October 10, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode of Filmmaking Conversations, host Damien Swaby talks with Victoria Duncan, a filmmaker and Senior Creative Video Producer at Bloomberg Media Studios, about building a career that bridges art, analytics, and authenticity.
Victoria shares how she transitioned from post-production and film school at NYU Tisch to producing global branded campaigns at Bloomberg. She opens up about her creative process, directing style, and the balance between data-driven storytelling and emotional resonance in branded content.
🎬 Topics Covered:
Victoria shares how she transitioned from post-production and film school at NYU Tisch to producing global branded campaigns at Bloomberg. She opens up about her creative process, directing style, and the balance between data-driven storytelling and emotional resonance in branded content.
🎬 Topics Covered:
- Victoria’s journey from North Carolina to New York and Bloomberg
- The making of I Am Enough and its Lincoln Center adaptation
- How to balance creativity and client goals in branded storytelling
- Building collaborative systems at Bloomberg Media Studios
- Mentorship, judging film festivals, and empowering women in film
- A look at Victoria’s upcoming short film Exit Sign
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network. For more
amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Victoria, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm doing fine. I'm doing fine. Really happy to speak
to you. A great creative and a great branded in
corporate video producer. So this is going to be a
really brilliant podcast because it's not every day I get
to speak to someone of all of your talents.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Thanks a little. I'm excited to chat.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
But before we get into it all, can you tell
us a bit about how you got into the industry
and why you decided to be the creative that you
are today.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Sure, So, you know, I'd always been interested in making
videos ever since I was little. I was, you know,
playing with stop motion animation things like that. I applied
to NYU Chip School of the Arts, got in, surprisingly,
it was like last minute application, and then yeah, I
(01:04):
flew from North Carolina, which is where I grew up,
to New York. Spent my time there, learned a lot
just about the ins and outs of making making films,
and from there, you know, it was just a sort
of navigating the industry kind of working my way up
(01:24):
as a PA. I did a lot of like scripted
television work, documentaries, kind of started to work my way
up through post production, which was great. I learned so
much and I think the technical skills that you learned
from that can be valuable for any anybody in this industry.
But I what I really wanted to do was to
(01:46):
have more of a creative role in in you know,
in my in my day to day work. I suppose,
so I I wasn't really as familiar with the branded space.
I didn't like go to add school like I was,
you know, purely focusing on the film and the film
and TV industry, but kind of started to learn more
(02:07):
about it, learn like what a creative producer was probably
just through like looking on LinkedIn and just like doing
some googling, and I'm like, wait, that job description sounds
so fun. Like you get to that sounds like exactly
what I want to do. Like you get to have
a creative like you get to come up with ideas,
You get to like be part of brainstorms, Like you
get to like run projects from start to finish. Like
(02:28):
how do I get involved in that? Like that sounds amazing?
So what I ended up doing was I did this
program through Droga five, which is a really incredible agency,
and it was basically a ten week portfolio building program
(02:48):
that was like fully fully paid for. It was like
a once a week class basically that I did remotely.
This is during the pandemic, and I basically learned everything
about like art direction, copywriting, like just coming up with
ideas like how to brainstorm, like the proper way to
brainstorm with somebody and did that. Got that, you know,
(03:11):
got that on my resume along with my you know,
post production kind of work, and then just sort of
decided like, yeah, I don't really want to take any
post production coordinator jobs anymore. As much as I was
getting like asks from like TV shows to you know,
work on some really amazing stuff, I was like I
had to like resist the urge to just say yes
(03:31):
to things and just kept applying. And then I ended
up finding myself at the job I have now and
I've been here for four years, so it's been great.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
What was it like growing up in North Carolina?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It was good. I really liked it. Yeah, it was
very peaceful. Lots of trees. That's the thing about the
most because I'm in New York City now, so I
don't it's a little bit, you know, it's a little different.
But I love to go home when I can, and
it's a very nice It was a very nice place
to just be creative and like, you know, being more
(04:06):
connected to nature. I always find it like a really
nice place to just, yeah, to just be creative, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And how do you think your time in North Carolina
and your schooling in North Carolina influenced you as a creative.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, that's a really good question. I think I was
always really involved in different forms of the arts. Like
I was in ballet when I was growing up. I
did that from when I was like nine years old,
maybe like five years old, until like fourteen, and then
immediately after I did theater in high school. So I
(04:41):
was very involved in like the performance arts, which was amazing.
It was just basically my whole life outside of like
my formal education. And I feel like that lended itself
great to filmmaking, you know, because it's just all the
different types of you know, the medium, the performance aspect,
(05:05):
like how to how to take an emotion and like
externalize it in some way. And I think it you
do the same thing in filmmaking, it's just in a
different way. So yeah, that definitely shaped me a lot.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And now you're in New York without all of the trees,
what is life like for you on a personal level, Well.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I do. I did find an apartment that had a
beautiful tree. I'm looking at it right now outside my nose,
so I see. So that was a plus that I
ended up finding that I like to get out of
the city as much as I can, which I try
to do. I mean, I love I love living in
New York because there's just so much creative energy everywhere.
There's so much to do. I'm always learning, meeting new
(05:46):
people from different cultures. Like my friend group consists of
like people from all over the world, which I love,
and it's just so inspired for me. I think North
Carolina is a good place to visit. I've been out
to LA a few times, and I like, I kind
of I enjoy it there as well, So I mean,
I'm I'm kind of like I think, like long term
(06:07):
I could see myself either out there or in New
York would be probably the spaces i'd be or outside
of whatever city it is, so that I can get
maybe a yard or something.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And what do you enjoy about La?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Oh, gosh, I really like to drive. Surprisingly, I actually
really like to drive a car. I mean, I granted,
I've only been there in small amounts of time, like
for like several weeks on end. I haven't like lived
there full time, and I know that like with the
parking and everything, it can get pretty frustrating. But I
(06:41):
like the beach, the weather. I think those are the
main things that I like.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yes, I completely understand what you mean. I've been to
New York and La. I love them both. It would
be a hard decision to make if I was lucky
enough to be able to make the decision in regard
to what city to live. But LA is amazing, that's
for sure. North Carolina is on my list. I'll get
there one day.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yes, Yes, come visit. It's great.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So when shifting between narrative filmmaking and branded content, how
do you technically approach tone and visual language? Do you
build shot lists differently when the end go is advocacy
versus entertainment.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh that's a really good question. I think the process
is different. I mean, if I'm making something that's just
a personal project, I think you know, there's less cooks
in the kitchen, there's less people to have to sign
off on things. I think in the world of what
I do at Bloomberg, it often comes from a client brief,
(07:44):
like a client request that they you know, something that
they're some sort of messaging that they want to convey.
And however, I think I think the process of like
putting together an idea how to visually tell a story
is I think it's the same. I think, like depending
(08:06):
on what's needed for the project, because I do a
range of like sometimes it's a little bit more docu heavy.
Sometimes I'll be directing it myself. Sometimes I'll be kind
of overseeing a team and I'll be like outsourcing a director.
