We recently connected with Felicity LuHill and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Felicity thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

While I was lucky enough to have attended one of the best film schools in the world — USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program — a major lesson I’ve learned since graduating is that producing largely can’t be learned in the classroom. While school is great for learning the basics, producing out in the world, where the environment is no longer controlled, is a very different experience. Like so much in life, experience is so much more useful than what you read in a book. Nothing can prepare you for putting out the proverbial “fires” like doing the real thing.

In my experience, the most essential skill of being a producer is staying calm under pressure — whether you have to negotiate a contract, change locations last minute, or find a sub crew member the day of a shoot — the best thing you can do in any time-sensitive, high-stress situation is remain calm. Not only is this important for getting the work done, but you have to remember that what you do, how you behave and how you react, will set the tone for the rest of your crew. Your crew needs to be able to work together, feel confident and inspired. Acting in a frenzy simply will not help.

Second to being level-headed is a can-do attitude. As a producer, if you enter a project a defeatist, the project simply will not get done. There will always be a million roadblocks, and your job is to figure out how to get rid of them or find a way around them. There is always a solution, the fun part is discovering what it is.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I decided to launch Lucky Envelope Productions because I was noticing that there is a lot of IP surrounding Asian American artists and creatives that is simultaneously so compelling and successful in its own right, and yet has gone completely untouched by American studios and production companies. I’ve always been an avid reader and I’ve personally come across a wide range of literary and commercial books that encompass profound, funny, and unique AAPI perspectives with a great deal of fans. Unfortunately, somehow after the gargantuan successes of Asian stories in film and television in recent years, these books have largely gone unnoticed or dismissed. My mission is to bring these stories into the spotlight.

I am the proud biracial daughter of a Chinese immigrant, and for this reason I’ve always been captivated by stories of those on the fringes. Those who feel like they are both “in” and “out” of where they are supposed to be, feeling like you could belong anywhere and yet feeling like you fit in nowhere. At its core, I believe this is the Asian American experience. With the news cycle being what it is these days, I think Asian Americans are toeing this line now more than ever.

I’m a writer by trade, and for this reason, I will always be a storyteller first, and business owner second. I’m here to lift others’ voices up. I want to work with other creatives and make your story heard.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I believe the most rewarding aspect of both producing and writing will always be the work itself. It’s not the reaction of those who see it or even you seeing the final product yourself, because undoubtedly you will find flaws in your own work and praise will always be met with suspicion. But the work itself — the getting up everyday and wrapping up a scene that you’ve been agonizing over or getting the perfect crew together or getting the edit just right — that’s where the joy lies. The puzzle-piece solving to get the story where you want it to be.

When everything goes wrong and it’s your job to make it right, and you enjoy yourself doing it — that’s when you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to do.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think it can be difficult for non-creatives to understand the multi-hyphenate. There’s a natural inclination to categorize and categorizing creatives is no different. I think much of the time, however, we’re all just storytellers, and as we move through the world, we’re discovering new ways to tell stories. I believe that trying to pigeonhole someone into a specific category can be a disservice because every person, and every trade they were brought up in, will give them a unique perspective that can bring something refreshing to a project. A trained writer will view a script very differently from a trained actor, but if given the opportunity, they could both find compelling and engaging ways to direct if that’s something they want to do.

I personally have been met with a lot of head-scratching when discussing my journey from writer to producer, but, for me, it makes perfect sense. Producing is another aspect of storytelling. There’s greater autonomy, and with it more logistics and higher stakes, but that’s what makes it fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.luckyenvelopeproductions.com/
• Instagram: charming.endeavors

Image Credits

Dwight Hill