We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jill Scanlon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jill, thank you so much for making time for us today. We’re excited to discuss a handful of topics with you, but perhaps the most important one is around decision making. The ability to make decisions is a key requirement for anyone who wants to make a difference and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your decision-making skills.
It took being thrown head-first into situations for me to develop my decision-making skills. I’m naturally a go-with-the-flow, “Whatever sounds good to you, sounds good to me” type of person, so having to think quickly and make decisions on the spot was an adjustment for me. However, this is an incredibly valuable quality to have and one that I underestimated the importance of when I first started in the industry.
I would say my internships at the places I interned at in Chicago (O’Connor Casting and Geddes) and Paramount Pictures in LA is where I first began learning what it took to be more decisive, by observing professionals in action. However, once I became a PA (production assistant) and began working in the industry, my days of just observing were over. I was often thrown into “figure it out”-type situations such as running to pick up late-night meals or crafty (industry term for set snacks, essentially), prop and set decoration pick-ups for the art department, cast and crew pick-ups, etc. all unsupervised. I was often tasked to run errands that other department heads couldn’t do because they were too busy and couldn’t leave filming or spare their people. I had to make decisions on the spot and quickly, without my bosses (directors, producers, production managers, etc.) having to hold my hand, even though I was technically not in a leadership position. Those were some of the most stressful times in my career, but they also helped me grow as a person, and it showed people how much I could handle and helped me move up in the industry.
When I became a producer, decision-making became even more essential. I needed to be able to make quick and creative choices regarding story, and delegate tasks to my team and crew, and if I didn’t have people to carry out the tasks, I had to do them myself because there was no time to wait around. Things don’t always go as planned, in fact, frequently don’t go as planned and you need to be able to make decisions and come up with solutions promptly or you can burn through your day having not accomplished what you need to accomplish. But, ask me what I want for dinner and I will have no idea on any given day –you pick.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I grew up in O’Fallon, Missouri (I just say St. Louis most of the time because no one knows where O’Fallon, MO. is). I was raised by both of my parents, who are still married today (46 years and counting!), and I have 2 brothers, one older and one younger, and one older sister.
I went to film school at Columbia College in Chicago from 2006–2010 where I graduated with a BA in Film/Video. Film school was the first place I networked. My classmates were the first people to set me up with my internships or gigs, or they asked me to come work on their projects to help build my resume. While in Chicago I got the opportunity to work on an array of different projects; everything ranging from student films to independent films, music videos, network television shows and even a blockbuster hit (Transformer 3). I was able to explore many different sides of the industry as well, and tried my hand in casting, script supervision, and producing. I interned at O’Connor Casting and Geddes, and I worked on several independent film projects until I moved to LA in 2012.
I started in LA as an intern for a director who worked at Paramount Pictures. It was really cool getting to work on the lot. However, I struggled a lot in my early years living in LA. I started getting work in 2013 on independent features, which I’m grateful for because I met one of my best friends, sisters, and mentors, Jill Bailey, on one of them. However, jobs were few and far between for me and the pay was terrible. I worked on independent features for a couple of years until I was able to transition into television (thanks to Jill Bailey!) I got my first PA gig on a docuseries called The Short Game, and that kicked off my unscripted television career. For the next decade, I worked my way up from being a PA, to Associate Producer (in the field), to Associate Producer (in the field and post-production), to eventually Story Producer, Producer, and finally Senior Producer. I worked hard to move up in the industry, but I had a lot of people rooting for me and paying attention, and taking stock of what I was doing; They saw my potential; I’m here largely because of me, but there are so many people who propped doors open for me and pushed me forward to help me get to where I am right now.
Being a producer in both the field and post-production has been rewarding in a lot of ways. You get to see how it’s all made from start to finish, and you actively have a hand in telling the story from start to finish in most cases. Knowing how to produce in both the field and post makes you an invaluable asset to any team, but it can be difficult to convince people that the same person is capable of doing both jobs. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to do both jobs because I did a great job in the field, and the field job ended and rolled right into the post job on several occasions. However, not every producer that works in the field can do post-production and vice versa.