But I think like oftentimes if it's if it's a
bit more docu style, then maybe we won't go through
(08:26):
the process of putting together like really precise storyboards. But
there's been several projects I've been on where it's there's
a little bit more of an animation focus, or we
really want to think about, like how do we transition
from one scene to the next, Like do we use
like a screen to sort of teleport us from like
one person to the other, or like whippans or like
any kind of like devices, or do we want to
(08:50):
kind of match things visually, like are there any opportunities
for match cuts? So I think I really love thinking
about that ahead of time, and I think when I have,
it's made post really really smooth or more smooth, because
everyone's more on the same page about what they're doing.
(09:11):
Like the DP, everyone on stead like they have a
clear goal. And then if there's anything spontaneous that happens
like on the day, like we're ready to capture it,
but like we still kind of have that framework, which
I think is really important.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Really important indeed. But in branded social impact films like
I Am Enough, how do you balance authenticity with the
inevitable client or platform requirements.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Oh well, that one was actually a personal project, but
I think it however, that that did go to Actually, no,
it wasn't a personal project. It started off as a
personal project. Sure, oh you know better than I do.
I forgot that. Yeah, that that's a really good question.
So that one, it started off as a personal project.
(09:59):
It was something that I had come up with. I
reached out to Daphne Willis, who is this She's a
singer and but honestly in that one, she was so
she just gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted.
She's like, awesome, thumbs up, Like we sort of just
struck up a deal, like hey, I'll make this video.
And she was like, you know, I'll figure out where,
(10:20):
I'll figure out how to get the money, like it'll
it'll just be my side project. But I really want
to use your song. And she was like okay, great.
And you know what I got from that was that
she put it on her YouTube channel and then it
got like the views and it got like her audience
to come and see it, and so it was sort
of like a little kind of like a creative exchange
that we had. But she was she was great. Like
(10:40):
she came on set, like she saw everyone, you know,
but she very much stayed out of the way, like
she was like this is your thing, this is great,
Like I love it. Thumbs up like she literally had
zero So it was it was that was really great.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It sounds like a project. You may have known the
person beforehand, or how did you meet her?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I just emailed her, Yeah, I was. I was looking
for artists that kind of had the similar themes or
like who I thought would make sense for it, and
I just I emailed. I emailed some people and she
she responded and she was like, yes, thousand percent, let's
do it. So that's I mean, that's a good lesson.
It's like, don't be afraid to just reach out to
(11:19):
people and see and.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
See you know, certainly, and what themes exactly did you
reach out and suggest to her?
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, her song I Am Enough is it really touched
me because it's about like coming into who you are
and like accepting yourself fully. And I had this idea
of doing this ballet between two women who are kind
of in this there's this like barrier between them in
(11:48):
terms of like how they connect with each other, and
it's sort of about like self love but like the
people on the way along the way that kind of
lift you up through that. So I think I think
that theme really the theme that she had in her song,
and like the meaning behind it. I connected with it
(12:08):
a lot, and I think I came to it with
like a slightly different approach and interpretation of the song.
But like, I think that's the beauty of music as well.
It's like, you know, not like people can take what
they will out of it, and I think I think
that song is a great example of.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
That and adapting I am enough for Lincoln Center mean
moving from screen to stage. What technical decisions about blocking,
pacing or even sound design did you have to rethink
for a live audience.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That was actually a request that came through the choreographer
Adriana Pierce, who she's also incredible. She's still doing beautiful
choreography to this day. So they had reached out to
her and I actually wasn't as involved at that point
(13:02):
because it was more like her sort of wheelhouse. It
was like, you know, this choreography that she made. I
saw that she made a few technical changes because it
was it was uh. They basically asked to have it
performed at Lincoln Center at this dance against Cancer fundraising events,
(13:23):
so it was a pretty minimal stage. They had several
dance companies performing in and out, like I think New
York City Ballet did something, Alvin Ailey did something, and
then it was our piece, which was really cool. So
there wasn't any like fancy set design or anything. I
think it was just the The show was mainly just
(13:46):
based based around the dance, the choreography, the dancers, the
dancers were different. They were both from American ballet theater,
which so I wasn't I wasn't really involved as much
when it kind of got to that stage, but it
was sort of Adriana who kind of brought in, you know,
(14:06):
these new dancers, taught them the choreography. I was there
for some of the rehearsals, which was really cool. Yeah,
and yeah, that was amazing, like to see to see
like the idea that just sort of started off with me,
like in my room. I had an idea, and then
I reached out to Adriana, I reached out to Daphne,
(14:28):
you know, and they both like believed in it and
they were like yes, like we you know, just bringing
these two creative talents together to make something that would
resonate with people was really amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
So when you're at the rehearsal period, inside that rehearsal room,
what did you see in the film's metaphors that turned
into theatrical language without losing any impact.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I think I think just the fact that they were
so intertwined with the each other. There is like a
kiss at the end, like towards the end, which I
think was pretty meaningful to have because it, we wanted it.
I mean, the whole point was it for it to
feel like explicitly like a queer story, which you don't
(15:17):
really see very often in traditional ballet. So I think, yeah,
I think, and you know, this was this was primarily
Adrian Is, you know, her her choreography, but like, I
think keeping that, like keeping that all retained was really important.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Tell us about some of your other projects. Is there
a project that you've done that is close to your
heart that tackles some of the themes that you believe
and love.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So there's a film called The Transgressor. It was was
sort of my final film out of NYU, and it's
actually kind of similar in theme about like it was
a dystopian society where music was outlawed, and it was
sort of about like, despite being in that world, like
(16:09):
what if somebody you know, what if someone proposes something
different but you actually really love this, like this other
thing that other people are just so against and like
the rest of society isn't accepting of Like how do
you how do you make that choice and how do
you like be brave enough to like lean into that?
(16:29):
So I really like that theme. I'm really intrigued by
just being yourself in general, and like, we're in so
many societies where there's a certain perspective or a certain
way of thinking that's quote unquote the right way, and
I think that can be difficult when you're in it.
(16:53):
And I think it's important to think about there's so
many different perspectives all over the world and so many
people living in completely different ways. So I really liked
using this like dystopian world as a way to ground
the film and sort of have the themes resonate with anybody,
since I think the world can be pretty polarizing, and
(17:16):
I think people can have a difficult time understanding others
if they're coming from the opposite you know, opinion or
the opposite background or way of life.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
That's amazing what you've said, and it's true the world
can be pretty polarizing. But when you're approaching storyboarding and
pre visualization, do you use tools like frame Aisle, shot
Dick or do you see yourself using more analoged methods.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I like, yeah, I do like using shot deck. I've
been actually I started using that pretty recently. I'm working
on another short film, and it's pretty amazing the variety
of like frame and you know, specific things that you
can look up. I I also I'm I also did
(18:07):
a little bit of experimenting with chat GPT, which was
you know, it's very yeah, it's horrible. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Idn't say that my experience is horrible. Story just came
back with things that didn't look quite right. But sorry,
I'm trustful.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
No, no, but you're so right. But I think it's
it's interesting to see what it does come up with.
And then I like in terms of like kind of
coming up with ideas of like a structure for a story.
