After more than 35 years in advertising, broadcast and content production, I’ve come to believe we’ve misunderstood the role of the producer.

Too often, production is treated as the final step. The creative idea gets approved, the budget gets set, the deadline gets locked, and someone hands it over with the expectation that we’ll simply make it happen.

But great production doesn’t just deliver an idea. It can make the idea better.

At Colony, we’re focused on creating the New World of advertising and communications. And for me, that means challenging traditional ways of working, including where production fits into the creative process.

Because in an industry where campaigns are becoming more complex, content is multiplying and timelines are shrinking, production can no longer be an afterthought.

Today, a single campaign can span television, social, digital, photography, podcasts, activations, events and dozens of content variations — often delivered simultaneously across multiple suppliers and platforms.

The challenge isn’t simply making it all happen.

It’s making it work together.

And that’s where experience and production judgement become invaluable.

The best production thinking happens before production

One of the biggest mistakes I see is bringing production into the conversation too late.

By then, the creative is locked, the budget is committed and the deadline is immovable.

And production is left to solve the problem.

But involving production earlier doesn’t constrain creativity. Quite the opposite.

Understanding what’s possible — creatively, technically and commercially — can help creative teams push ideas further, not pull them back.

Sometimes that means finding a smarter way to execute an idea. Sometimes it’s challenging the brief. Sometimes it’s having the difficult conversation about what simply won’t work.

And sometimes it’s saying, “Yes. We can absolutely make that happen.”

Knowing when to challenge, when to compromise and when to push harder is where real production experience counts.

Experience isn’t about knowing how to make things

Across 35 years, I’ve worked on everything from major broadcast campaigns and documentaries to photography, podcasts, activations and live events.

I’ve managed big productions, small productions, complicated productions and productions where everything seemed to go wrong.

Because inevitably, something does.

Budgets change. Timelines move. Creative evolves. Suppliers fall through. Weather intervenes. Someone changes their mind at the last minute.

The value of an experienced producer isn’t that they can prevent every problem.

It’s knowing which problems matter, which don’t, and what to do next.

That’s judgement. And it’s something you can’t replace with a production schedule or a new piece of technology.

Good production creates confidence, not just content

Clients need confidence their investment is being managed properly. Agencies need confidence their creative ambition is being protected. And production partners need clear expectations, realistic timelines and someone willing to make the tough calls.

Good production isn’t about eliminating risk.

It’s knowing which risks are worth taking.

And after 35 years, I’ve also learned that production is fundamentally a people business.

The strongest work comes from talented people working towards a shared outcome, supported by relationships built on trust, honesty and mutual respect.

Because when something goes wrong at 6am on a shoot day, those relationships can be the difference between a minor setback and a major disaster.

Creating the New World of production

The industry I entered more than three decades ago bears little resemblance to the one we operate in today.

Content demands have exploded. Technology has transformed how we work. And AI is already reshaping what’s possible.

But while the tools keep changing, the fundamentals haven’t.

Understand the ambition. Understand the reality. Bring the two together.

At Colony, creating the New World means more than embracing new technology or finding faster ways to produce content. It’s about rethinking how strategy, creativity and production work together to deliver better outcomes.

I believe the producer’s role is more valuable than ever. But only if we stop treating production as the final step and start recognising it as an essential part of the creative process.

Not because we know how to make everything.

But because we know how to make the right things happen.

And ultimately, that’s what great production should do.

Give good ideas the best possible chance of becoming great work.