Being the Change You Want to See: Ellen Webb’s Producer Mindset

Ellen Webb is executive art producer at the global content creation studio Girl&Bear Studios with a demonstrated history of working in the advertising industry. Her practices cover both stills and motion productions across photography, film, illustration, animation and mixed media, with collaboration and strong working relationships with artists and their agents at the forefront of her work.

Ellen sat down with LBB to discuss the rise of AI, her background in photography, and the biggest lessons about production that you learn off set.

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

Ellen> Absorb everything, get to know everyone and keep your mind open.

This industry is full of such amazing talent, you never know where one conversation will lead so keep your eye out for upcoming events in the area that interests you. If photography is your passion, that might mean talks, free book launches at venues like the Photobook Cafe, or industry showcases such as Le Book or Photo London.

There's such a wide range of roles across this industry. Talking to new people in all sectors will allow you to get a sense of what goes on behind the scenes and the many hands it takes to pull productions together.

Spend time on set, reach out to the people that inspire you and see if there is an opportunity to shadow or assist, gaining on set experience will give you a great insight into shoot etiquette and crew roles and responsibilities.

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

Ellen> This is such a boring answer, but for me a key fundamental skill in production is the art of filing.

Being able to locate any file or snippet of information throughout a project will shave hours off trawling through old emails to find something. You'll be the one person holding all the passing information from multiple parties, so creating a filing structure early on, and sticking to it for every production you work on, will set you on the right path. It's much easier to learn this from the start than the hard way later in your career.

One of the fastest moving changes in production has been the rise of AI. New tools and
capabilities are coming out almost weekly, and so are the rules around its use in the commercial world. It's easy to disappear down a mind-bending rabbit hole of content, so instead start exploring the reasons why it's used for certain productions, and get a feel for where it's a suitable resource and where more traditional methods are still required.

Each agency, client and artist has their own opinion on the use of AI, so I'd recommend doing your own research and discussing its integration into production with a variety of people, so you get a wide spectrum of information rather than a one sided opinion.

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

Ellen> I started my career as a photography assistant, working for a few different photographers who each operated in their own unique way. Spreading myself between different artists gave me a real breadth of experience on set, from shooting insurance companies and university prospectuses, to celebrity gossip magazines.

It also taught me that the way people choose to treat a junior can vary hugely. On some jobs I was nurtured, taught new skills, and felt like a genuine member of the crew. On others I was the butt of the joke, a tool the photographer used to boost his street cred with talent or clients. I absorbed everything I could from both experiences, but I came away from one feeling far more energised than the other.

A few years later, when I moved into art buying, the photographers I'd once assisted came back into my life in a completely different capacity, presenting me with their portfolios for potential commissions. The biggest lesson I learned starting out was to always treat others with kindness and respect, regardless of where they are in their career, because you never know where that young newcomer might end up.

LBB> When it comes to broadening access to production and improving diversity and inclusion what are your team doing to address this?

Ellen> VCCP runs a year long entry level scheme called The Table, which opens the door for people from all walks of life to kickstart their career in advertising, no degree or industry experience required. The scheme trains applicants up across every part of the business, including production, and at the end of the year some go on to specialise in exactly that.

We've just had someone complete their year at The Table move into production as a production assistant, which has been brilliant to see. It's exactly the kind of pathway our industry needs more of, giving people a genuine route in regardless of their background, and giving production fresh talent that might not have found their way here otherwise.

It is really important that every maker within Girl&Bear is a conscious maker, that’s why we operate a ‘Be Nice’ policy, which ensures we all take a shared responsibility for producing in a way that puts our people and our planet first.

It’s a mindset that runs through everything we do and is why we follow a one in three rule, where at least one in every three artists we recommend must be from an underrepresented background.

Ensuring we’re not only being diverse within the agency but making conscious decisions to give people opportunities industry wide.

LBB> And why is it an important issue for the production community to address?

Ellen> Be the change you want to see.

Production has real power over what the public sees, and with that comes a genuine opportunity to shift societal views. It's not enough to simply talk about change, we have to actively do something about it, and because our platform is so visual, the more representation people see, the more it shifts what feels normal.

That runs all the way through a production, from the people who make the work to the talent who feature in it. Being a producer means making sure what we put out is authentic to modern society and genuinely inclusive, not just in front of the camera but behind it too.