Like I kind of struggle with the writing process. I
like I have, I get a lot of writer's block
and like I'm not writing dialogue I find to be
(18:44):
really hard. So sometimes I find it interesting. I'll like
put something into Chatchy Beble and make a scene about this,
and I look at it and I'm like, this is awful,
you know, like this is awful. However, it almost inspires
me to correct it and like, okay, then what needs
to be done? You know. I think it's sometimes it's
helpful to see something in front of me as opposed
(19:06):
to just pulling from like nothing. I don't know, maybe
I'm just like a unique in that way. But like
but then I'm like, but then I'm like no, but
you do know, you know, just to kind of trusting
my I think, if anything, it reaffirms my instincts that like, Okay,
this is garbage, Like what will work better than this?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So when you create a look books, for example, instead
of storyboards and things like that, can you walk us
through your approach to building a look book or a
pitch deck and how detailed you get in terms of
references for cinematography kind of grading or soundscapes.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Yeah, I think I think it depends on the project.
I think like shot deck tools like that are great tools.
When I'm doing work at Bloomberg, we have like are
we have like a we kind of like work in
a in a trio, so to speak. So there'll be
(20:07):
a design lead, like a writing kind of lead, and
then like a video person who's myself, And it's really
nice to have. I really enjoy working with designers a
lot because I can sort of go to them and
be like, hey, I have an idea for how something
could look, but I can't really visualize it. Could you
(20:28):
kind of help me out with that? And it's it's
really nice to be able to work with someone and
have them kind of bring it to life and then
bring something completely new to it that you wouldn't have
ever like dreamed of. So I think that's really I
think that's really helpful. I think like design is really important.
It's something that I wasn't, you know, trained on in
(20:52):
my education. So I think like being in more of
the ad world has made me realize just how important
a deck is and just making it really clean and
just concise, like not too wordy and just like just
really well formatted. I think, you know, yeah, that's sort
(21:17):
of and then just seeing like new decks come in
like from different different types of filmmakers that you know
will be pitching to me and seeing their work is like,
oh wow, Like you know, if something like gravitates to me,
it's something to like consider, like, oh, maybe I'll try
to present my ideas in that way, you know, next
(21:38):
time I put something.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Together makes complete sense. And that Bloomberg, you function both
as both executive producer and creative director. How do you
technically navigate the tension between client KPIs and your own
creative instincts when shape in a campaign?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, I think I think it's I try to put
myself in the shoes of the client, and I think
the client relationship is so important. I think just if
there's something about the campaign that just excites me, like
I did. I did one recently for Google, and it
(22:20):
was all about coincidentally, maybe that's why I'm on this AI,
Maybe that's why I'm overly optimistic about AI. But it
was about Gemini and how it actually helped this agency,
these agencies, this one particular, how they made a billboard
where it would basically change the headlines depending on the
(22:42):
coordinates of where it was throughout the city, and how
because they used Gemini, like they were able to like
make more headlines, more diver like generate more content in
a way that in the timeline that was required, in
a way that they wouldn't have been able to do
without it, And sort of like the messaging was like,
(23:02):
you know, we still leveraged our team, like we still
leverage the people, you know, the creative minds on our team,
but we were using AIS as more of like a tool.
So I feel like when I got when I latched
onto that, I was like, wait, that's actually really cool,
Like that's actually you know that's reletive, Like that's relevant
to me, Like I connect with that, like and I
(23:23):
feel like if you connect to the part of it
that feels like like find the human side of it,
I think that's where the money is, because that's how
you'll kind of approach like all your pitches when you're
explaining like like if if your execution is a little
bit out there and like something that they haven't seen before,
like if you can connect it to that like what
(23:45):
their audience wants to see and like how to connect
with their audience, then they'll be like, you know, they're
they're gonna be way more convinced about about your ideas.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
And at Bloomberg, you help established global studio infrastructure and
stands that I had processes across creative and client service teams.
What did that system look like in practice?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
So when I started, it was a very it was
a much smaller team than what it is now. And
there's been so many evolutions of the studio. You know,
we've been expanding to like other regions. But I think
like sort of when I came in, I brought in
a lot of my you know, ways that I would structure,
(24:32):
ways that I would structure a timeline and making sure
that that was like standardized across all of our projects,
and making sure that we're being held to those held
to those timelines and that you know, we're protecting us,
we're protecting our vendors. So I spent a lot of
time working on that and you know, leading like workshops
(24:56):
on that, you know, like training people. I also developed
a like a sort of like a system for how
to develop like a like a short form documentary basically
to sort of bring in people from the other teams
and sort of get them get them on board with
like how we do things, how we the collaborative way
(25:19):
that we work with our vendors, and just yeah, just
I think just a lot of like adapting to scale
and just making sure that like everyone is aligned with
like you know, there's there's the administrative part of it
as well. It's like you know, invoicing, like you know,
just making sure that how we organize our files like
(25:40):
just yeah, you know, just because if everyone's doing something
a different way, then it's it's just going to be
a mess. So just you know, being part of that
process of making sure that everyone's on the same page,
Like this is the process, and I think it just
makes things a lot easier for you know, all, to
communicate and be a team.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
So what have you learned at Bloomberg in terms of
organizing files and file formats and things of that nature
that has helped you in your own personal projects or
has it helped you at all?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Well, that's a good question. I feel like that's a
good question. Hmmm. Perhaps. I mean, I feel like I
feel like I've been hyper organized for a while, even
before Bloomberg. I think with my experience on like post production,
(26:35):
Like I was a post production coordinator at Vice, and
I feel like that really taught me just the importance
of detail, like just having a extu extreme attention to
detail when it comes to managing multiple files. And like trackers,
I think, just like trackers are just like the key
of just making sure that every everything is written out,
(26:59):
Like if something's spilled, go on a call, make sure
it's written down, you know, doubultriple confirming with people over email,
just like just making sure that nothing is confused. And
I think that, yeah, I think that's sort of been
ingrained in me and it and I feel like I
wasn't you know, I feel like I wasn't always a
(27:20):
very organized person. The most organized. I mean, I can
be organized, but I feel like it was sort of
trained in me to be that way, and because of that,
it's just sort of like second nature. It's just like
innate in me.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Now, So you're someone who comes across who has a
lot of rigor and authority and take ownership of your work,
that's for sure, because Bloomberg audiences expect rigor and authority.
So how do you integrate data and research into story
treatments the vast sacrifice in emotional resonance.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
That's such a good question. I think I think we
we always try to integrate, you know, data as much
as we can in the storytelling. You know, we'll pull
from insights from the bloom you know, from the Bloomberg
terminal because you know, there's so many companies that use
the Bloomberg terminal. So we have this incredible, incredible amount
(28:19):
of data that we can pull for our campaigns. So
I think I think it's gotten a bit. You know,
we we love to include data, and I think in
previous videos, you know, depending on what the video is, like,
data will be more at the forefront, like it'll be
like the first thing you see, you know, like or
(28:40):
it'll be you know, big text, like a data point.
But I think when it comes to like some of
these more documentary style films, we try to integrate it
into the humanity of the person and and sort of
have it be just sort of added on to whatever
story we're telling to sort of hit home whatever point
(29:02):
we're trying to say. And you know, sometimes it helps
if that's like at the end of the film, like, hey, look,
these are the results of the efforts of you know,
these people that we're working hard on X y Z.
