Pick up a copy of the latest issue of shots for a feature on our own Head of Production, Danielle Stewart (‘The Wizard of W+K’). Learn a little bit more about her career journey, from art buying out of St Martin’s School of Art to working her ‘sorcery’ on integrated projects here at W+K London. In the piece, she also shares thoughts and provides insights into the role of an agency producer, as in the following excerpt:

“An agency producer is there to facilitate the creative idea on behalf of the agency and the brand – but without alienating their production counterparts,” she explains. “The production process should be based on a team mentality – I think that’s the only way to get a brilliant end product. Each person (producer) has to remain true to their own team’s wishes – whether that be the director’s team, the sound team, the post house, etc., but as long as everyone remains, open, honest and transparent throughout – you should be able to overcome all hurdles together.”

Bonus incentive to read: find out what Danielle would be doing were she not at the production helm. (Hint: it involves covert operations.)

This morning, drama producer, teacher, and author John Yorke gave a breakfast talk at W+K about narrative and story structure — specifically how we use story structure to interpret the world around us. Using plenty of familiar examples — everything from Coriolanus to Jaws, with a side-by-side comparison of Star Wars and Harry Potter for good measure — he showed us how almost all stories take on a similar shape and help us make sense of experiences. Also, there’s usually a shark involved.

For more on how stories work and why we tell them, you can read his book, Into the Woods. A huge thank you to John for stopping by the agency!