LBB> There are young people getting into production who maybe don’t see the line between professional production and the creator economy, and that may well also be the shape of things to come. What are your thoughts about that? Is there a tension between more formalised production and the ‘creator economy’ or do the two feed into each other?

Ellen> The creator economy has opened up so many new opportunities for visual artists to get their work seen, thanks to the power of social media. It's given rise to a natural space for creators to step in, particularly on projects that call for native, social-first content that more established artists aren't always set up to produce at that scale.

Some creative concepts that might once have gone to larger production partners are now better suited for a creator-led route, but I don't see that as a source of tension. It feels more like a natural evolution, another way our industry has adapted alongside emerging technology. If anything, it's made things more inclusive, giving artists without a traditional background or training a genuine way to get their work seen and build something for themselves.

LBB> If you compare your role to the role of the heads of TV/heads of production/executive producers when you first joined the industry, what do you think are the most striking or interesting changes (and what surprising things have stayed the same?)

Ellen> I think there's a much more open line of communication now. Perhaps it's the way I've taken my own early experiences and shaped how I work because of them, but when I first started out it often felt like knowledge was held a bit more closely. Now, relationships and insight are shared far more openly. If someone comes across a new tool or a new way of working, it gets passed on rather than kept close, and I think the whole industry is better for it.

LBB> When it comes to educating producers how does your agency like to approach this? (I know we’re always hearing about how much easier it is to educate or train oneself on tech etc, but what areas do you think producers can benefit from more directed or structured training?)

Ellen> Whilst at Girl&Bear we provide structured training courses covering a wide range of topics, I believe the best way to learn production is on the job. Getting stuck into a production early, with someone overseeing and guiding you every step of the way, is far more valuable than reading a process off a page.

Being part of a production from the initial briefing meeting through to final supply, and doing that across a few different jobs, does two things. It solidifies the order in which each task needs to happen, and it shows you that no two productions are ever quite the same, so you learn to adapt rather than just follow a fixed process.

I also think it's important to explain why key decisions are made along the way, not just tell someone what to do. Understanding the reasoning behind a call means you can start making similar judgement calls yourself, rather than simply repeating a process without knowing why it works.

If a producer is inexperienced in a process or workflow, the infrastructure should be put in place so they can learn alongside someone who does know what they're doing, rather than simply handing the project on to someone else to get the job done. That way you're futureproofing your developing team, so next time they can tackle the challenge themselves.

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

Ellen> You can have craft without compromise on a fast turnaround production. It's the adaptability for each brief that makes a great producer.

That said, producers don't just learn while they're on a live production. There's plenty of opportunity to learn and appreciate craft in between projects too. I host monthly portfolio shows within the agency, inviting photographers and agents into the office to talk through and share their work, alongside new exhibitions I keep rotating around the building.

Bringing culture into the agency wherever I've worked is something I've always found genuinely important, taking time to step away from the emails and absorb some visual stimulus.

Talking with new creative people and understanding how they work means that next time a project comes through, you can look at it with a different lens. Staying up to date with new artists and their work from all over the world, rather than pigeonholing yourself into whichever client you happen to be working with at that moment, gives you the chance to keep developing your craft and bring those learnings into upcoming projects.

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?

Ellen> When I first started out there was such a large emphasis on huge budget productions. Being able to handle a big budget with lots of moving parts was the goal for most producers, and don't get me wrong, that's a fantastic achievement and takes real skill.

But being able to downscale without compromising on quality, that's the challenge of today. It's a genuinely different skill set, and one that doesn't always come naturally to producers who built their career on bigger productions with bigger resources behind them.

I think it's about staying adaptable rather than relying on what's worked before. Some of the sharpest thinking on smaller budgets or newer tools comes from producers who are a few years in, not decades, so retaining expertise isn't just about protecting what you already know, it's about staying open enough to keep adding to it.

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

Ellen> Building and maintaining relationships is genuinely one of the most important things a producer can do. Delivering an amazing brief on time and on budget gets so much easier when you can lean on relationships you've built up over time.

Echoing something I touched on earlier, this industry is filled with talented people, and I feel lucky every day that I can pick up the phone and talk through an upcoming challenge with them. You can learn so much just from talking to people. Being approachable and personable will genuinely take you far in production.

I also think staying positive matters more than people give it credit for. Whatever I'm working on, I try to bring the same energy and enthusiasm to it, and that tends to be infectious. People want to work with producers who make the process feel good, not just get it done.