You know, I know I'm being really vague, but I think,
you know, just finding like moments where it feels natural
(29:22):
in the story to include it makes it feel makes
it feel more authentic. And honestly, I feel like the
Bloomberg audience wants that to an extent because these are
people that are like typically like high net worth individuals,
like sometimes they're c suite. These are like the people
that are making the decisions that are making the world
(29:43):
go round essentially, so they want, you know, they want credibility.
So there's this element of like intellect that we sort
of need to always be thinking about and considering which
I really enjoy because I'm always learning new things through it.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
So yeah, makes sense, and I enjoy watching them. I'm
not one of those C suite executives, that's for sure,
but I really do enjoy watching Blueberg sometimes, especially some
of those Bloomberg documentaries. You know, when I first came
across them, I was so happy, Oh, this is a
whole new world of documentary films I didn't even think existed.
(30:19):
I wouldn't even have had an idea. Sorry. I think
if I said Bloomberg documentaries, I did mean the originals.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're documentaries. But yeah, totally, No, you're right,
that's what they are.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
And you've directed across both live action and animation. What
are the technical or creative shifts in directing animated branded
content compared to documentary style live shoots.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I think it's a lot less. I think if it's
just purely animation, I think it's easier in my opinion,
because we don't have to worry about going into a shoot,
like we don't have to worry worry about like that
other side of it. So we work with we work
(31:07):
with really great you know, we work with really great
animation vendors that we sometimes will go back to a lot,
so we'll we sort of have like an established workflow
with them. A lot of the times it's us kind
of coming up with you know, whatever idea or whatever,
(31:28):
you know, visual metaphor or you know, what have you,
and then we'll lean into our vendor, you know, our
animation vendor to sort of take it to the next
level to an extent, and sometimes we'll bring in new people.
I actually I had a friend that I met actually
through like a whitewater rafting trip, which was super random,
(31:49):
and she happened to be a really talented uh illustrator,
and I had a project coming up and we were
trying to look for somebody that was really good with
like character design, and I just reached out to her
and she was like, sure, I'll do it, and it
was great, and we actually like kind of teamed her
up with the animation with the animator that we worked with,
(32:09):
and then they kind of work together, so we all
kind of worked as a team. So that was really fun.
And I think like any opportunities to bring in like
people just anyone that I'm like inspired by or like
anyone that does really great work and finding a place
for them in the content we make is always really cool.
But yeah, compared to live action, I think it's a
(32:32):
little it's different. I mean, like you know, when you're
doing live action, there's so many other things involved, which
I'm sure you know, like you know, being on set,
like having to you know, be as prepared as possible
so that you know, there's a little bit more like
a high stress involved in it, whereas I feel like
animation can just in my opinion, it can just feel
like we're playing around, like it's it's it's it's just
(32:54):
like we're we're using our imaginations and we're kind of
seeing what we can do, like what's what's possible, which.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I think can be really fun, excellent, and you bring
great people in and that's great to know because your
you're mentor as well as a leader, and you run
a documentary storytelling master class for international creative teams. What's
one technical principle you emphasize that young producers overlook.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I think maybe it's for documentaries. I think planning is
really key. I think, like I think it's good to
plan things out for sure, if you just sort of
go into it and just sort of expect something to happen,
(33:49):
it's more than likely like something might not go according
to plan, like if you're trying to like recreate a moment,
or you know, have someone re act something that they
had done before, or you know that that actually requires
a good amount of planning and coordination ahead of time.
And I think, like going into it, I didn't realize
(34:12):
how much how much was involved in that. It's just
like briefing people kind of getting people on the same page.
But then also of course there's this room for spontaneity.
I think, like with the stuff that we do, it's
really important to be nimble and flexible because a lot
(34:34):
of the times we're working with people with very tight
timelines and they don't have a lot of time to
give us what they to get to give us what
we need. So I think it's I think it's really
important to just be it's a different type of you know,
we're not making features like it's it's a very different
type of way of filming. So I think just being
(34:54):
nimble and being able to roll with the punches if
and just being ready for something to happen, like ready
if like what if the CEO you're interviewing can only
be around for thirty minutes or fifteen minutes to film
something like what are you going to do? Like how
do you capture as much as you need with them
so that you have decent footage to work with and
just being prepared to like have a have a more
(35:18):
you know, a more nimble camera setup is uh is important.
I mean if it's a different execution, you know, if
if you feel like you have more time and then
you know there's you know, people are a lot more
open with their days, then feel free to do something
more you know, elaborate. But yeah, sometimes you just got
(35:39):
to be prepared to roll with the punches.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
You said. As a judge for the GEMA Awards, the
International Awards and ny use Fusion Film Festival, a festival
supporting the next generation of women, why is that festival
important to you? And when did you exactly get involved
with it?
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Yeah, so they reached out to me last year and
asked me to be a judge, which I thought was
really cool because that was the school that I went to.
I think it's really important to support, you know, women,
especially just because and I know it's changing, and you know,
it's you can't make sweeping generalizations, but I think there's
(36:20):
it's there's still like an underrepresentation of women directors, women dps.
I think, you know, there there can be certain people
that might underestimate you based on what you look like
or you know, there can sometimes there can be like
a boys club that you find yourself in, and like
(36:42):
I think, which which is fine. You know, people gravitate
towards the people that they're they have chemistry with. But
I think like the more women who feel comfortable and
like reassured that you know, their work is good and
you know they're they have something like people that see
their potential is so important because if they because if
(37:06):
they don't get that, then they might quit. Then they
might quit the industry, and then we would have lost
a very talented person that would have brought a lot.
So I think it's really important to just keep you know,
encouraging young people, all young people, I think in general,
because I think it's not just women. I think it's
difficult in general, you know, just starting out. It's just
(37:27):
you know, encouraging people to keep going. And yeah, just
believe in themselves is really important.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Very very true. You are a senior creative video producer
at Bloomberg Media Studios, which is an incredible achievement, and
you've led branded content campaigns that have generated fourteen point
seven million plus in sales and rewards. From a filmmaker perspective,
how do you quantify success beyond the financial metrics.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
I think for me, I think I think it's like
for me, if it's something that I see it and
I'm like, Okay, I accomplished what I wanted to there,
like this, this is the vision that we had going
into it, and we accomplished it. And if we had
(38:21):
a great time doing it, all the better. And if
we created new creative creative partnerships from it that we
want to work together again, like even better, Like you know,
like if that is included and it's a beautiful finished product,
then I consider that a success. Like I mean, awards metrics,
all those things are also incredible, of course, but I
(38:43):
think just seeing something that you made and that you're
proud of, I think is for me it's like one
of the most rewarding parts of all of this.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And when will we see something from you from your
own personal collection or work? Do you have anything new
coming out soon?
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Yeah? So, I actually so I directed a short film
over the pandemic that I just sent around to some
festivals that it can it's online, you can probably you
can find it on my website. But I'm also working
on another film that hopefully should be done in October,
(39:22):
and it's sort of coincidentally. It's also about AI, which
I know we're all it's like the hot topic right now.
