The Producers hit double digits

Australian production company The Producers is celebrating 10 years in business. Founder and partner, Noelle Jones reflects on a decade of growth and success.

2013 was a big year for Noelle Jones. The then co-owner of The Film Garden took a leap and co-founded The Producers: a producer-led production company now boasting a roster of diverse, directional voices, and owned by some of the industry’s leading female talent: Tanya Spencer, Victoria Conners and Jones.

Since those early 2013 days, The Producers has expanded to three offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and currently represents 11 directors in Australia and abroad. In 2019, faced with increasing demand to develop digital content, the trio founded sister company, Eric Tom and Bruce: a convivial content agency dedicated to elevating the ever-expansive small-screen world.

And in 2019, the company bolsterest its facilitation credentials, partnering with US production house The Honor Society and Argentinian art production studio, Bestia.

2022 heralded the welcome addition of industry powerhouse Aborah Buick (ex-Alt.VFX and Cutting Edge) as executive producer.

“It’s been a quiet few years.” jokes Jones. “In a lot of ways, it still feels like the early days where we’re running a million miles an hour, eager as ever to learn more, make more and create work we’re proud of.”

The initial concept for The Producers was borne out of a lunch between Jones and Spencer in 2012.

Says Jones: “Tanya and I used to work at competitive production companies but we met one another at an industry breakfast and a friendship was created.

“We can laugh about it now but we started having ‘Tanya and Noelle’ days which was our secret code for a long lunch. This was such a valuable time for us as we were able to download and seek advice from one another.

“Both Tanya and I worked in companies where the director either in part or fully owned the company that we were managing. Although a traditional structure it was flawed. So after an extra long lunch we hatched the plan to join forces and The Producers was born.

“We felt it was important for our directors not to have internal conflict with one another and a producer-led company made sense to us. To nurture a respectful and supportive environment.

“After about five years in business we were looking at ways to expand. We were both lucky enough to have worked with Victoria Conners while she was head of TV at McCann Worldwide. We admired the work she had done at other production companies before she was at McCann and knew she was keen to return to production. So at lunch—yes, we like to lunch!—we struck a deal for her to become a business partner.

“We’re proud to have watched The Producers grow from strength to strength. We expanded into the Melbourne market, our roster of directors grew and so did our staff numbers. Aborah now heads our Sydney office and has been an incredible addition to our team.

“To be honest it doesn’t feel like 10 years. I’m not saying it’s been a walk in the park but with two amazing business partners the journey has been equal parts challenging and rewarding. I’m very lucky.”