Meet Your Makers: Hannah Byrnand, Producer of Kids TV and Government Parties

Hannah Byrnand has been working as a producer for over 15 years. She started her career as a theatrical stage manager in the early 2000s but moved to working in TV, feature films, and advertising production. During Hannah's career, she has managed VFX, 3D animation, and pro-production projects in broadcasting media and the advertising industry. 

Hannah’s on-set production experience coupled with her knowledge surrounding animation and visual effects makes her a well-rounded and highly valuable producer to clients and a perfect fit for Manimal Post. 

LBB> What first attracted you to production - and has it been an industry you’ve always worked on or did you come to it from another area?

Hannah> I studied Theatre and Contemporary Art at university, worked backstage in a theatre venue, and had a few stage management freelance gigs, but after undertaking video production and film studies electives at uni, I decided that I wanted to create real cinema (which in the late-90s art student world was arthouse cinema, of course), and filmmaking was my calling.

LBB> What was your first role in the production world and how did this experience influence how you think about production and how you grew your career?

Hannah> My first industry role was as a production coordinator on a kids TV show in the early 2000’s. Having spent time in the studio with the director, puppeteers and dancers, organised crew and outside broadcast vans for location shoots, and sat in the edit and sound suites, I knew producing was for me, but that I had so much more to learn. Over the next couple of years I was employed as a production assistant/runner on a TV mini series and a couple of American feature films, soaking as much of the pre-prod and on-set life as I could. After dropping film rushes to the lab each night I was curious about post production so I went and got myself a job at Cutting Edge to learn more about post. Always thirsty for knowledge, I found my path by following what interested me the most, and trying to learn as much as I could.

LBB> How did you learn to be a producer?

Hannah> I had amazing producer mentors right from the beginning (shout out to Vicki Gerrans and Noelle Jones, in particular), but most of my learning happened on the job - making mistakes, fixing them, picking the brains of experienced crew and asking operators what they needed to make their job easier. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting with DPs, directors, location managers, art directors, editors, and visual effects artists just observing how they work, and asking why they need things a certain way. Maybe I was a bit annoying (and still can be!) but my brain works best by learning the hows and whys, and I love having knowledge about the technical side of things so I can articulate how to make shots look the best they can, what’s crucial for storytelling, and how much time and support operators need to work on their craft.

LBB> Looking back to the beginning of your career, can you tell us about a production you were involved in where you really had to dig deep and that really helped you to grow as a producer?

Hannah> Early in my career I worked as a production coordinator on the TV advertising campaigns for the Australian Labor Party. It was a hectic schedule, travelling all around Queensland filming MPs for their local campaigns as well as Kevin Rudd’s national campaign, and at crunch time, sitting in edit suites for 24hrs straight churning out negative and positive campaign ads and quick responses to opposition ads. I learned to stay one step ahead, to always have a contingency plan, and also that this intense level of pressure and stress is not sustainable!

LBB> A good producer should be able to produce for any medium, from film to events to digital experience. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why/why not?

Hannah> Producing skills are definitely transferable to a degree. We can pull together a talented team of people at short notice, whip up costs and a schedule, manage a vast range of site or project-specific elements, creative and technical, and plot everything in a beautifully colour-coded spreadsheet, but I don’t agree that a good producer should be able to produce it all, or at least produce it well! There are just areas of technical knowledge that don’t translate across different mediums or projects and at times we need specialist producers to run a tight ship and know how to keep both crew and clients happy.

LBB> What’s your favourite thing about production and why?

Hannah> My favourite thing about production and post production is working with creatives. I love the creative process, and all the brainstorming and collaborating we get to do as a team. It satisfies the secret director hiding inside of me! Producing visual FX in particular is my fave part of post, and I love solving the challenges presented by some of the wild ideas directors and agencies come up with, and working with amazingly talented artists to bring these ideas to life.

LBB> How has production changed since you started your career?