But it's a comedy, So I'm working on that and
that should be out pretty soon.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Can you give us a log line or anything.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Well, the title is Exit Sign, and it's basically about
a guy that's just trying to he's on there's a
dating app that he's using, an AI dating app, and
he's struggling to find love, and.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Basically, okay, and look forward to seeing what's going to happen. Victoria,
thank you so much for coming on and sharing your
words of wisdom and allowing us to learn about you.
You've been a fantastic guest on Filmmaking Conversations and I
hope to speak to you soon
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network. For more
amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Victoria, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm doing fine. I'm doing fine. Really happy to speak
to you. A great creative and a great branded in
corporate video producer. So this is going to be a
really brilliant podcast because it's not every day I get
to speak to someone of all of your talents.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Thanks a little. I'm excited to chat.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
But before we get into it all, can you tell
us a bit about how you got into the industry
and why you decided to be the creative that you
are today.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Sure, So, you know, I'd always been interested in making
videos ever since I was little. I was, you know,
playing with stop motion animation things like that. I applied
to NYU Chip School of the Arts, got in, surprisingly,
it was like last minute application, and then yeah, I
(01:04):
flew from North Carolina, which is where I grew up,
to New York. Spent my time there, learned a lot
just about the ins and outs of making making films,
and from there, you know, it was just a sort
of navigating the industry kind of working my way up
(01:24):
as a PA. I did a lot of like scripted
television work, documentaries, kind of started to work my way
up through post production, which was great. I learned so
much and I think the technical skills that you learned
from that can be valuable for any anybody in this industry.
But I what I really wanted to do was to
(01:46):
have more of a creative role in in you know,
in my in my day to day work. I suppose,
so I I wasn't really as familiar with the branded space.
I didn't like go to add school like I was,
you know, purely focusing on the film and the film
and TV industry, but kind of started to learn more
(02:07):
about it, learn like what a creative producer was probably
just through like looking on LinkedIn and just like doing
some googling, and I'm like, wait, that job description sounds
so fun. Like you get to that sounds like exactly
what I want to do. Like you get to have
a creative like you get to come up with ideas,
You get to like be part of brainstorms, Like you
get to like run projects from start to finish. Like
(02:28):
how do I get involved in that? Like that sounds amazing?
So what I ended up doing was I did this
program through Droga five, which is a really incredible agency,
and it was basically a ten week portfolio building program
(02:48):
that was like fully fully paid for. It was like
a once a week class basically that I did remotely.
This is during the pandemic, and I basically learned everything
about like art direction, copywriting, like just coming up with
ideas like how to brainstorm, like the proper way to
brainstorm with somebody and did that. Got that, you know,
(03:11):
got that on my resume along with my you know,
post production kind of work, and then just sort of
decided like, yeah, I don't really want to take any
post production coordinator jobs anymore. As much as I was
getting like asks from like TV shows to you know,
work on some really amazing stuff, I was like I
had to like resist the urge to just say yes
(03:31):
to things and just kept applying. And then I ended
up finding myself at the job I have now and
I've been here for four years, so it's been great.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
What was it like growing up in North Carolina?
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It was good. I really liked it. Yeah, it was
very peaceful. Lots of trees. That's the thing about the
most because I'm in New York City now, so I
don't it's a little bit, you know, it's a little different.
But I love to go home when I can, and
it's a very nice It was a very nice place
to just be creative and like, you know, being more
(04:06):
connected to nature. I always find it like a really
nice place to just, yeah, to just be creative, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And how do you think your time in North Carolina
and your schooling in North Carolina influenced you as a creative.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Oh, that's a really good question. I think I was
always really involved in different forms of the arts. Like
I was in ballet when I was growing up. I
did that from when I was like nine years old,
maybe like five years old, until like fourteen, and then
immediately after I did theater in high school. So I
(04:41):
was very involved in like the performance arts, which was amazing.
It was just basically my whole life outside of like
my formal education. And I feel like that lended itself
great to filmmaking, you know, because it's just all the
different types of you know, the medium, the performance aspect,
(05:05):
like how to how to take an emotion and like
externalize it in some way. And I think it you
do the same thing in filmmaking, it's just in a
different way. So yeah, that definitely shaped me a lot.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And now you're in New York without all of the trees,
what is life like for you on a personal level, Well.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
I do. I did find an apartment that had a
beautiful tree. I'm looking at it right now outside my nose,
so I see. So that was a plus that I
ended up finding that I like to get out of
the city as much as I can, which I try
to do. I mean, I love I love living in
New York because there's just so much creative energy everywhere.
There's so much to do. I'm always learning, meeting new
(05:46):
people from different cultures. Like my friend group consists of
like people from all over the world, which I love,
and it's just so inspired for me. I think North
Carolina is a good place to visit. I've been out
to LA a few times, and I like, I kind
of I enjoy it there as well, So I mean,
I'm I'm kind of like I think, like long term
(06:07):
I could see myself either out there or in New
York would be probably the spaces i'd be or outside
of whatever city it is, so that I can get
maybe a yard or something.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And what do you enjoy about La?
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Oh, gosh, I really like to drive. Surprisingly, I actually
really like to drive a car. I mean, I granted,
I've only been there in small amounts of time, like
for like several weeks on end. I haven't like lived
there full time, and I know that like with the
parking and everything, it can get pretty frustrating. But I
(06:41):
like the beach, the weather. I think those are the
main things that I like.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yes, I completely understand what you mean. I've been to
New York and La. I love them both. It would
be a hard decision to make if I was lucky
enough to be able to make the decision in regard
to what city to live. But LA is amazing, that's
for sure. North Carolina is on my list. I'll get
there one day.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yes, Yes, come visit. It's great.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So when shifting between narrative filmmaking and branded content, how
do you technically approach tone and visual language? Do you
build shot lists differently when the end go is advocacy
versus entertainment.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh that's a really good question. I think the process
is different. I mean, if I'm making something that's just
a personal project, I think you know, there's less cooks
in the kitchen, there's less people to have to sign
off on things. I think in the world of what
I do at Bloomberg, it often comes from a client brief,
(07:44):
like a client request that they you know, something that
they're some sort of messaging that they want to convey.
And however, I think I think the process of like
putting together an idea how to visually tell a story
is I think it's the same. I think, like depending
(08:06):
on what's needed for the project, because I do a
range of like sometimes it's a little bit more docu heavy.
Sometimes I'll be directing it myself. Sometimes I'll be kind
of overseeing a team and I'll be like outsourcing a director.
But I think like oftentimes if it's if it's a
bit more docu style, then maybe we won't go through
(08:26):
the process of putting together like really precise storyboards. But
there's been several projects I've been on where it's there's
a little bit more of an animation focus, or we
really want to think about, like how do we transition
from one scene to the next, Like do we use
like a screen to sort of teleport us from like
one person to the other, or like whippans or like
any kind of like devices, or do we want to
(08:50):
kind of match things visually, like are there any opportunities
for match cuts? So I think I really love thinking
about that ahead of time, and I think when I have,
it's made post really really smooth or more smooth, because
everyone's more on the same page about what they're doing.
