For Summer Griffiths, Production Remains an Incredibly Human Business

The Spark & Riot executive producer reflects on learning how to become a producer at Bunim/Murray Productions, the fundamental skills of the role, and why her series ‘Tab Time’ is her proudest work, as part of LBB’s Meet Your Makers.

Summer Griffiths is an Emmy-nominated executive producer whose experience spans commercial production, branded content, television, documentaries, podcasts, and digital programming. As executive producer at Spark & Riot, a female-founded, creatively led production company and studio, she leads the company’s commercial and branded work for clients including Google, Sanpellegrino, Adobe, Maybelline, and Verizon.

Working with a global roster of directors and production partners, Summer drives projects from creative development through final delivery, bringing together the talent, strategy, and production infrastructure required to execute ambitious, idea-first work. Her leadership reflects Spark & Riot’s belief that production should leave more behind than footage, creating lasting value through thoughtful partnerships, meaningful representation, and purpose-driven action.

Previously, Summer led development and production for a rapidly expanding content portfolio, driving 300% growth and launching programming across documentaries, podcasts, and digital series, including the Emmy-nominated preschool series 'Tab Time' for YouTube Kids. Earlier in her career, she developed and produced original content for Snapchat, Netflix, Disney+, and major television networks.

Summer sat down with LBB to discuss her path into advertising production, and learning the dedication, collaboration and creative advocacy required to thrive in the industry.

LBB> WHAT FIRST ATTRACTED YOU TO PRODUCTION - AND HAS IT BEEN AN INDUSTRY YOU’VE ALWAYS WORKED ON OR DID YOU COME TO IT FROM ANOTHER AREA?
Summer> I always knew I wanted to work in entertainment, even if I wasn’t initially sure in what capacity. I originally thought I was destined for on-camera journalism and interned at NBC’s New York Live to solidify that path, but the experience ultimately made me more interested in what was happening behind the lens than in front of it. I spent the next decade working across television and documentaries before eventually moving into advertising production.

What I love about production is that the work becomes tangible. A finished piece may only represent a few shoot days, but behind it are months of ideas, pitching, problem-solving, pressure-testing and advocating for the creative, followed by long days on set and weeks of post bringing it all together. It’s high-pressure, deeply collaborative work, and when you’re lucky, you do it alongside incredibly talented people who feel like family by the end of a project.

There’s something uniquely rewarding about seeing all of that effort become part of the culture around you, whether it’s on a billboard on Sunset Boulevard or airing during the Super Bowl. That transformation from an idea in a room to something millions of people can experience is still one of the most exciting parts of the job for me.

LBB> WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ROLE IN THE PRODUCTION WORLD AND HOW DID THIS EXPERIENCE INFLUENCE HOW YOU THINK ABOUT PRODUCTION AND HOW YOU GREW YOUR CAREER?
Summer> My first role in production was as an office PA at a boutique production company. Less than a year later, I was offered a position as a development coordinator, a career path I hadn’t even known existed at the time. That opportunity ended up shaping the next decade of my career. I learned how to develop ideas from the ground up, pitch them, sell them and, eventually, produce them. It taught me early on that production isn’t simply about executing an idea. It requires dedication, collaboration and creative advocacy to shape an idea into something worth making.

LBB> HOW DID YOU LEARN TO BE A PRODUCER?
Summer> If you ask anyone who’s known me my whole life, they’d probably tell you I was born producing. It’s deeply ingrained in how I operate, how I think, and how I move through the world.

Professionally, I learned to be a producer during my time at Bunim/Murray Productions, when my involvement in the shows I was developing and selling began to extend into actually making them. I had a wonderful boss who encouraged me to step away from the development floor and into the field, assuring me that my job would be waiting when the show wrapped. She knew that understanding first-hand what it takes to bring an idea to life would make me a better producer and, ultimately, better at developing ideas in the first place. She was right. That experience gave me an invaluable understanding of the mechanics, pressures, and collaboration behind production, and fundamentally changed the way I approached the work from that point forward.

LBB> LOOKING BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A PRODUCTION YOU WERE INVOLVED IN WHERE YOU REALLY HAD TO DIG DEEP AND THAT REALLY HELPED YOU TO GROW AS A PRODUCER?
Summer> The role of a producer is so much more than delivering a job on time, on budget and at a high level of craft. It’s understanding the people around you, knowing when to advocate strongly, when to listen, and when to adapt your approach in service of the larger goal. I think I’ve always had an instinct for reading those dynamics, but producing 'Tab Time' was an experience that really put that skill into practice.

