Behind the Vision: Stephanie Mettler
Meet Stephanie Mettler, Coordinating Producer for ASR Media Productions. From a young age, Stephanie enjoyed making fun videos with family and friends. She expanded on her after-school entertainment with a media creation class in high school, realizing her passion for video while creating music videos and other short productions. Stephanie has always appreciated the creativity of video-making and when she realized it was a possible career, she was sold.
Attending Northampton Community College for two years out of high school and graduating with an associate’s degree in communications, Stephanie went on to Temple University and pursued a B.A. in Media Studies and Production. While at Temple, she enjoyed the elements of video production. In a favorite class, documentary filmmaking, Stephanie created a 15-minute movie. It was her first time interviewing on camera and she recalls it being extremely nerve-wracking. She powered through her anxiety and began honing her interview skills.
One of the more memorable projects from her time at Temple was a documentary created in partnership with a local Philadelphia soup kitchen, But You Considered Me. It told the story of how the organization positively impacted the lives of the homeless population in the city. This was her first opportunity to work with a crew and have the freedom to develop and capture the story. She gained real-life experience and felt reassured that she chose the right career. Little did she know at the time the documentary was similar to the stories she’d help tell at ASR.
Telling a story with feeling and emotion is impactful and as a producer, Steph figures out the best ways to make that happen. Realizing how intimidating it is to be interviewed, Stephanie does her best to make the guests more comfortable by making the experience conversational and informal. She knows that helping the interviewee remain calm can make or break an interview.
As a producer, Stephanie closely partners with clients to achieve their video goals. She enjoys taking them on a journey to transform initial ideas into fully produced pieces. There is a rewarding feeling from watching event videos that she produced, air in front of hundreds of people, knowing how hard she and the team worked.
Stephanie believes the most important part of producing is clear communication with clients to ensure everyone stays on the same page. Stephanie really enjoys producing stories that tug on viewer heartstrings featuring inspirational journeys to success.
A typical day for Stephanie consists of writing scripts, creating production plans, and scheduling filming dates and interviews. When a video moves to editing, she ensures editors have all the assets and information necessary to make a client’s vision come to life. After internal reviews, Steph sends a video link to the client and coordinates until all edits are completed. She enjoys nothing more than receiving an “approved” email from a happy client!