(09:11):
Like the DP, everyone on stead like they have a
clear goal. And then if there's anything spontaneous that happens
like on the day, like we're ready to capture it,
but like we still kind of have that framework, which
I think is really important.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Really important indeed. But in branded social impact films like
I Am Enough, how do you balance authenticity with the
inevitable client or platform requirements.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Oh well, that one was actually a personal project, but
I think it however, that that did go to Actually, no,
it wasn't a personal project. It started off as a
personal project. Sure, oh you know better than I do.
I forgot that. Yeah, that that's a really good question.
So that one, it started off as a personal project.
(09:59):
It was something that I had come up with. I
reached out to Daphne Willis, who is this She's a
singer and but honestly in that one, she was so
she just gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted.
She's like, awesome, thumbs up, Like we sort of just
struck up a deal, like hey, I'll make this video.
And she was like, you know, I'll figure out where,
(10:20):
I'll figure out how to get the money, like it'll
it'll just be my side project. But I really want
to use your song. And she was like okay, great.
And you know what I got from that was that
she put it on her YouTube channel and then it
got like the views and it got like her audience
to come and see it, and so it was sort
of like a little kind of like a creative exchange
that we had. But she was she was great. Like
(10:40):
she came on set, like she saw everyone, you know,
but she very much stayed out of the way, like
she was like this is your thing, this is great,
Like I love it. Thumbs up like she literally had
zero So it was it was that was really great.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It sounds like a project. You may have known the
person beforehand, or how did you meet her?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I just emailed her, Yeah, I was. I was looking
for artists that kind of had the similar themes or
like who I thought would make sense for it, and
I just I emailed. I emailed some people and she
she responded and she was like, yes, thousand percent, let's
do it. So that's I mean, that's a good lesson.
It's like, don't be afraid to just reach out to
(11:19):
people and see and.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
See you know, certainly, and what themes exactly did you
reach out and suggest to her?
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Well, her song I Am Enough is it really touched
me because it's about like coming into who you are
and like accepting yourself fully. And I had this idea
of doing this ballet between two women who are kind
of in this there's this like barrier between them in
(11:48):
terms of like how they connect with each other, and
it's sort of about like self love but like the
people on the way along the way that kind of
lift you up through that. So I think I think
that theme really the theme that she had in her song,
and like the meaning behind it. I connected with it
(12:08):
a lot, and I think I came to it with
like a slightly different approach and interpretation of the song.
But like, I think that's the beauty of music as well.
It's like, you know, not like people can take what
they will out of it, and I think I think
that song is a great example of.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
That and adapting I am enough for Lincoln Center mean
moving from screen to stage. What technical decisions about blocking,
pacing or even sound design did you have to rethink
for a live audience.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That was actually a request that came through the choreographer
Adriana Pierce, who she's also incredible. She's still doing beautiful
choreography to this day. So they had reached out to
her and I actually wasn't as involved at that point
(13:02):
because it was more like her sort of wheelhouse. It
was like, you know, this choreography that she made. I
saw that she made a few technical changes because it
was it was uh. They basically asked to have it
performed at Lincoln Center at this dance against Cancer fundraising events,
(13:23):
so it was a pretty minimal stage. They had several
dance companies performing in and out, like I think New
York City Ballet did something, Alvin Ailey did something, and
then it was our piece, which was really cool. So
there wasn't any like fancy set design or anything. I
think it was just the The show was mainly just
(13:46):
based based around the dance, the choreography, the dancers, the
dancers were different. They were both from American ballet theater,
which so I wasn't I wasn't really involved as much
when it kind of got to that stage, but it
was sort of Adriana who kind of brought in, you know,
(14:06):
these new dancers, taught them the choreography. I was there
for some of the rehearsals, which was really cool. Yeah,
and yeah, that was amazing, like to see to see
like the idea that just sort of started off with me,
like in my room. I had an idea, and then
I reached out to Adriana, I reached out to Daphne,
(14:28):
you know, and they both like believed in it and
they were like yes, like we you know, just bringing
these two creative talents together to make something that would
resonate with people was really amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
So when you're at the rehearsal period, inside that rehearsal room,
what did you see in the film's metaphors that turned
into theatrical language without losing any impact.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
I think I think just the fact that they were
so intertwined with the each other. There is like a
kiss at the end, like towards the end, which I
think was pretty meaningful to have because it, we wanted it.
I mean, the whole point was it for it to
feel like explicitly like a queer story, which you don't
(15:17):
really see very often in traditional ballet. So I think, yeah,
I think, and you know, this was this was primarily
Adrian Is, you know, her her choreography, but like, I
think keeping that, like keeping that all retained was really important.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Tell us about some of your other projects. Is there
a project that you've done that is close to your
heart that tackles some of the themes that you believe
and love.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So there's a film called The Transgressor. It was was
sort of my final film out of NYU, and it's
actually kind of similar in theme about like it was
a dystopian society where music was outlawed, and it was
sort of about like, despite being in that world, like
(16:09):
what if somebody you know, what if someone proposes something
different but you actually really love this, like this other
thing that other people are just so against and like
the rest of society isn't accepting of Like how do
you how do you make that choice and how do
you like be brave enough to like lean into that?
(16:29):
So I really like that theme. I'm really intrigued by
just being yourself in general, and like, we're in so
many societies where there's a certain perspective or a certain
way of thinking that's quote unquote the right way, and
I think that can be difficult when you're in it.
(16:53):
And I think it's important to think about there's so
many different perspectives all over the world and so many
people living in completely different ways. So I really liked
using this like dystopian world as a way to ground
the film and sort of have the themes resonate with anybody,
since I think the world can be pretty polarizing, and
(17:16):
I think people can have a difficult time understanding others
if they're coming from the opposite you know, opinion or
the opposite background or way of life.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
That's amazing what you've said, and it's true the world
can be pretty polarizing. But when you're approaching storyboarding and
pre visualization, do you use tools like frame Aisle, shot
Dick or do you see yourself using more analoged methods.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I like, yeah, I do like using shot deck. I've
been actually I started using that pretty recently. I'm working
on another short film, and it's pretty amazing the variety
of like frame and you know, specific things that you
can look up. I I also I'm I also did
(18:07):
a little bit of experimenting with chat GPT, which was
you know, it's very yeah, it's horrible. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Idn't say that my experience is horrible. Story just came
back with things that didn't look quite right. But sorry,
I'm trustful.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
No, no, but you're so right. But I think it's
it's interesting to see what it does come up with.
And then I like in terms of like kind of
coming up with ideas of like a structure for a story.
Like I kind of struggle with the writing process. I
like I have, I get a lot of writer's block
and like I'm not writing dialogue I find to be
(18:44):
really hard. So sometimes I find it interesting. I'll like
put something into Chatchy Beble and make a scene about this,
and I look at it and I'm like, this is awful,
you know, like this is awful. However, it almost inspires
me to correct it and like, okay, then what needs
to be done? You know. I think it's sometimes it's
helpful to see something in front of me as opposed
(19:06):
to just pulling from like nothing. I don't know, maybe
I'm just like a unique in that way. But like
but then I'm like, but then I'm like no, but
you do know, you know, just to kind of trusting
my I think, if anything, it reaffirms my instincts that like, Okay,
this is garbage, Like what will work better than this?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So when you create a look books, for example, instead
of storyboards and things like that, can you walk us
through your approach to building a look book or a
pitch deck and how detailed you get in terms of
references for cinematography kind of grading or soundscapes.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Yeah, I think I think it depends on the project.
