fall flat on your face if you try and do everything yourself. Build teams around you of people who you trust and that improve you as a producer. And don’t live in a bubble, work with other producers to see how things are done differently and to learn new techniques.


LBB> Which production project from across your career are you most proud of and why?

Sam> It was always an ambition of mine to Produce and Direct for a TV ad, so hitting that milestone will always stick out as something I’m most proud of. From creating content for social/YouTube it can feel like a big jump, but having built up that experience it felt like a natural next step. The real icing on the cake was that it involved producing an ad for Hyperoptic which enabled us to work with Disney, Pixar and one of my childhood heroes, Buzz Lightyear.


LBB> And in terms of recent work, which projects have you found to be particularly exciting or have presented particularly interesting production challenges?

Sam> Weirdly it’s a really simple one in practice, but sometimes a brief can take a little more brain power than you expected! We had been asked to create a two week time lapse video to showcase a new soil product vs a competitor, but when it’s something you’ve not done much of before there’s hundreds of thoughts that pop into your head. How do we film this with consistent lighting, what about temperature in the room, what if there’s a power cut during filming!? But it’s actually made it enjoyable to do something unusual as it often throws up solutions that could be used in other projects.


LBB> Producers always have the best stories. What’s the hairiest / most insane situation you’ve found yourself in and how did you work your way out of it?

Sam> We were completing a week’s worth of filming at Wellington riding centre in March 2018 - during the Beast from the East. We quickly found that filming, horses and storms don’t mix. During filming in the stables, the wind was battering us so much it caused one of our lights to blow, which stunned the horse into nearly sending our camera operator flying! While we waited for a fix to the light (and for the horses to become more comfortable) we ended up making the most of the time and recorded the voiceover, using an empty stable and some hay bales for sound proofing. Admittedly it wasn’t the most professional set up, but proved to be very effective and allowed us to make up the time on the rest of the shoot.


LBB> What are your personal ambitions or aspirations as a producer?

Sam> Since becoming head of film at CHS, my aspirations have switched to growing the team and helping everyone in the department thrive. I want to get work that excites us, but keeps things varied and interesting. Personally, there’s a long list of brands I’d love to work with, so it’s all about producing great work so when that opportunity comes around we can grab it with both hands.


LBB> As a producer your brain must have a never-ending ‘to do’ list. How do you switch off? What do you do to relax?

Sam> In the last couple of years I’ve really tried to leave work at the office and not dwell on it too much at home, easier said than done during covid years, but I think it’s a key mental shift that you have to make at one point otherwise you’ll end up burning out. I never used to make plans because I was always conscious of potentially needing to work late, but now I make those plans outside of work and do what I can to plan around them with shoots/pitches etc. rather than the other way around.


LBB> Producers are problem solvers. What personally fuels your curiosity and drive?

Sam> I know I’m not the best producer out there - not even close. So I’m always looking for ways to make things better, shoot with better kit, improve production process and get the views of others around me to bring fresh thoughts to the table.


LBB> What advice would you give to people who are interested in becoming a producer?

Sam> Firstly it’s about getting in touch with people/businesses that you want to work with. But less is more, keep your messages concise and personalised. Make sure you look at that business/individual’s social channels, rather than just name checking a brand they’ve worked with on their website. Identify areas of improvement - offer solutions and be willing to give up your time to have conversations with people. When you get responses, set yourself reminders to keep in touch with people. It’s also good to research all of the key roles on a set so you have a better understanding when it comes to conversations around what is/isn’t doable.


LBB> From your experience what are the ingredients for a successful production?

Sam> A solid brief sets the foundation for a successful production. Knowing the problem we’re trying to solve, key messaging, end deliverables, budget - these are all things that should come as standard, but are often overlooked. From there, a solid timing plan is vital to ensure expectations are managed. Most importantly, you want a team on the project who feel like they can contribute and collaborate together. Often it’s about uniting people/ideas to create a cohesive production where everyone knows their role to work towards the same end goal. As soon as that starts to fall down, you’ll end up with wasted hours, poor process and often an end result which could have been better.


LBB> What’s the key to a successful production-client relationship?

Sam> Communication and enthusiasm are key. You’re often being trusted to produce something which a client has a lot riding on - both budget wise and to meet certain KPIs/ROIs and I always see it as a privilege to be in that position of trust. I’ve also worked with clients who are ex-agency vs those who didn’t even know what PremierPro was, so you need to remember that things you take for granted, might not necessarily come naturally to everyone. Some people don’t know why things take so long, or why they’re so expensive - it’s not always people trying to penny pinch - it can just be a lack of knowledge, and as the experts we should be educating and supporting them in communicating the whys and hows. I’ve seen relationships break down purely because there’s been zero managing of expectations and both sides have clearly had wildly different views on what’s possible. 

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