Q: Introduce us to yourself and your company.
My name is MDavid Low; I am an interactive producer with a background in integrated media working at Domani Studios.
Q: Interactive Producers come from all walks of life, they are a hybrid of talents, tell us about your background and how you got interested in digital production?
I grew up in the media industry – my parents owned a publishing company – so my initial background was in print and photography. I went to college, initially with my mind set on graphic design, as time passed I became more interested in the development aspects of the industry.
With a combined passion for design and development, it was an easy transition into Pacific Universities’ Integrated Media major. After working as a freelance interactive developer and designer during and after my undergraduate years, I worked with a myriad of marketing, print, web and advertising firms - as well as created my own LLC for interactive design, development and SEO.
Q: How do you stay on top of emerging technologies and keep your team informed and motivated?
Read, read, and read – I try my best to be on the blogs, industry news reports, and whitepapers every morning and lunch. Reading is only half of it though, I try and use new technologies where ever I can, that way I have first hand knowledge of its limitations and potential.
I motivate my team in the simplest way possible – lead by example – be motivated, be fun, have fun. Push forward, I noticed that if I keep pushing my role forward as a producer – those on my team want to stand next to me and push with me.
Q: What does your ideal client/project look like?
My ideal client is one that would allow my team and I the freedom to drive their brand into new realms. My ideal project is one that would span across multiple mediums – preferably Web, outdoor, guerrilla, print, TV – and be focused on a clearly defined demographic. Ideally I prefer products that have an ascertainable story to them, so I would enjoy handling the advertising for a new TV series or movie release or even the launch of a new car line.
Q: How do you educate your clients and set realistic expectations for a project?
I feel this is one of the toughest aspects of our industry. I try to take a one on one approach with my clients, educating them in the strengths and weaknesses of the different technologies I know we are versed in using. Comparison arguments seem to work best in explaining the technologies to be used and I always try to have a secondary solution for areas I know my client’s demands can’t be met.
Q: What was the best project you have ever worked on?
Probably FWATheater.com, simply because the client (Rob Ford) was one of the most enthusiastic clients I have ever had and the team, project, and concept where all fundamentally strong and the execution of the project was fun and exhilarating.
Q: How many projects are you comfortable producing at one given time?
That’s a project size / duration question. On average I like to manage two long duration projects at a time with random short term projects during the slow times.
Q: What does your dream production team look like?
In flexible sets: A project manager, Flash developers, HTML developers, back-end technology developers, an information architect, an interactive designer, a senior designer, designers, a 3D artist or two and a few video/motionographers for good measure.
Q: How do you ensure that your client's best interests are met?
Client’s interests are usually either improved metrics or an advantageous public draw. I think the latter naturally ensures the former. So to ensure my clients best interest are well met I try to essentially make them famous in the eyes of their audience. If their product or brand is the topic of freewill discussions with good tones, then I believe the clients interest are generally met. On top of that, solid metrics and analytics don’t hurt.
Q: What is your vision of what the next phase of our industry is going to look like?
It’s a revolutionary time for our industry, technology is advancing at a pace that is so fast it no longer limits our creative endeavors, its opening new doors everyday. Everything is going digital, and not just online, but across multiple screens – new and refurbished. Our roll in these turbulent times should be to guide the change, as the film producers of the 20s did.
The next stage of our industry will come up on us faster then we think and its going to be a phase or rapid growth and those who are most inventive will be the ones left standing.
Q: Please share a snippet of wisdom that you would like to impart on our readers.
Impart some wisdom, huh? My Father has always been good at that, on of my favorites of his went something like: “You can’t sit at the table if you aren’t bringing nothing to it.” It’s a good rule to keep in mind for all aspects of being a producer – motivates me to keep wanting to learn more, do more impactful projects, to bring more to the table.
Other then that – just work at it, work hard, and obsess over it, you got to love this game to be in it because this game is a light bulb with 20 million volts.
::: audentes fortuna iuvat :::
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