I think like shot deck tools like that are great tools.
When I'm doing work at Bloomberg, we have like are
we have like a we kind of like work in
a in a trio, so to speak. So there'll be
(20:07):
a design lead, like a writing kind of lead, and
then like a video person who's myself, And it's really
nice to have. I really enjoy working with designers a
lot because I can sort of go to them and
be like, hey, I have an idea for how something
could look, but I can't really visualize it. Could you
(20:28):
kind of help me out with that? And it's it's
really nice to be able to work with someone and
have them kind of bring it to life and then
bring something completely new to it that you wouldn't have
ever like dreamed of. So I think that's really I
think that's really helpful. I think like design is really important.
It's something that I wasn't, you know, trained on in
(20:52):
my education. So I think like being in more of
the ad world has made me realize just how important
a deck is and just making it really clean and
just concise, like not too wordy and just like just
really well formatted. I think, you know, yeah, that's sort
(21:17):
of and then just seeing like new decks come in
like from different different types of filmmakers that you know
will be pitching to me and seeing their work is like,
oh wow, Like you know, if something like gravitates to me,
it's something to like consider, like, oh, maybe I'll try
to present my ideas in that way, you know, next
(21:38):
time I put something.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Together makes complete sense. And that Bloomberg, you function both
as both executive producer and creative director. How do you
technically navigate the tension between client KPIs and your own
creative instincts when shape in a campaign?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, I think I think it's I try to put
myself in the shoes of the client, and I think
the client relationship is so important. I think just if
there's something about the campaign that just excites me, like
I did. I did one recently for Google, and it
(22:20):
was all about coincidentally, maybe that's why I'm on this AI,
Maybe that's why I'm overly optimistic about AI. But it
was about Gemini and how it actually helped this agency,
these agencies, this one particular, how they made a billboard
where it would basically change the headlines depending on the
(22:42):
coordinates of where it was throughout the city, and how
because they used Gemini, like they were able to like
make more headlines, more diver like generate more content in
a way that in the timeline that was required, in
a way that they wouldn't have been able to do
without it, And sort of like the messaging was like,
(23:02):
you know, we still leveraged our team, like we still
leverage the people, you know, the creative minds on our team,
but we were using AIS as more of like a tool.
So I feel like when I got when I latched
onto that, I was like, wait, that's actually really cool,
Like that's actually you know that's reletive, Like that's relevant
to me, Like I connect with that, like and I
(23:23):
feel like if you connect to the part of it
that feels like like find the human side of it,
I think that's where the money is, because that's how
you'll kind of approach like all your pitches when you're
explaining like like if if your execution is a little
bit out there and like something that they haven't seen before,
like if you can connect it to that like what
(23:45):
their audience wants to see and like how to connect
with their audience, then they'll be like, you know, they're
they're gonna be way more convinced about about your ideas.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
And at Bloomberg, you help established global studio infrastructure and
stands that I had processes across creative and client service teams.
What did that system look like in practice?
Speaker 1 (24:08):
So when I started, it was a very it was
a much smaller team than what it is now. And
there's been so many evolutions of the studio. You know,
we've been expanding to like other regions. But I think
like sort of when I came in, I brought in
a lot of my you know, ways that I would structure,
(24:32):
ways that I would structure a timeline and making sure
that that was like standardized across all of our projects,
and making sure that we're being held to those held
to those timelines and that you know, we're protecting us,
we're protecting our vendors. So I spent a lot of
time working on that and you know, leading like workshops
(24:56):
on that, you know, like training people. I also developed
a like a sort of like a system for how
to develop like a like a short form documentary basically
to sort of bring in people from the other teams
and sort of get them get them on board with
like how we do things, how we the collaborative way
(25:19):
that we work with our vendors, and just yeah, just
I think just a lot of like adapting to scale
and just making sure that like everyone is aligned with
like you know, there's there's the administrative part of it
as well. It's like you know, invoicing, like you know,
just making sure that how we organize our files like
(25:40):
just yeah, you know, just because if everyone's doing something
a different way, then it's it's just going to be
a mess. So just you know, being part of that
process of making sure that everyone's on the same page,
Like this is the process, and I think it just
makes things a lot easier for you know, all, to
communicate and be a team.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
So what have you learned at Bloomberg in terms of
organizing files and file formats and things of that nature
that has helped you in your own personal projects or
has it helped you at all?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Well, that's a good question. I feel like that's a
good question. Hmmm. Perhaps. I mean, I feel like I
feel like I've been hyper organized for a while, even
before Bloomberg. I think with my experience on like post production,
(26:35):
Like I was a post production coordinator at Vice, and
I feel like that really taught me just the importance
of detail, like just having a extu extreme attention to
detail when it comes to managing multiple files. And like trackers,
I think, just like trackers are just like the key
of just making sure that every everything is written out,
(26:59):
Like if something's spilled, go on a call, make sure
it's written down, you know, doubultriple confirming with people over email,
just like just making sure that nothing is confused. And
I think that, yeah, I think that's sort of been
ingrained in me and it and I feel like I
wasn't you know, I feel like I wasn't always a
(27:20):
very organized person. The most organized. I mean, I can
be organized, but I feel like it was sort of
trained in me to be that way, and because of that,
it's just sort of like second nature. It's just like
innate in me.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Now, So you're someone who comes across who has a
lot of rigor and authority and take ownership of your work,
that's for sure, because Bloomberg audiences expect rigor and authority.
So how do you integrate data and research into story
treatments the vast sacrifice in emotional resonance.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
That's such a good question. I think I think we
we always try to integrate, you know, data as much
as we can in the storytelling. You know, we'll pull
from insights from the bloom you know, from the Bloomberg
terminal because you know, there's so many companies that use
the Bloomberg terminal. So we have this incredible, incredible amount
(28:19):
of data that we can pull for our campaigns. So
I think I think it's gotten a bit. You know,
we we love to include data, and I think in
previous videos, you know, depending on what the video is, like,
data will be more at the forefront, like it'll be
like the first thing you see, you know, like or
(28:40):
it'll be you know, big text, like a data point.
But I think when it comes to like some of
these more documentary style films, we try to integrate it
into the humanity of the person and and sort of
have it be just sort of added on to whatever
story we're telling to sort of hit home whatever point
(29:02):
we're trying to say. And you know, sometimes it helps
if that's like at the end of the film, like, hey, look,
these are the results of the efforts of you know,
these people that we're working hard on X y Z.
You know, I know I'm being really vague, but I think,
you know, just finding like moments where it feels natural
(29:22):
in the story to include it makes it feel makes
it feel more authentic. And honestly, I feel like the
Bloomberg audience wants that to an extent because these are
people that are like typically like high net worth individuals,
like sometimes they're c suite. These are like the people
that are making the decisions that are making the world
(29:43):
go round essentially, so they want, you know, they want credibility.
