Hi, my name is Jean Yeo, I'm the creative director and founder of Ochre pictures,
one of Singapore's top content production companies.
And these are my five biggest lessons.
My first lesson to aspiring producers is this: Believe in yourself and pursue your passion.
You know, while that might sound very trite, and like a motherhood statement,
it really takes tremendous courage, and a certain amount of stubbornness to do this.
In my past, when I was a writer, I started off as a writer, but I really wanted to direct.
I wanted to be a director. But I remember my boss told me, “No,
just stick to writing, I don't think you can make it as a good director.”
Had I believed him, I wouldn't have achieved what I've achieved today. Winning directing awards.
So, if you really have a passion for something, my advice to you is, please follow it.
If you believe in it, you know enough.
Because you see the same boss who told me that I couldn't direct was the same one who told me a few
months ago during an event that you know, you're one of the you know, top directors in Singapore.
So go, go with your passion.
My second lesson to aspiring producers is this: be curious, be authentic.
I always tell my staff to read widely, watch widely, don't stick to just one kind of content.
And that way, this kind of curiosity will
stand you in good stead when you start to create your own stories.
So, your stories won't be derivative, so be very curious also in getting to know people.
So, in a lot of our shows, the in-depth research that we do,
talking to lawyers, talking even to murderers, even to politicians and so forth.
All these helped to make our story more authentic.
My third lesson is this. Do not produce anything that you'd be embarrassed to show your loved ones.
Well, this might seem a very industry specific kind of lesson, it is not.
It's basically, what it all means is, do something that you find worthy that is worthwhile your time.
So, if work is such a big part of your life, if you do something you do not believe in,
it becomes such, such a bore, such a drudgery,
whereas if you find something worthwhile, it will keep us going in tough times.
And for me, I'm always very grateful that my team was always behind me.
They buy into what to this philosophy, and they create things that they truly believe in,
which makes the difference, for our content, I feel.
My fourth lesson is this, put money on the screen.
So again, this might sound like a very, you know, production industry kind of lesson.
But what it means that you put money into things that reap the most benefit.
So, for example, in our, in our industry, what we do is, we try to in terms of scheduling a shoot,
for example, we try to consolidate all the scenes within one location on the same day,
because every day of shoot costs thousands, if not tens of thousands.
And so, if we spend time traveling from one location to another, loading and unloading,
there'll be less time for us to fine tune acting to, you know, to have more creative shots.
So, in that sense, you know, really put money on the screen,
spend your money wisely, such that it will give you the best product.
My last lesson is this.
If you think your job is easy, you do not know your job.
This is actually a quote that's said to me by one of my ex-bosses.
And I feel what it means is this, in any role that you take on in life,
there's always ways to be better whether you're a homemaker,
or even a garbage collector, there's always ways to improve in a job.
And I think as humans, happiness does not
come from other people or objects. Happiness comes from achievement.
So, the minute that you find a job easy, that means you're at a plateau.
Do not be content with what you know, always learn, continuous learning.