It was a uniquely collaborative production, with several production partners, talent with a meaningful producing voice, and a management team that was deeply invested in the creative and production process. There were a lot of perspectives to honour, and my role often became one of finding the connective tissue between them.

It taught me how to advocate for the craft, advocate for talent and protect the best interests of the show without treating those priorities as mutually exclusive. Sometimes that meant pushing hard for something I believed in, and other times it meant stepping back, listening and finding the solution that allowed everyone to move forward together. That experience reinforced for me that some of the hardest producing isn’t logistical at all. It’s human. Learning how to navigate different personalities, priorities and points of view while keeping everyone aligned around the work made me a much stronger producer.

LBB> A GOOD PRODUCER SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRODUCE FOR ANY MEDIUM, FROM FILM TO EVENTS TO DIGITAL EXPERIENCE. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT? WHY/WHY NOT?
Summer> I agree with the spirit of it, but with some qualification. The fundamental skills of producing are highly transferable. At its core, producing is a way of thinking: understanding an idea, anticipating what it will take to realise it, assembling the right people around it, solving problems as they arise, and protecting the creative all the way through execution.

That feels especially true now, when the lines between mediums are increasingly blurred. We’re telling stories that might live for two hours or six seconds, on a television, a phone, a billboard or inside an experience. A producer can’t afford to think too narrowly about where or how an idea lives.

At the same time, I don’t think versatility should be confused with expertise. Every medium has its own language, mechanics and nuances, and there’s tremendous value in knowing where your strengths are and developing real mastery there. A great producer doesn’t need to be the foremost expert in everything. They need to be adaptable enough to enter new territory, secure enough to know what they don’t know, and smart enough to surround themselves with people who do.

So yes, I believe a strong producer should be capable of producing almost anything put in front of them. But part of being a strong producer is also knowing when to lean into your expertise and when to bring in someone else’s.

LBB> WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT PRODUCTION AND WHY?
Summer> I have a few favourite things about production. I love the chase of winning a job: the long hours, global conversations, creative problem-solving, and the enormous amount of orchestration required to turn a pitch into something real. There’s an incredible sense of accomplishment when a job finally locks, and then an entirely different kind of reward when you see the finished work out in the world. I still remember seeing my first billboard on Sunset Boulevard in 2018. There’s something surreal about watching months of work become tangible and exist beyond the people who made it.

But I think what I love most is the camaraderie. Every production is essentially a temporary company built from the ground up. You bring together an entirely new group of people, often under immense time pressure, and ask them to operate at an incredibly high level almost immediately. Everyone arrives with a different expertise, but you’re all working toward the same outcome. When it works, there’s a remarkable intimacy and trust that develops in a very compressed period of time.

The hours can be long and the pace can be relentless, but I genuinely love the journey. The finished work is what everyone else gets to see, but the experience of making it, the people, the problem-solving, the momentum and the shared ambition, is what makes me want to do it all over again.

LBB> HOW HAS PRODUCTION CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER?
Summer> Production feels much more multidimensional than when I started. The lines between mediums have blurred, and the producer’s remit has expanded with them. We’re rarely making something for one screen, one format or even one audience anymore. A single idea might need to work across broadcast, CTV, social, digital, experiential and a dozen different aspect ratios, each with its own creative and production considerations.

At the same time, the asks have grown while budgets and timelines have become increasingly compressed. That requires producers to be much sharper about where the money goes, more proactive in anticipating challenges and more inventive in finding solutions. You can’t necessarily solve a problem by adding another shoot day or another layer of resources. You have to find the smarter way to do it without compromising what makes the idea good.

There’s also an interesting paradox happening within the talent landscape. The level of specialisation and craft available to us is extraordinary. People are becoming incredibly refined within their disciplines. But the democratisation of creative tools has also created much more noise. Access to the tools of production has never been greater, but access to the tools isn’t the same thing as mastery of the craft. Being able to identify real talent, understand what experience brings to the table and assemble the right combination of people has become an even more important part of producing.

In that sense, I think producers today have to be part maker, part strategist and part curator. The job isn’t simply figuring out how to make something anymore. It’s figuring out the smartest, most distinctive way to make it within an increasingly complex set of parameters.

