QUICKFIRE ROUND: PRODUCTION, OPERATIONS & CULTURE COORDINATOR OLLIE NACEY

Every fortnight we’re going to sit down with one of our wonderful Frontier people to get stuck into their life, their career and their top tips for the next generation of VFX talent coming through. This time out we’ve sat down with Ollie Nacey, who as Production, Operations & Culture Coordinator is instrumental to both show delivery and the internal spirit at Frontier.

We are currently hiring for multiple positions to join Ollie and the team on some major upcoming Netflix titles. Get in touch with our team today!

You live two lives at Frontier – in one you’re looking after shows and in the other you’ve taken it upon yourself to run Funtier Fridays, Tier List lunches and much more. Tell us about that split between direct production work and masterminding activities to keep the team connected.

It can be a tough balance, I truly feel that I use different parts of my brain for the two parts of my role, but I genuinely love doing them both. I do consider my culture work as more of a reward for a show well managed, though, and that has allowed me to maintain the standard I feel my activities achieve. Ultimately, making people’s lives easier is my passion, and I feel both parts of my role allow me great opportunities to do that.

Tell me about some of the activities that you’ve been running internally. Any that stand out?

Funch has been a blast – it’s a little talk show of sorts that I host over lunch. We’ve got two themes, Talk the Plank and The (Fun)Tier List, both firmly rooted in wreaking havoc with controversial pop culture takes, but Funtier Fridays is my baby. I combined my love of trivia with my hatred of sitting awkwardly in video calls to create a weekly quiz show that the team has responded really well to. That’s what brings me the most joy in my job.

How did the team react when you first came along and ran a live event and how do they react now?

I think there were a few moments of hesitation. We’ve all been in video calls where the silence feels endless or the event doesn’t manage to engage everyone in attendance, but I like to think I’ve got some MC chops and do a good job of easing that tension and making even the simplest interactions meaningful. Now, I get hate mail (not really) when we have to cancel an event, so I must be doing something right!

Where does this all come from? Did you run events and social activities before now?

I’ve always loved hosting and planning events. There’s something special to me about bringing people together, making them feel welcome and then hopefully giving them something to remember. I did a lot of event planning throughout my university days, even working as a Frosh organizer my final year, but that’s the extent of my professional experience with it.

How did you get into VFX in the first place and what brought you to now?

I studied Film in university and the Montreal VFX industry was just too much to ignore. I started off as many do, working as a Runner, then graduating to PA, then Coord. Show Production has been good to me, but I’ve always felt I had more to offer and Frontier gave me the opportunity to figure out just what that was.

What’s the key to running a successful show?

I’ve always felt that people are the key to success in anything, so keeping a positive attitude, communicating effectively and matching your expectations of others with your own performance is key. I also love a good workflow tool so mastering the technical elements of production have always been key for me.