In Production: Allison Bean

The second producer in shots’ new In Production series is Allison Bean, managing director of Off the Fence.

Working in the industry since 1998, Bean spent time at Survival Anglia and Granada Productions making plenty of shows for National Geographic before joining Off the Fence in 2006.

Revealing that she only got into TV because she was “an academic looking for a career break”, she took a job as a natural history development researcher at Survival Anglia and was hooked from day one. Now, 16 years on, she’s heading up programme development worldwide for Amsterdram headquartered Off The Fence. 

Below she tells us about her life in production, including the modern day demands of her role, what she’s doing to invest in her company and how she unwinds away from work.

Tell us about an ad campaign you’ve seen recently that stands out for its production quality and standard…

The ad campaign for AMC’s next series of The Walking Dead features Lego people instead of humans. It stands out as original, funny and creative.

Why do you feel the role of the producer is becoming more prominent and crucial today than in the past?

Producers have to handle several roles that might have been carried out by different people in the past. These include directing, self-shooting, sound recording and sometimes editing. As well as being the creative show runner they have to have an advanced level of technical expertise and as a result are often left with little back up in the field or the office.

What’s your most valued production tool (tech or otherwise) and why?

I think the people that make up the team are the most valuable aspect to any production, but I probably shouldn’t call them tools!

Tech wise, my favourite bit of kit is the ABC mini-crane. It gives a high production quality look in often very difficult to access and extreme locations.

Tell us about a recent risk/investment you’ve made in your career or for your business.

I decided to begin a programme to load eight years of our rushes (over 4,000 tapes) into a single archived database to sell footage and to enable us to make library films and shorts. This is an expensive and time consuming process. I hope it’s worth it!

How has the industry changed since you started working in it?

The industry has undergone massive change. The first significant wave was the increase in satellite and digital channels that resulted in a demand for more content but for less money. This placed a lot of pressure on everyone trying to survive in this already hugely competitive industry.

In the current landscape, the change I’m seeing is the proliferation of new platforms to service content – web channels and subscriber channels are opening up new avenues in an ever increasingly complicated production environment.

How do you relieve stress during a shoot?

Unpredictability is an inevitable and exciting consequence of filming in the far flung corners of the world, and I love it. There's no point getting stressed about it. I've found that often when you're forced to deviate from your beautifully-written shooting script and immaculately prepped logistics that the most wonderful filming opportunities come your way and you get footage you never dreamt possible. However, I find eating gummy bears, drinking brandy and watching a few episodes of Mad Men on my laptop works a treat!

What’s your favourite thing to do away from work?

Gardening, breeding quail and decorating cakes.

What would you like to see change in the world of production?

A structured process of broadcaster commissioning that involves a more rigid tender process.

Tell us one way your skills at work transfer to your everyday life…

According to my daughter all I do for a job “is stand around and watch people film things”. I like to think that performing multiple technical and creative tasks under pressure makes me a steadfast and resilient mother, wife and friend.

If you weren’t a producer what would you be doing instead?

A surgeon, a graphic designer or a field biologist.