After founding and managing her own companies, Lisa Houck joined Timber as its executive producer at the start of 2020.

Company: Timber

What does Timber do?
We are a post studio offering design, animation, visual effects and finishing services, and we are happily married to Arcade Edit.

What does the role of executive producer entail?
Ensuring the quality of our work is nothing short of excellent while at the same time keeping both clients and our teams of artists happy. It’s a delicate balance. Nurturing existing relationships is always important, but it’s always crucial to seek new market opportunities along with new relationships.

North Carolina Education Lottery

What would surprise people the most about what falls under that title?
How many hats you need to wear at any given time. If you’re doing your job well, you know what’s going on with all facets of your business and teams. Being able to jump into any scenario and help problem-solve is important.

What have you learned over the years about running a business?
No one circumstance or situation defines you, the job or the business. Don’t get attached to wins or losses if you’re in it for the long haul. And relationships are everything, same as with life outside of business.

You mentioned about keeping employees and clients happy. How do you balance that?
Delicately and with copious amounts of tequila stocked for the team. For “after hours,” of course.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
Awarding and launching a new project is such an exciting part of the job. It holds the promise of something interesting and meaningful being created.

Least favorite?
I don’t have one. There’s the stuff I love doing and comes naturally and then everything else just falls into the “it’s part of the job” bucket.

Postmates

What is your most productive time of day?
The crack of dawn.

How has your studio pivoted to working from home during the COVID-19 crisis?
Very gracefully. We were able to convert all existing jobs into remote-access jobs within a day. And within one week of quarantine, we established a new pipeline and protocol for projects happening during this time.

Our Flame artists, animators, CG artists, designers, engineer and producers are all set up for remote server access, and we’re using the same sets of connectivity software that everyone is using to keep communication channels fluid.

Any tips for those in a similar position?
Don’t be afraid of change. See it as an opportunity to optimize modes of working and challenge your thinking.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
Landscaping, Pilates, taking photos, traveling. Wait, was the question what would I do if I didn’t need a job?

Bush Beans

Can you name some recent clients?
We just completed a project 100% produced during quarantine with Carmichael Lynch for Bush’s Beans as well as a visually striking campaign for Coors Banquet out of Mekanism, directed and shot by Janusz Kaminski. We’ve also just completed projects for North Carolina Education Lottery, Postmates and Credit One.

What are three pieces of technology you can’t live without?
My iPhone, my MacBook Air and my new steam cleaner. It’s a game-changer for quarantine cleaning.