Interview with Executive Producer Josie Mitchell

Josie Mitchell is a UK-born and bred executive producer living in Hong Kong. Her previous career as an early years teacher took her from the UK to Thailand and Hong Kong before turning her hand to producing. She now runs Treacle, a creative agency with studios in Hong Kong and Bangkok. Over the past ten years, she’s produced award-winning ad campaigns, large format LED installations around the world, a feature-length documentary and an educational series for the BBC. Along with her animation director brother and their team of talented animators in Bangkok, she is now producing Berry the Bear – a gentle educational YouTube channel for young learners. 

Berry the Bear is a step away from the more chaotic content flooding your kids’ screens. Berry is designed with kids’ (and parents’) wellness in mind, so as not to not give mum and dad a headache or induce tantrums. It’s here to provide a safe and trustworthy educational viewing experience for adults and children alike. 

It’s wonderful to share Josie’s creative life with you on the blog.

1. Describe a typical day for you?

I feel incredibly lucky to live in a slightly remote, beautiful village on an outlying island in Hong Kong, called Lamma. I wake up to a view of my mango tree and the sea beyond with the sound of birds singing. This morning I found an adorable tree frog in my living room which I carefully released in the garden. I start the day by feeding my rabbit and taking my dog for a walk along a nature trail, keeping a keen eye out for snakes before settling down to work from my home studio. My work day is usually spent developing episode ideas for Berry the Bear, ensuring the scripts align with key development goals for young learners and then recording the voice-over track for our animators to begin creating the episode. When the animation is complete, it gets a final review from me before going online. 

2. What do you feel are your greatest achievements?

I’m really proud of everything we have accomplished with our creative agency, we’ve created a diverse range of content for large clients around the world. My proudest achievements are the projects that give voice to issues that speak to my heart. Projects such as The Helper Documentary, a feature-length documentary shining a light on foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. The Helper achieved great success in Hong Kong cinemas, all while raising money for local charities that provide support to these wonderful women who sacrifice so much to help their children have a better life.

My passion for teaching is still strong so I’m over the moon to be creating a series that seeks to enrich the development of young learners. Being in a position to be able to combine my two loves, education and producing, feels like a wonderful achievement! 

3. What’s in your handbag/ satchel?

Living in a remote village with no shops or vehicles, I’m forever toting a backpack so that I can bring home groceries from the city whenever I venture out. I pack my bag with the hot humid HK weather in mind so it always has tissues, wet-wipes, water, an umbrella and suncream. There’s usually the odd dog treat or poop bag floating around as well.  

4. What are your ambitions in life?

I’m beginning a masters in counselling this summer and I hope to incorporate what I learn into producing content that helps foster mental wellness in young people. 

5. What do you wish you’d known at the start of your career you now know?

Producing can be a hard slog! Production in general has high levels of burn-out so I’d wish I’d known how to better manage my time (and energy) and known how and when boundaries needed to be put in place.

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

In 5 years time, I hope to have built an engaged community of parents, teachers and kids for Berry the Bear. I plan to develop a suite of enrichment activities so that children can learn with Berry online and offline. We’re currently working on an educational app and plan to partner with toy producers to create STEM and creativity based toys. 

7. What advice would you give a budding producer?

A producer’s greatest asset is their social skills and their network. So get out there and meet people, make friends and help connect other people. Producing can be an arduous job physically and mentally so you need to be passionate about what you’re working on to avoid burnout. Get involved in a range of projects so that you can find the type that gets your blood pumping and gives you a sense of pride. 

8. Finally, happiness is…

Nature. Stepping barefoot in grass, on sand or in the sea gives me an immense feeling of connection and grounding that brings me such joy. I love drawing on the calm and healing benefits of nature when developing episodes for Berry the Bear.