Alexandre Lorgeron’s Principles to Be an Effective Producer

For nearly six years, Alexandre Lorgeron has been a core part of Happiness Saigon, first as an account director before making the bold move into production more than two years ago. He is now head of Happiness Makes – the agency’s in-house production team. That shift speaks to the resilience he brings to his craft, now leading our in-house production team with a mix of calm, easy-going energy and sharp problem-solving.

Beyond producing brand films and TVCs for clients like Audi, Number One, and BOLD84. Alexandre is also the mind behind many of Happiness Saigon’s prototypes, on-ground stunts, and experimental builds, including large-scale initiatives for Spotify. He’s the kind of maker who steps into any challenge with curiosity and gets things done.

Alexandre sat down with LBB to discuss creating Happiness Makes, learning through trial and error, and keeping a human touch in productions.

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?

Alexandre> I started my journey in advertising as an account director, and became an account director. I always wanted to work in communication as I believe brands can create emotions and consumer meaning. However, I wanted to get close to the ideas and touch what we sell and create. I decided to build our in-house studio, managing the production business of the agency.

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?

Alexandre> I touched on production when I was playing the role of agency producer for a campaign in production. From this time, I was making and crafting our ideas side by side with creatives and suppliers. This helped me understand the process from execution to management.

LBB> How did you learn to be a producer?

Alexandre> On-ground! I learned from the best with our production house partners, but also just by doing it myself using my account management skills. Also, the best way to learn is to make mistakes, I made plenty!

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?

Alexandre> The first shoot we did in-house was for Audi Q7. We had to work everything out from scratch as a real production house with a tight deadline and budget. We tried to make as much as we could in-house which required us to think harder on solutions.

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?

Alexandre> I would disagree with that statement. A good producer would be able to manage (not produce directly) different types of projects while supervising the right partners under each of the sectors (film, event, digital). When it comes to the scope of film, to event, to digital, we are talking about a very different spectrum where each has different codes, rules, and technical processes.

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

Alexandre> The moment when we reveal the first version of the film. It’s exciting to see the hard work come to light and see the first draft of what we agreed to on simple paper.

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

Alexandre> Things are evolving fast, but the standard remains essential. It’s not a secret that the marketing budget has decreased over the last five years, but still with the same request expectations. Also, AI is owning more and more space in what we can do onground. It just requires us to be smarter in execution and more innovative as humans for creativity.

LBB> And what has stayed the same?

Alexandre> We will always need the human touch in production with on-ground shooting to catch authentic emotions.

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?

Alexandre> I do have some principles that help me and my team to always move forward:

Be curious. There are no stupid questions

Be brave. Learning by doing and by failing

There are no good or bad answers; there is only thought for better days

Be ahead. Anticipate rather than suffocate

Be a leader. Don’t be a messenger, be a leader participating in solutions

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

Alexandre> Dat Bike Quantum. It was the most tricky and boldest idea we produced (with Booncha Studio), which created a controversy around the brand. Unfortunately I cannot share the work since the establishment contract has ended for the asset.

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

Alexandre> We had the chance to shoot for CP Food’s TikTok recipe series. It was a great idea mixing storytelling and cooking tutorials, placing CP as the main characters. This shoot was very promising as we had to shoot continuously for six days over six episodes.

The logistics and production setup required a lot of ingeniosity to deliver six different stories over set, talents, locations.

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?

Alexandre> I once had to spend an entire day working with authorities during a Dat Bike Quantum shoot to clarify that our production was fully compliant.

The campaign involved a visually bold stunt that drew a lot of public attention and quickly made its way into the news cycle. Because it spread so fast, the authorities reached out to better understand the context of the shoot. We provided all the paperwork, safety protocols, and permissions, and once everything was reviewed, the situation was resolved smoothly.

It was a memorable reminder of how fast things can escalate when a campaign goes viral and how important it is to stay calm, prepared, and transparent.

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

Alexandre> To produce new things every day, learning and challenging myself.

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

Alexandre> To switch off, I ensure I don’t bring my pro phone with me, and then I take a day outside the city in the countryside to disconnect totally.

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

Alexandre> The fact that we can learn new things every day, from different people, brands, and sectors. I love to know how things are done behind the scenes!

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

Alexandre> Be curious, be bold and pro-active!

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

Alexandre> Anticipation and organisation are the keys to success!

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

Alexandre> Always clear the expectation and level of quality from the beginning. Everyone will be in the same boat from the beginning and understand challenges along the way.