Natalie Brunt

Can you tell us about your current role at Sky Creative?

I am currently a producer at Sky Creative working in the TV products and ROI team. I work on 360 campaigns and, as the main point of contact, my role is to make sure we deliver to our briefs with the right creative concept.

My role entails looking after budgets, schedules and ensuring all deliverables are met on time to make sure we maximise our creative spend. I deal with multiple senior stakeholders and, as a producer, it’s imperative to be a great communicator as you are the person making sure the campaign makes it to air.

I work alongside incredibly talented designers, creatives, creative directors, motion designers (too many to name!) and together we create campaigns that will engage existing and new customers across an array of different media; AV, OOH, Radio, Press and Digital displays - showing customers the latest deals and highlighting the different packages available.

How did your time on the BA (Hons) Film and Television help prepare you for your career?

When I was at school and college, I loved media, and I always knew it was something I wanted to get into, but I had no idea where to start. Joining the course allowed me to gain experience in different roles so that I could narrow down the types of positions I wanted to get into. Being able to have three years to work on these skills and to put them to use with work experience was invaluable.

What attracted you to producing, and how did you get started in the industry?

I was a producer during a TV production module, and I absolutely loved the experience of being in control and helping to make our vision come to life. I knew I wanted to explore this further, but starting in a new industry straight after uni was absolutely terrifying!

I started my career freelancing for companies I had previously done work experience for (i.e. casting, small advertising firms) before getting a role at Deluxe Technicolor as a billings coordinator. I knew I didn’t want to stay in finance, but I saw it as an opportunity to get my foot in the door, and after putting my absolute all into it I was offered a permanent project manager role after two weeks working on the Disney team!

After a year, I went off travelling. When I came back, I got my first job at Sky working in broadcast crewing for all of Sky’s flag shows such as Sky News and Sky Sports. It was a huge learning experience that gave me insights into live productions. After four years in broadcast, I made contacts in Sky Creative and joined in 2021 and have never looked back!

What types of projects have you worked on at Sky Creative?

I have worked across so many projects. I originally joined the Prems team working across Sky Sports and Sky Cinema campaigns. The biggest campaign I worked on was the “Greatest Show on Earth” where we worked with renowned director Daniel Kleinman and some of the biggest sporting stars in the UK. It was absolutely incredible watching how Daniel made his vision come to work alongside an insanely talented team!

Since my move to TV Products, I have had the pleasure of working on some of our biggest campaigns from “That Sky Feeling” with Andrew Garfield to our latest Sky Broadband campaigns with Idris Elba.

What are some of the biggest challenges and rewards of working as a producer in a fast-paced creative environment?

No one day is the same. It can be incredibly long hours and fast paced when you are working on a project but the satisfaction you get when you complete a campaign and see it go live is amazing!

You need to be incredibly organised, approachable and adaptable to whatever comes your way. There have been plenty of times when we’ve agreed on a creative concept but struggled to figure out how to bring it to life within budget and brand standards — but that challenge is all part of the fun!

What key skills do you think are essential to succeed in this role?

A positive attitude! You can have all the knowledge, but if you’re not adaptable and enthusiastic in learning, you will struggle to progress. Being a producer is just as much about leading a team as it is being a team player. You’re constantly learning, because no two projects are ever the same — and that’s exactly what I love about the role.

How do you collaborate with different teams (i.e. editors, designers, directors…) to bring a project to life?

There are so many stages to a campaign to bring it to life.

· First, you have the initial brief and pre-production, where a creative team will come up with ideas that reflect the brief.

· Once we have a brief and creative concept locked, we look into how we can bring it to life. It could be a big scale shoot where we work with external production companies and directors or a clip-based edit where we will edit in-house with our talented editors.

· Once we have a locked offline, we move into post-production, where we will then record VO artists, grade, sound mix and work on our GFX.

This is incredibly top line, but we will work with different senior stakeholders to take on feedback and ensure we are keeping our client and our senior leadership team happy.

What advice would you give to students looking to become producers, particularly in a creative agency or broadcast setting?

Everyone starts somewhere without experience. The industry has been hit hard at the moment with strikes, but you can get to where you want to be! I’d recommend focussing on the skills you have, what you enjoy, and look into what roles would suit you best in the industry.

Once you know the area you want to be in, try to get your foot in the door. If you join a big company like Sky, you can meet people for a coffee to chat about their roles. It doesn’t matter if you’re not working directly with them. People are always happy to offer support and guidance!

If you’re eager to learn and have a positive attitude, you will go far. People want someone they can rely on - show them they can count on you, and you’ll stand out.

Can you share a standout moment or project from your career so far?

One of my favourite moments from last year was working on the Sky Broadband campaigns with Idris Elba. I was responsible for looking after him and his team during the shoot days, ensuring all their needs were met in collaboration with the production company. I acted as their go-to Sky contact, ready to resolve any issues that came up.

I take pride in making people feel comfortable, so knowing his team felt supported and happy made me feel genuinely accomplished. It was also incredibly exciting to witness the stunts in real life — from stunt doubles crashing through the ceiling to intricate wire work. The amount of effort and coordination behind the scenes was mind-blowing, and it was fascinating to see all the teams and processes involved.

And yes — I definitely didn’t expect to see Idris Elba in a bath with a topless man suspended in the sky!

The whole campaign was a massive collaborative effort, and I learned so much from the incredible people I worked alongside. Watching an idea evolve from a storyboard into a fully realised production was truly something special.