Alana Mitnick

Interview

Oct 1

producing commercials, mindfulness, and personal boundaries

Alana Mitnick is a freelance commercial producer.

She was born and raised in Los Angeles. Though she acted in commercials as a kid, she knew from a young age that she preferred to be behind the camera. After four years at Northwestern, Alana returned to the sunny skies of LA to climb the production ladder.

And climb she did!

Over the last 14 years, she’s worked all over the world and overseen budgets ranging from $15,000 to $5 million. She’s produced spots for Nike, Target, Prudential, Corona, Lexus, and Old Spice, to name a few.

She’s also worked on a few PSAs. The most rewarding spots were the “Ignite” PSAs for Prettybird directed by Megan Park, which also won Bronze Lions at Cannes.

Outside of her day job, giving back has always been a top priority for Alana. She's been a member of Junior League of Los Angeles (JLLA) for 10 years, served as a wish-granter for Make-A-Wish in LA, and recently joined the advisory board of ManifestWorks, an amazing non-profit that gives job opportunities to those impacted by foster care, homelessness, and incarceration.

I’ve spoken at a few of their panels and hired graduates from their program on my sets. It’s truly incredible!

What I love about Alana is her endless curiosity for learning and that she finds time for EVERYTHING. I have no idea how she does it.

Three years ago, feeling the need for a space so she could authentically build relationships and network with women in production, Alana started HER, which stands for Helping Eachother Rise, to bring women in entertainment and advertising together in a meaningful way. It’s actually how we met!

In this week’s chat, we break down the world of commercial producing, explore mindfulness on set, and discuss the importance of setting personal boundaries.

Tune in!

xx cg

"Having that balance of space is so important, especially with what we do, because when you're on, you're on and you don't get a chance to turn it off. I mean, that's our job, right? We make sh*t happen."

-Alana Mitnick

Episode Transcript

FemaleCommercialFreelanceProducerManagerAdvertisingMindfulnessIndieStudioAgencyNon-Profit

Michelle LeClerc

Michelle strives to add context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of design. Recently served as the Creative Director at Beutler Ink, a strategic creative agency specializing in research, writing, and design. Michelle has developed design and data visualization for social justice organizations like Campaign Zero, Be a Hero, and Yale’s The Justice Collaboratory and Freedom Reads. In 2017, she created the data visualization for Elizabeth Warren’s book, This Fight is Our Fight, a #1 New York Times bestseller. In 2019, on behalf of Campaign Zero, she led the data visualization for the first police scorecard in the US, which sought to identify urgent issues surrounding police accountability and propose best-practice solutions. Michelle’s commitment to quality design extends from the office to the classroom—she teaches Infographic Design at Temple’s Tyler School of Art.

Alana Mitnick

producing commercials, mindfulness, and personal boundaries

"Having that balance of space is so important, especially with what we do, because when you're on, you're on and you don't get a chance to turn it off. I mean, that's our job, right? We make sh*t happen."

-Alana Mitnick

Natalie Metzger

Natalie Qasabian