Spotlight on: Lydia Bowden

What do you do within the agency?

I produce, shoot and edit video content for Asda. The content is mostly step-by-step, food-based video, but sometimes we work with celebrity influencers and chefs for Asda’s Instagram and YouTube channels. I work in the digital team with an awesome group of people and together we collaborate to decide what the social calendar looks like and where video should slot into that to generate the best results.

Tell us how you got to where you are now….

I originally planned to be a writer, but then realised my grammar was atrocious – so my first job was at an agency doing project management. I wanted something more creative, so I started working in the social media team, writing content for clients like The Army and McDonald’s – but I liked the idea of being even more hands-on. When I moved to a different agency, they gave me a camera and asked me to make video content for their clients. I literally learned as I went along and picked up everything I know about shooting and editing from YouTube tutorials, learning from friends and asking tons of questions.

What does a typical day look like?

My days are always different – one day, I could be storyboarding a video about banana ice lollies, and the next, I’ll be editing a video of Scarlett Moffatt drinking gin. I work with all the video-editing software in the Adobe family – Premiere Pro and After Effects mostly, but I also dip into Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator to make sure the video ultimately has the right impact for the target audience, subject matter and overall objectives.

What is the most challenging part of your role?

As someone who is not mad about cooking when compared to others on the team, the initial challenge was to start understanding the processes of food. Both when I’m storyboarding and on shoots, I have to understand the steps and how the recipe works in order to do my job properly – which can be tricky at times. Thankfully, I work with wonderful foodies who explain.

What is the most rewarding part?

It’s got to be when you see a video you produced, filmed and edited go live. The Scarlett Moffatt video reached 73,891 people and with 36.7k views - the highest we’ve ever had on Asda’s IGTV (whoop whoop!). Plus, Scarlett posted one of my videos on her feed which had 154k views. In recent months, I’ve been filming lots of food videos in my kitchen due to Coronavirus – one of the videos has been our second-highest-performing food video on Instagram ever (!) with 1,720 likes, 77,630 reach and 984 recipe saves. It’s also great how much the demand for video has gone up – we now produce at least four times as many videos per month for Asda than when I first joined Hearst Content Agency. These are all amazing numbers, but it’s truly most rewarding when I send it to my mum on Instagram and she goes ‘You made that?’ – and then shows all her friends.

What’s next for you and your team? I imagine there are some exciting plans in the pipeline…

My shoot schedule is definitely ramping up which makes me very happy. We’ve also started working with influencers like Mimi Harrison and DJ BBQ. I’m really looking forward to editing more videos like this because I get to be a bit more wild and creative with it - like adding fun graphics and illustrations. The other day for example, I drew a UFO and some Parma Violets for a video.

What advice would you give someone trying to get into video production?

When I decided that this was what I wanted to do as a job, I had no portfolio, website or showreel. So I borrowed a camera from a friend, made up an idea for a series and started filming it (the series actually ended up receiving a Laurel from Pinewood Studios Lift-Off Sessions. That way, I had something solid to show employers when I went for interviews. My main advice is to just make something, whatever that is, and go from there. If you have a passion for something, it’s never too late to pick up a camera and start shooting your own projects – in my case, it ended up becoming my job!

Finally, when you’re not at work, what would we find you doing?

I love film so I go to the cinema constantly. I’m obsessed with playing video games like The Last of Us because I’m a big geek. I like drinking negronis and being outside swimming or camping, and I’m pretty active on my bike at the moment… but, then again, I could spend an entire day on the sofa watching Selling Sunset with Mamma Dough pizza (the best pizzeria in London, IMO) and be very content.