So there's this element of like intellect that we sort
of need to always be thinking about and considering which
I really enjoy because I'm always learning new things through it.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
So yeah, makes sense, and I enjoy watching them. I'm
not one of those C suite executives, that's for sure,
but I really do enjoy watching Blueberg sometimes, especially some
of those Bloomberg documentaries. You know, when I first came
across them, I was so happy, Oh, this is a
whole new world of documentary films I didn't even think existed.
(30:19):
I wouldn't even have had an idea. Sorry. I think
if I said Bloomberg documentaries, I did mean the originals.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're documentaries. But yeah, totally, No, you're right,
that's what they are.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
And you've directed across both live action and animation. What
are the technical or creative shifts in directing animated branded
content compared to documentary style live shoots.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
I think it's a lot less. I think if it's
just purely animation, I think it's easier in my opinion,
because we don't have to worry about going into a shoot,
like we don't have to worry worry about like that
other side of it. So we work with we work
(31:07):
with really great you know, we work with really great
animation vendors that we sometimes will go back to a lot,
so we'll we sort of have like an established workflow
with them. A lot of the times it's us kind
of coming up with you know, whatever idea or whatever,
(31:28):
you know, visual metaphor or you know, what have you,
and then we'll lean into our vendor, you know, our
animation vendor to sort of take it to the next
level to an extent, and sometimes we'll bring in new people.
I actually I had a friend that I met actually
through like a whitewater rafting trip, which was super random,
(31:49):
and she happened to be a really talented uh illustrator,
and I had a project coming up and we were
trying to look for somebody that was really good with
like character design, and I just reached out to her
and she was like, sure, I'll do it, and it
was great, and we actually like kind of teamed her
up with the animation with the animator that we worked with,
(32:09):
and then they kind of work together, so we all
kind of worked as a team. So that was really fun.
And I think like any opportunities to bring in like
people just anyone that I'm like inspired by or like
anyone that does really great work and finding a place
for them in the content we make is always really cool.
But yeah, compared to live action, I think it's a
(32:32):
little it's different. I mean, like you know, when you're
doing live action, there's so many other things involved, which
I'm sure you know, like you know, being on set,
like having to you know, be as prepared as possible
so that you know, there's a little bit more like
a high stress involved in it, whereas I feel like
animation can just in my opinion, it can just feel
like we're playing around, like it's it's it's it's just
(32:54):
like we're we're using our imaginations and we're kind of
seeing what we can do, like what's what's possible, which.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I think can be really fun, excellent, and you bring
great people in and that's great to know because your
you're mentor as well as a leader, and you run
a documentary storytelling master class for international creative teams. What's
one technical principle you emphasize that young producers overlook.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
I think maybe it's for documentaries. I think planning is
really key. I think, like I think it's good to
plan things out for sure, if you just sort of
go into it and just sort of expect something to happen,
(33:49):
it's more than likely like something might not go according
to plan, like if you're trying to like recreate a moment,
or you know, have someone re act something that they
had done before, or you know that that actually requires
a good amount of planning and coordination ahead of time.
And I think, like going into it, I didn't realize
(34:12):
how much how much was involved in that. It's just
like briefing people kind of getting people on the same page.
But then also of course there's this room for spontaneity.
I think, like with the stuff that we do, it's
really important to be nimble and flexible because a lot
(34:34):
of the times we're working with people with very tight
timelines and they don't have a lot of time to
give us what they to get to give us what
we need. So I think it's I think it's really
important to just be it's a different type of you know,
we're not making features like it's it's a very different
type of way of filming. So I think just being
(34:54):
nimble and being able to roll with the punches if
and just being ready for something to happen, like ready
if like what if the CEO you're interviewing can only
be around for thirty minutes or fifteen minutes to film
something like what are you going to do? Like how
do you capture as much as you need with them
so that you have decent footage to work with and
just being prepared to like have a have a more
(35:18):
you know, a more nimble camera setup is uh is important.
I mean if it's a different execution, you know, if
if you feel like you have more time and then
you know there's you know, people are a lot more
open with their days, then feel free to do something
more you know, elaborate. But yeah, sometimes you just got
(35:39):
to be prepared to roll with the punches.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
You said. As a judge for the GEMA Awards, the
International Awards and ny use Fusion Film Festival, a festival
supporting the next generation of women, why is that festival
important to you? And when did you exactly get involved
with it?
Speaker 1 (35:57):
Yeah, so they reached out to me last year and
asked me to be a judge, which I thought was
really cool because that was the school that I went to.
I think it's really important to support, you know, women,
especially just because and I know it's changing, and you know,
it's you can't make sweeping generalizations, but I think there's
(36:20):
it's there's still like an underrepresentation of women directors, women dps.
I think, you know, there there can be certain people
that might underestimate you based on what you look like
or you know, there can sometimes there can be like
a boys club that you find yourself in, and like
(36:42):
I think, which which is fine. You know, people gravitate
towards the people that they're they have chemistry with. But
I think like the more women who feel comfortable and
like reassured that you know, their work is good and
you know they're they have something like people that see
their potential is so important because if they because if
(37:06):
they don't get that, then they might quit. Then they
might quit the industry, and then we would have lost
a very talented person that would have brought a lot.
So I think it's really important to just keep you know,
encouraging young people, all young people, I think in general,
because I think it's not just women. I think it's
difficult in general, you know, just starting out. It's just
(37:27):
you know, encouraging people to keep going. And yeah, just
believe in themselves is really important.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Very very true. You are a senior creative video producer
at Bloomberg Media Studios, which is an incredible achievement, and
you've led branded content campaigns that have generated fourteen point
seven million plus in sales and rewards. From a filmmaker perspective,
how do you quantify success beyond the financial metrics.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
I think for me, I think I think it's like
for me, if it's something that I see it and
I'm like, Okay, I accomplished what I wanted to there,
like this, this is the vision that we had going
into it, and we accomplished it. And if we had
(38:21):
a great time doing it, all the better. And if
we created new creative creative partnerships from it that we
want to work together again, like even better, Like you know,
like if that is included and it's a beautiful finished product,
then I consider that a success. Like I mean, awards metrics,
all those things are also incredible, of course, but I
(38:43):
think just seeing something that you made and that you're
proud of, I think is for me it's like one
of the most rewarding parts of all of this.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And when will we see something from you from your
own personal collection or work? Do you have anything new
coming out soon?
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Yeah? So, I actually so I directed a short film
over the pandemic that I just sent around to some
festivals that it can it's online, you can probably you
can find it on my website. But I'm also working
on another film that hopefully should be done in October,
(39:22):
and it's sort of coincidentally. It's also about AI, which
I know we're all it's like the hot topic right now.
But it's a comedy, So I'm working on that and
that should be out pretty soon.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Can you give us a log line or anything.
Speaker 3 (39:38):
Well, the title is Exit Sign, and it's basically about
a guy that's just trying to he's on there's a
dating app that he's using, an AI dating app, and
he's struggling to find love, and.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Basically, okay, and look forward to seeing what's going to happen. Victoria,
thank you so much for coming on and sharing your
words of wisdom and allowing us to learn about you.
You've been a fantastic guest on Filmmaking Conversations and I
hope to speak to you soon
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