Producing Tomorrow's Producers: Three Things to Be Sucessful in Production with Laetitia Neves

Laetitia Neves is head of production at Sid Lee Paris. Since her arrival at the agency over two years ago, she has collaborated with senior producer Julia Bakola and their team to create some of the agency’s most notable campaigns for SKYN, Prime Video, Honda, H&M, Plum, and more.

Previously, Laetitia worked with high-profile clients like Flying Blue and 3M, before transitioning to production at Dentsu Aegis, where she developed films for global brands like L’Oréal, Orange, and Play-Doh.

LBB> What advice would you give to any aspiring producers or content creators hoping to make the jump into production?

Laetitia> I think that to be successful in production you need three things above all: 

First, a developed creative sensibility, because, at the end of the day, we have a great deal of responsibility for the quality of what comes out of our agencies. 

Second, a practical mind and strong opinions. A big part of a producer's job is to make the right decisions under pressure so the project can move forward in the best way possible. 

And lastly, be kind to the people you work with. Being oppressive or mean won’t get you anywhere in the long run.

LBB> What skills or emerging areas would you advise aspiring producers to learn about and educate themselves about?

Laetitia> I think you have to keep up with the latest trends in different fields. What enables our approach to projects to be interesting is our awareness of the latest music videos, fashion concert designs, etc., in addition to following what campaigns are coming out. To be relevant, you have to broaden your cultural perimeter and be interested in everything.

I would also recommend keeping track of what’s new in technology, especially AI.

LBB> What was the biggest lesson you learned when you were starting out in production - and why has that stayed with you?

Laetitia> The biggest lesson I learned from my experiences is to always be aware of what you can and cannot do. You always want to do more and give more, but sometimes that leads you into an impossible situation. You always have to keep different constraints in mind and remember that it’s better to produce less if it’s better quality..

LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this? And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?

Laetitia> Our team at Sid Lee Paris is a young generation of producers and we try to approach our productions with an informed eye on social issues. We try to bring our own touch to each project, from casting all types of ethnicities, body shapes, sexual orientations to prioritising women photographers and directors.  

LBB> It seems that there’s an emphasis on speed and volume when it comes to content - but to where is the space for up and coming producers to learn about (and learn to appreciate) craft?

Laetitia> It’s always a challenge producing in quantity while maintaining a high level of quality, but the sector has adapted well to this growing demand from advertisers and there’s a new generation of talent that can keep up while still managing to produce very good content. Above all, it’s a new way of crafting and approaching projects with more agility.

LBB> On the other side of the equation, what’s the key to retaining expertise and helping people who have been working in production for decades to develop new skills?

Laetitia> Again, I think it's all about being interested in everything and everyone, new content platforms, new creators, and keeping an open mind so you can more easily accept and adapt to change. Production skills remain essentially the same, we just have to twist them to adapt to a world that may be moving faster and producing content that’s more ephemeral, but it’s not necessarily less interesting.

LBB> Clearly there is so much change, but what are the personality traits and skills that will always be in demand from producers?

Laetitia> This goes back to my previous answer, I think the basic skills remain the same: practicality, strong opinions, a certain resistance to pressure, a bit of creativity, and kindness towards the teams you work with.