Commercial & Music Video Producer Maggie McLean

On how lonely freelance can be, why kindness on set is crucial, and growing from our mistakes.

August 13, 2019

" The only way to learn is to mess up." -Maggie McLean

Happy Tuesday, everyone!This week, we take a beat from the feature world, and go behind the scenes of short form content with Maggie McLean, a commercial and music video producer.

Born and raised in LA, the industry called to her from a young age as her mom is a production accountant. Together, they created Cheeky Films, a commercial and short form production company.

She came up the trenches in one of the most traditional ways—as a PA, who then became a production coordinator, and then a production manager, and eventually, a producer.

She produced commercials for a while before finding herself loving music videos. She’s worked with artists such as LCD Soundsystem and Cardi B.

She made magic happen with a PSA for Planned Parenthood to promote their new comprehensive sex education chat bot - Roo.

And then there’s ROCK BOTTOM, a short written and directed by her bestie, Dylan Meyer. It was shot by an almost all female crew, premiered at Chattanooga Film Festival and is showing in LA this Friday at Hollyshorts. Can you say #femalefilmmakereveryday?

During our chat, we go deep on how lonely freelance can be, why kindness on set is crucial, and growing from our mistakes.

Oh, and pivoting when your microphone breaks seconds before you start recording... Thanks for your patience with the audio challenges on this one.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this week’s episode!

Beijos,Caca