LBB> AND WHAT HAS STAYED THE SAME?
Summer> For all the ways production has evolved, it remains an incredibly human business. The tools, platforms and workflows may change, but judgment, relationships, trust and problem-solving are still at the centre of the work.

A producer still has to know how to read a room, earn confidence, protect an idea, make difficult decisions and create clarity when things inevitably become complicated. Technology can make the process faster or more efficient, but it can’t replace experience, instinct or emotional intelligence.

And relationships still matter enormously. Production is built on reputation and on people wanting to work with you again. How you lead, how you treat people and how you show up under pressure are just as important now as they were when I started.

LBB> WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY TO BEING AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCER - AND IS IT SOMETHING THAT’S INNATE OR SOMETHING THAT CAN BE LEARNED?
Summer> You need to be creatively ambitious but financially pragmatic. Extremely detail-oriented while still seeing the entire picture. Confident enough to lead but humble enough to know when someone else has the better answer. You need emotional intelligence, judgment, stamina, curiosity and an almost obsessive instinct to anticipate what could happen next.

The most interesting answer to the innate-versus-learned question, in my opinion, is both. You can absolutely learn the craft of producing: budgets, schedules, negotiations, workflows, logistics, how sets operate. Experience teaches you pattern recognition and gives you better judgment. But some of the disposition is harder to teach. The instinct to take ownership, to anticipate rather than react, to bring order to chaos, and to genuinely enjoy being responsible for making the whole thing work feels somewhat innate. You can teach someone how production works. It’s harder to teach someone to feel personally responsible for making it work.

LBB> WHICH PRODUCTION PROJECT FROM ACROSS YOUR CAREER ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF AND WHY?
Summer> Across my career so far, I’d have to say 'Tab Time'. It brought together so many areas of production I’d worked in over the years, from scripted storytelling and animation to working with real people, but what makes me most proud is the purpose behind it.

There’s no shortage of content that entertains. 'Tab Time' manages to entertain while also giving preschool-aged children tools to better understand themselves, one another, and the world around them. It approaches meaningful, and sometimes difficult, subjects with warmth, humour, and tremendous humanity. What I love most is that it never talks down to children. It speaks to them as people, with the belief that they’re capable of understanding more than we sometimes give them credit for.

Ideally, a child leaves an episode feeling a little more confident, empathetic, curious or empowered than when they started. Knowing I helped make something that can have that kind of impact at such a formative age is incredibly meaningful to me. The series has since been nominated for six Emmys and won three, which is wonderful recognition, but I’m most proud of what the show puts into the world.

LBB> AND IN TERMS OF RECENT WORK, WHICH PROJECTS HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE PARTICULARLY EXCITING OR HAVE PRESENTED PARTICULARLY INTERESTING PRODUCTION CHALLENGES?
Summer> In 2025, we produced Sanpellegrino’s 'With Love, Italy' with director Nalle Sjöblad and Ogilvy New York. It was one of those projects where the creative kept expanding in the best possible way. What began as several standalone pieces ultimately grew into a larger short film that gave the entire campaign a world to live within.

It was also a real exercise in adaptability. We were in an accelerated prep when a change in celebrity availability required us to pivot shoot locations at the eleventh hour. One of the qualities we really value at Spark & Riot is being the calm within the chaos, and this was a perfect example of that in practice. We were able to absorb a significant change without disrupting the schedule, crew or budget, while still protecting the ambition of the creative.

On a personal note, it was the production I was prepping immediately before my son was born. I’m pretty sure the agency producer was the first person I emailed when I went into labour, just to make sure the handoff was covered. It probably says something about the producer brain. The film later won a Bronze Lion for Film Craft at Cannes, which made an already memorable project even more special.

 LBB> WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL AMBITIONS OR ASPIRATIONS AS A PRODUCER?
Summer> I want to make exceptional work. Stories across every runtime and format that cut through, feel culturally relevant and stay with people. I’m ambitious about the calibre of work I want to be part of.

Exceptional work also starts with exceptional talent. I want to identify and work with people who have real ability, help shape their careers and push them toward work that raises the bar. I believe strongly in honest, constructive feedback. There’s a tendency in creative industries to soften feedback in the interest of protecting feelings, but I think that does a disservice to the person receiving it. If you genuinely believe someone is capable of more, one of the most valuable things you can do is tell them thoughtfully, specifically and with the intention of helping them get there.