Hannah> When I started in this industry everything (at least every film and TV commercial I worked on) was shot on 35mm or 16mm film. Studio TV and some lower budget corporate videos were shot on Betacam but otherwise we had to factor in costs and time for film negative, processing, and telecine transfers. Clients were used to watching tiny 4:3 black and white video split monitors on set, and in the post production stage of the job, they would view offline edits without any temp compositing and the roughest of placeholder graphics, and use their imaginations until online! At the back end of the job, we had to overnight courier a VHS copy of the TVCs and fax off the handwritten application paperwork in order to get CAD approval. Everything took just that little bit longer. These days the deadlines are often much shorter and there’s so many more deliverables.

LBB> And what has stayed the same?

Hannah> That desire to come up with new and creative ways to tell a story, to make pictures as beautiful as possible, to pay attention to the details and make every frame look perfect.

LBB> What do you think is the key to being an effective producer - and is it something that’s innate or something that can be learned?

Hannah> I think effective producers are great multitaskers and communicators. Some people have the multitasking gene, but others lean heavily on task management tools. Effective producing can definitely be learned, but it does take a certain kind of personality, patience and confidence to be effective, not only in producing the work, but building and maintaining good relationships with crew and clients.

LBB> Which production project from across your career are you most proud of and why?

Hannah> A recent project I was involved in at Manimal Post was the latest Repco campaign, with Matt Kamen and Tanya Spencer from The Producers, and Thinkerbell. The VFX supervisor Ryan and I worked closely with production and agency in preprod, and really got to design the visual FX which helped tell the story. Ryan advised on set during the shoot and we brought together a small team of 3D and 2D artists and compositors, locally and from as far away as Ireland, to work on 38 FX shots all up - a huge number of FX shots for a TVC. The job was a stack of fun as the team was awesome, the clients were lovely, and the end result was ridiculously silly and looked great.

LBB> And in terms of recent work, which projects have you found to be particularly exciting or have presented particularly interesting production challenges?

Hannah> I’ve been involved with some interesting projects at Manimal Post, and the typical post production challenge for us is to fix mistakes that weren’t shot with post in mind. There’s often bouts of head-scratching and cursing, calling in the experts, and just putting in the hours to try and make a shot work. Requests to change the wardrobe on talent (not just colour, but full outfits!) comes up way more than you’d expect.

LBB> As a producer your brain must have a neverending "to do" list. How do you switch off? What do you do to relax?

Hannah> I like to switch off from looking at screens all day by watching screens at night. Probably not the healthiest way to relax, but I love a good TV show binge! I also like to pop in my airpods to drown out my kids, and happily listen to gory true crime podcasts while baking sourdough. I have a terrible habit a lot of producers have of trying to be productive in my down time so if I have something to show for my relaxation time, I feel like it hasn’t been a waste.

LBB> Producers are problem solvers. What personally fuels your curiosity and drive?

Hannah> I think my curiosity comes from growing up in a bit of a hippy, tech-free family of writers and musos, and my brothers and I had to get creative to make our own fun. We eventually got a TV in my teens and I discovered what all the fuss was about, and knew I’d end up in some kind of related creative field. My drive comes from a mix of anxiety, stubbornness and wanting to say, “I told you so,” even if only saying it to myself!

LBB> What advice would you give to people who are interested in becoming a producer?

Hannah> Absolutely start from the ground up, and consciously put in the time and effort to help wherever you can. The best way to learn about all the elements of a production is to work as a PA or runner in a production company or post house as you get to deal with (and pick the brains of) every single person in the team, and take on a wide range of random tasks, all benefiting the final outcome of a project that you played a crucial part in. Shadow other producers if you can, and do whatever it takes to make their job easier.

LBB> From your experience what are the ingredients for a successful production?

Hannah> Putting together a great team is the key to a successful production, and communicating well with all players (this includes listening) to keep the project running smoothly. It’s also super important to thank people and show appreciation for their work - a step that can be forgotten or brushed aside in the chaos of deadlines - which builds the groundwork for future successful productions.

LBB> What’s the key to a successful production-client relationship?

Hannah> Being able to contribute creatively, solve problems, and consistently deliver top notch work helps to develop a level of trust with clients. Having a good social connection builds on that relationship, and at Manimal, we have the pleasure of hosting clients here for the tail end of the job. We get to spend days in the edit suite, eat together (always a great way to bond), and have drinks overlooking the river at the end of a job.