Growing a Post Production Business

Happy Creations - On The Go!

Building Happy Creations: Reliability, Friendliness, and Speed in Post-Production

Since Star started her Master’s program and stepped back from day-to-day work at Happy Creations, I’ve been reflecting on how our company began. What started as a leap from

being an assistant editor at a major Toronto post-production house has grown into a career built on independence, creativity, and client trust.

Starting Happy Creations

Back in 2011, Star and I launched Happy Creations with little more than ambition and a short contact list. We relied on cold calling and persistence, reaching out to producers I remembered from my Rooster days, but for the most part, we were starting from scratch.

Our first big break came when Grip gave me a chance to support their newly formed in-house post-production team. I helped them transition from Final Cut 7 to Adobe Premiere Pro and stepped in as backup for their lead editor whenever needed. That early opportunity opened the door for everything that followed.

Growing Through Relationships

As team members came and went at Grip, my network grew with them. Producers brought me with them to their new agencies, I found new clients, expanded my experience, and began to build momentum for Happy Creations.

I realized that no matter how skilled I became, my success depended on the relationships I maintained (and remaining top of mind). My focus was always to be reliable, friendly, and fast. These three qualities shaped the way I worked and defined the culture of our company.

👆 How to remain top of mind.

Lessons That Shaped My Work

I learned reliability at Rooster, where the pace was fast and communication was critical. My role was to keep everything moving smoothly and make sure all the different players were aligned.

I learned how to be friendly from Star. She’s a generous and caring person, and we took that attitude into our business. Friendliness helped us maintain long-term relationships with clients, creating a calm and professional workflow where people felt taken care of.

I learned speed from my clients. Many shared horror stories about freelancers who were uncommunicative, unresponsive, and slow. I found that simply doing what I promised, when I promised it, was the key (even though that seems obvious). And when I can deliver even faster, clients are delighted.

Looking Ahead

Building Happy Creations from the ground up has been deeply rewarding. Now I am reflecting on how I can take the next step in my career. I see opportunities as a post-production supervisor or consultant, helping other companies create and manage their own in-house post-production teams.

There is no secret formula. Success comes from being reliable, friendly, and fast. That has always been the foundation of Happy Creations, and it will continue to guide how I work with clients in the future.

Look at their chins!