Anna Berdnikova

The introduction has never been my strongest suit but I'll do my best to present my knowledge and past experience to the stage 32's community:

For the past four years I have worked in managerial track at an international company that produced engines for automobiles where I was responsible for budget managing, managing people, negotiating contracts, problem-solving, maintaining appropriate stock for spare parts, providing reports on a daily tasks to upper-management, ensuring clear communication between Russian employees and Korean upper-management.

How does my experience apply to a producer's job?

I know that the production industry is different from the entertainment industry. However, I believe that the core of a manager's job and producer's job is the same.

1. I know how crucial clear communication is for a work to be completed on time and without any issues.

-- I've worked not only as a Senior Technical Specialist, but also as an interpreter sometimes. Because of that experience, I know how important it is to be clear and transparent with your words. As I've witnessed countless times myself - if a project went in a wrong direction. The problem always lied with communication in the process. So ensuring that conditions on which things had to be done were understood by each team member was my top-priority.

-- Experiencing two opposite cultures at the same time helped me develop negotiation skills. Differences in cultural background can make things go south. As someone who spoke two languages and experienced two cultures simultaneously I was able to see things that both parties couldn't because of their strong psychological attachment to their cultural background. I worked as a mediator, smoothing interactions, easing tensions and finding a common ground so people could work together and deliver projects.

Our experience is shaped by our culture. But what is our culture? Our culture is everything - it is our sentiments about objects and subjects, the economic and legal systems in our country which impose limitations and create expectations for projects.

This experience made me mentally agile, sensitive to potential communication disasters and stagnation in projects.

2. Problem solving, time management and prioritisation

- I worked in the production department where maintaining the machining cycle is crucial for delivering parts on time . If equipment fails and is not repaired quickly, it can affect the shipping date, leading to penalty fees according to a contract's terms.
Besides monitoring line equipment, I was also in charge of monitoring the systems our section operated on.

There were many occasions when I demonstrated my problem-solving skills and here are a few of them:

- A robot failed with its vision system. The robot and the vision system were two separate, independently functioning systems. The challenge was is to align their functions with each other. Unfortunately, the engineer who knew about robots was unfamiliar with the vision system, and vice versa. On top of that, one engineer was Russian, and the other was Korean. One lived in Russia, and the other lived in South Korea.

Not only did I manage to contact both engineers and get them to agree on solving the problem, but I also negotiated the price for their work and scheduled a day when the job had to be performed. Throughout the session, I navigated the entire repair process for both systems and confirmed the successful outcome of their work.
Through this example, you can see that I am skilled at networking (I know who should do the job), scheduling, and coordinating the work of two people from different countries with time differences and different areas of expertise.

-- Last year (2024), I learnt SQL on my own simply because I fell in love with the language. Later in that year, it came in handy to solve a problem with a production system that miscounted pieces due to IT systems failure. I used my SQL knowledge to identify the root cause. Since I was not an IT specialist, I pointed out to the IT department where the problem lay and they solved the problem in the following days.
Why was it important to mention? People with more experience than I had were convinced that the problem occurred due to a PLC failure. Even though we proved over and over again that it was not a PLC issue, they refused to believe us until I demonstrated that the problem lay within the IT systems.
What does this experience showcase? ** It showcases that I am persistent, skilled at managing pressure from senior people. I don't give up easily. I take initiative when it comes to problem solving. (No one asked me to analyze the IT systems as it was not my department. But I wanted to solve it because we were affected as well)

- I have dealt with different types of contracts over the past four years. I was responsible for checking contracts terms, ensuring that payments were issued on time, and making sure no one violated the terms of contracts. Since I worked in a multinational environment, I quickly learned how important it is to be aware of the nuance of the legal system in a target country. One of my biggest lessons was that even if a law has the same content, it does not mean it has the same context. (In other words, just because the law is the same in your country, it does not mean that this knowledge will necessarily help you) **The practices behind a law are more vital than the law's actual content.

I have mentioned the experiences above because I found a producer's job similar to what I have done over the past four years. Maybe, circumstances differ, but the core remains the same.


**3. Budgeting
- I was responsible for millions. It sounds scary - and it was. The more money you handle, the more risks you encounter. I was in charge of securing the budget for our section every year. This included gathering evidence to prove that without a specific amount, our section wouldn't be able to function properly and convincing the head of the financial department to grant us the requested funds.
I had to present our case in the way the head of the financial department would understand. If you've worked in a big company, you know that each department head thinks differently. To get what you want, you need to tailor your presentation style to each one.
- I allocated the budget according to the needs of our sections. Not only did I have to stay within budget, but I also had to reduce expenses wherever possible.

I remember saving thousands dollars for our section simply by finding a way to replace the touchscreen on one of our measuring devices.
There were other occasions when I was able to perform my "stingy skills".

4. Improving workflow
I am not sure if the film industry uses lean and 5S methodologies, but I am certain it could benefit from them. These methods significantly improve workflow by eliminating inefficiencies and enhancing the perfomance of both equipment and people.

5.Psychology has been my hobby for the past ten years
At the beginning of last year, I found myself alone in managerial track, managing team of eight technical specialist. They were deeply disappointed with their previous manager, and as a result, their performance fell bellow the standard - not due to a lack of skill, but simply because they were unmotivated.
This is where my passion for psychology came in handy. I identified the root cause of their bad performance and found a way to rebuild their morale while slowly earning their trust.
I helped them understand why their work mattered by showing them that they are a part of bigger picture.
I used an inclusive language to create a sense of belonging and created core values that they could hold onto during challenging times.