We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Francesca Roger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Francesca below.

Alright, Francesca thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

“Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see” is a quote from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. This quote is a bittersweet epiphany: “What am I currently doing that will leave a mark on the world no matter how big or small?” For me, it is important to be a creative vessel for visionaries and be a part of the process of bringing a vision to life. Whether it is my vision or someone else’s, stories or ideas deserve to be seen in any artistic form. My favorite form to tell a story is through films or photos.
Ever since I can remember, my dad always carried around his VHS camera and documented all our family’s memories. This was so special to me because the older I got, I started to realize that life is just a collage of memories that are built of laughter, sadness, and loved ones. Then it hit me why my dad always wants to take pictures/videos because it’s a physical copy of a memory or story that you can replay when you want to remember that feeling you experienced in that exact moment.
My career makes a lot of sense when I just put it that way. I’m a producer for a production company for zimo media where we help companies tell their stories. Producing has become one of my favorite journeys so far throughout my creative journey that started back when I was 10 years old making little short films on Windows Movie Maker.
Fast forward 17 years later, just a 27-year-old girl who suffers from anxiety, I found a way to take my overthinking thoughts on every possibility that can go wrong and put it into producing. Producers are truly the vessels of any project making sure that the vision is coming to life from step A-Z. In my case, this is one way I plant my seed of legacy is by being a part of that process to help tell someone’s story, and that “story” is the beautiful flower that blooms after long periods of watering it with love.

Francesca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Francesca but I mainly go by Franny or Franny tings and I got into the world of production roughly 6 years ago when I started studying Film in Miami Dade College in 2018 after 3 years of switching my major I finally landed on film and it’s been my life ever since. My love for production started back when I was 10 years old making short films and music videos on Windows Movie Maker. I always loved getting VHS or DVDs because of the exclusive “Behind the Scenes” editions. It didn’t hit me that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life until I changed my major to film.
I started interning for HGAB Studios in 2019 where I started editing and producing content for their social platforms, website, and events. My internship then blossomed into a full-time position as “Head of Productions” where I brought clients’ visions to life from point A-Z. My journey at HGAB truly helped me gain confidence in all my skills and the team helped me with all my passion projects. This leads me to “Franny Tings” and how I started to be my own creator.
Within my journey, I started creative directing photo concepts, making short films, and started 2 podcasts “Franny Tings” and Iconic and Irrelevant which led to magazine publications and short film festival awards! All of these creations are lead by “Franny Tings” AKA me. I then carried my expertise into a production agency called “zimo media”.
I am currently the Head of Productions and Social Operations at zimo media where I get to produce productions for companies such as IPIC, SLS Hotels, and Fontainebleau. We’re a vibrant crew of creatives bursting with fresh ideas to make sure your brand’s story isn’t just told… but felt and shouted from the rooftops for everyone to hear. And yeah, maybe we’re a little extra…but we get the job done.
Overall, I am extremely grateful to the network I have gained from this journey and can’t wait to see what new skills I learn along the way and the projects I help bring to life.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Managing a team is one of my favorite parts of the job because it makes me feel good when the team feels good, as cliche as it sounds. Something I take pride in as a leader is ensuring everyone understands their day-to-day workflows and feels confident in taking these tasks into their own hands. The way I help do this is by creating protocols based on their findings. When I first stepped into my role as operations manager, I made sure to have one-on-one meetings with the whole team to give me insight into their workload. With this information, I was able to build systems that revolve around “less thinking” and more doing. I know that sounds silly, like what do you mean less thinking?
An example of this is a colleague of mine who would copy and paste an email thread when sending a similar email but this requires finding the email and then adjusting the words once coped to the new email thread. Instead, I used our project-managing website called “Asana” and created an “Email Templates” board where all email templates live. This is a direct way of not having to think and just knowing where you can find this template.
With that being said, making sure your team is set up for success is KEY and ensuring they are feeling good about their workload, thinking less, and checking in on their mental health. Everyone faces issues in life but your team must have the right head space to take on their work duties. Something we do at zimo every Monday is “Synergy Sessions” where everyone shares motivation for the week, life updates, and work updates. This helps us align with our team not only for work but where everyone is at mentally.
Overall, a good leader should be understanding and provide all the tools to make the team’s workload smooth which leads to confidence in their day to day tasks.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is getting to be a part of bringing someone’s vision to life. If you are not in the world of production, each project can take months from pre-production to post-production which is why it’s so rewarding once you do see the final product because when you are in the thick of it, it feels very overwhelming which you can forget how cool your job is. Whenever I see the final results of a project the team worked SO hard on and dedicated lots of hours to, it makes me so emotional because a collective of amazing creators came together and made this EPIC visual.
It truly takes and village and I am so happy to be a member or shall I say a RESIDENT of this village <3

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/Frannytings
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frannytings/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescaroger/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@iconicandirrelevant?si=gi0oaJRjETvCTppy

Image Credits

Jade Lilly, Isabella Zisman, HGAB Studios, zimo media