The same applies to producers. I want to help develop people who are sharp, instinctive, creatively ambitious and capable of leading productions at the highest level. Ultimately, I want to build a career defined by great work, great talent and a reputation for making both stronger.

LBB> AS A PRODUCER YOUR BRAIN MUST HAVE A NEVERENDING 'TO DO' LIST. HOW DO YOU SWITCH OFF? WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX?
Summer> The constant tending to a never-ending to-do list is both the blessing and the curse of being a producer. You’re always on, always anticipating what’s next, always carrying some version of the job with you. Maybe that’s what makes producers great mothers, or mothers great producers.

I’d like to say I switch off through my morning workouts, carving out an hour for myself before most of the city is awake. But I’d be lying if I said I’ve never answered an email mid-jump squat.

The truest answer is my son. Spending intentional time with him forces my work brain to recede in a way very little else can. There’s always a faint hum of to-dos somewhere in the background, but once childcare is done for the day or we’re together on the weekend, very little feels more important or so urgent that it can’t wait until he’s asleep.

LBB> PRODUCERS ARE PROBLEM SOLVERS. WHAT PERSONALLY FUELS YOUR CURIOSITY AND DRIVE?
Summer> I’m very motivated by the distance between what something is and what I think it could be. I’d also say I’m naturally investigative. If someone says something can’t be done, my instinct is usually “why?” and then “but what if we did it this way?” The drive also isn’t simply to solve the problem, but sometimes it’s to find a solution that somehow makes the work better.

LBB> WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PRODUCER?
Summer> Early in your career, nobody expects you to know everything. But they remember the person who pays attention, anticipates what’s needed, asks intelligent questions, takes ownership and makes everyone else’s life easier. Don’t wait until someone tells you exactly what to do.

I’d also emphasise learning the whole process rather than becoming overly precious about what falls within your job description. Read the budget. Sit with post. Understand what the AD is doing. Listen to the agency conversation. Watch how a director communicates. Learn why things cost what they cost. The broader your understanding of how all the pieces connect, the stronger producer you become.

LBB> FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION?
Summer> For me, the ingredients for a successful production are clarity, preparation, the right people and trust. Everyone needs to understand what we’re making, what matters most about it and where the priorities lie. From there, it’s about assembling talented people and giving them the structure and confidence to do what they do best.

I also believe strongly that preparation creates the freedom for spontaneity. The more thoroughly you’ve pressure-tested a production beforehand, the better equipped you are to respond when something inevitably changes. A successful production isn’t one where nothing goes wrong. It’s one where the team has enough trust, preparation and shared understanding to absorb the unexpected without losing sight of the intention of the work.

LBB> WHAT’S THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP?
Summer> The key to a successful production-client relationship is trust, and I think trust is built through transparency, consistency and good judgment. Clients are entrusting you with a meaningful amount of money, their brand, their creative and often, months of work that existed long before production ever began. They need to feel that you’re treating all of it with the same level of care that they are.

For me, that means communicating clearly, being honest about challenges and never allowing a client to be surprised by something they should have known earlier. It also means understanding that being a good partner isn’t the same as saying yes to everything. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is push back, explain why something may compromise the work, and offer a better path forward.

In my opinion, the strongest relationships reach a point where even disagreement doesn’t erode trust, because both sides know they’re working toward the same outcome. That’s when the producer stops feeling like a vendor and starts feeling like a true extension of the client’s team.

LBB> PRODUCERS ARE NATURALLY HANDS ON - THEY HAVE TO BE. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT IN THE MORE MANAGERIAL ROLE OF AN EP?
Summer> I think one of the biggest transitions from producer to EP is learning that being involved in everything isn’t the same as being valuable to everything. As a producer, you’re often deep in the details and responsible for having the answer. As an EP, your responsibility becomes making sure the team arrives at the best answer, whether or not it comes from you.

I’m still naturally very hands-on, so for me it’s about knowing when to change altitude. There are moments when I need to get into the weeds, ask the harder question or step in because my experience can materially change the outcome. There are equally important moments when the best thing I can do is give someone ownership, trust their expertise and stay far enough above the work to see the larger picture.

I also think good leadership means absorbing some of the noise so your team can stay focused on doing their best work, while being close enough to recognise when they need support. You want people to feel empowered, not managed at every turn.

The goal for me isn’t to have my fingerprints on every decision. It’s to create the conditions for great decisions to be made, and to make the work and the people around me better because I was there.