Today, I’m still focused on making sure I remain in a creative space in some way, but I don’t know exactly what that looks like, honestly. Just wanna be real with that. I still consider myself a producer, but with how the industry has been lately I’ve been learning other skills like coding for web development to potentially be able to transfer into a different field. I’m just exploring other avenues at the moment because there are so many skills that I’ve gained from my time in the industry that I know can be used in a variety of different fields.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I think the three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were: teachability, personability, and reliability. I went into every opportunity (even now) with a willingness to learn and never saw myself as someone who knew everything. Almost every job was different and had a different mode of operation, so just because I did things a certain way on one show, didn’t mean that way was going to work on the new show. It helps to have experience in the job that you’re doing. However, being inexperienced but teachable can still get you in the door over someone who is experienced and thinks they know it all and can’t tolerate being critiqued. Next, personability helped me stay working and moving up in the industry. I’ve always felt that being personable is important in any job. However, it’s about finding a balance between being personable and staying on task. What I mean by this is that it’s important to get along with everyone (cast, crew – your boss(es)), but you also need to be respected and be able to do your job and make the decisions necessary to keep everything moving forward without fear of upsetting people. For me, at least at the beginning of my career, my personability came off as being “too nice” or “passive”, as once boss told me, as it made me a people-pleaser – to everyone. This could be a problem at times because my desire to get along with everyone and try to make everyone happy would oftentimes hinder me from making necessary, sometimes difficult decisions. Nevertheless, as I gained experience, I realized you’re never going to be able to make everyone happy and you’re definitely not going to be liked by everyone, but you can still be respected. On the other hand, my personability worked in my favor as well. It helped me make friends, network, and get even the most hardheaded individuals to compromise or give in completely. Lastly, reliability is a vital quality to have. Showing up on time, completing tasks, not just quickly but properly, meeting deadlines, etc. were qualities that were instrumental in getting me jobs. My reliability helped me make connections with people who wound up hiring me on several projects because they knew I could and would do the job.
My advice to anyone just getting started in the industry is to always be willing to learn and listen; no one wants to work with someone who comes in thinking they have nothing else to learn – ask questions. Work on your interpersonal skills because you’re going to meet people from all different walks of life, and you’re going to need to learn how to communicate with them. But, don’t forget that you can be personable, without being a doormat. I’ve learned that it’s more important to be well-respected than to be well-liked. Now, reliability is an absolute must-have. If you’re used to showing up to all the events, parties – everything – late, know that that’s not going to fly in this industry (or any, I’m pretty sure). Learn how to show up on time, or even early. There’s a famous saying industry folk like to use: “If you’re on time, you’re late”, and that has been true in every experience I’ve had. Not only do you need to be able to show up, but you also need to have a sense of urgency when given tasks. If someone asks you to go on a coffee run for the crew, a run to a store for props, meet a specific deadline, etc. do it in a timely (and safe) fashion, but also correctly. Don’t just rush to check an item off your list. If you adopt these three qualities, I have no doubt you’ll have success in getting jobs in the industry.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I would say my emotional and mental growth has improved a lot in the past year. I experienced many hardships the past couple of years, and in order to function I felt like I needed to mask or bury what I was feeling. I had lost everything in trying to help some people who I thought were good people (spoiler alert! They weren’t), and it broke me. In the aftermath of everything, I struggled with depression and anxiety – major anxiety – constantly thinking about what I could’ve and would’ve done differently, and going to some dark places, internally, that I had never been before. However, through all of this, I’ve had a wonderful and consistent support system that has helped me get through some of the toughest times of my life; my amazing family and friends. I also have done therapy to try and get down to the bottom of everything I went through and am still feeling, and it has helped a lot. I’m able to identify times when I’m overthinking, ruminating, or anxiety is getting the best of me, and am learning to take care of myself more than I did before.
I always used to put work or other people’s needs before my own because I felt like it would be selfish not to, but it’s not. It’s not sustainable to constantly be running on empty and continuously ignoring whatever you may be struggling with to be there for others; eventually, you are going to run out fuel. Again, it’s about finding balance. You can still be there for others and take care of yourself at the same time. Sometimes you need to take steps back for people or situations for your own health, and that’s okay. It’s perfectly fine to be selfish when it comes to your mental and emotional health, and I hope more people begin to realize this as well.
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