Founder of NM Productions Anissa Payne talks a charmed life. From Production Powerhouse… to Countryside Calm.. and the Birth of Pintsized Studios

Anissa Payne doesn’t walk into a room. She zips in, wraps up a shoot, books the next three, answers 20 questions, and still manages to make you feel like the most important person in the world. She’s a creative hurricane packed into a 5ft-something frame..a pocket rocket, a fierce aficionado.

She’s built NM Productions into a globally respected creative powerhouse. And now, in her latest pivot, she’s found something surprising: some stillness. Not in her work, but in her life..in a stable in the countryside no less.

And somehow, this shift has fuelled one of NM’s most exciting new ventures yet: Pintsized Studios, a fast-turnaround, social-first production arm built for the speed of today’s digital world.

Having spent years nearly continuously flying around the globe for high-end productions, from Citi Bank and Adidas to Hilton and Pepsi, Anissa has now moved to the countryside near Leeds, choosing Yorkshire as her new home base and splitting her time between this newfound calm and the frenetic energy of the office in London or on a shoot, settling back into her familial roots. The decision wasn’t a retreat from ambition; it was a strategic move toward clarity and longevity.

Her routine now includes regular weekly visits to a local stable. She mucks out a horse she helps care for, tacks up, and rides out.. with… no phone (WHAAAAAT?)... no noise… just breath and motion. It’s the only place she’s fully unreachable, and that’s the point.

“It’s my digital detox. I step out of the constant comparison trap that we all get into, no? Are we doing enough? Are we matching XYZ? Are we optimising every moment of the day to continue the growth of the company?   I took a side step to just breathe and that break has been pivotal to the business , and my wellbeing.”

This move hasn’t just been strategic. It’s been necessary. During our conversation Anissa referenced at least three times the impact her constant travel and intense shoot schedule was having on her body. Alluding to a culmination of impact of a relentless timetable that saw her ‘on the road’ more than she was actually in the UK.  But make no mistake, Anissa’s not completely slowing down. She’s speeding up smarter. A clued up Founder knows that there is no merit in burnout and to be optimal you must manage your energy and your cortisol levels in order to level up higher.

Enter Pintsized Studios, NM’s newly launched division designed specifically for nimble, social-first content. Think fast-turnaround, smart crew, compact budgets, big impact.

“Not every shoot requires us to shut down a city street” she laughs. “Sometimes, you just need smart, beautiful content turned around in a flash, and we’ve always known how to do that. It's the foundation of what NM was built on. ”

Pintsized combines the agility of a boutique crew with the creative rigor of NM’s big-budget standards. From TikToks and Instagram Reels to quick-hit campaign edits, the new division is built for briefs that move at the speed of social… (hah see what we did there!) designed specifically for clients who want their content yesterday. Both NM and Pintsized pride themselves on being your problem solving partner, with the creativity of the production approach being just as valued and important as the execution of the creative idea.

Recent standout credits from the NM family include high-impact work for Range Rover, One & Only Hotels, Adidas, Kroger, Hilton featuring Lando Norris, and Pepsi, and Pintsized is ready to apply that same production DNA to a new generation of content.The exceptional level of output and work is a given, but what has really inspired us at emPOWER is Anissa’s intentional move, splitting her time between a more peaceful environment and London, in order to create balance. Anissa doesn’t come with an ‘Off’ switch so it's a brilliant and necessary selfcare move, to have moved! 

We wanted to find out more about this dynamic and motivated Founder, what it takes to run a successful global production service company, and the roots that have caused the offshoot with Pintsized…with Anissa behind it we know it’s going to be a success… Let’s dive in!!

You mentioned the health impacts that you were experiencing from your frankly brutal schedule. Did this inspire the move from the city to the countryside?

100% ! Given our model and our ability to adapt to different jobs, we have been fortunate enough to be busy and even more fortunate to keep growing year on year. I always thought I wanted to have this big business with lots of people, but I quickly found that I was highly mistaken! The constant travel, being available to clients and talent 24/7 as well as managing a much larger staff in combination with being on the hamster wheel of London really started taking its toll on me to the point where I actually didn’t want to have a production company anymore. I worked so hard to build NM to get it to where it is today so having that thought even cross my mind, I knew that something drastically needed to change. 

How has living in Yorkshire changed your day-to-day mindset?

I feel much calmer… like I can breathe again. Everything is much slower in the North, people stop to say hello to each other, help each other out. My friends are close by and it's much easier to pop out for lunch with them or go on a dog walk. Something to just break the pace when the day is getting too much. I also don’t feel guilty switching off in moments during the working day up here. There was something in the air in London which made me feel I needed to be constant, morning, noon and evening, Monday - Sunday. I couldn’t even do a workout session without checking my phone. 

Tell us about the stable, how did that ritual begin?

I used to ride when I was around 12-15 years old and then stopped as I got older and moved away from England. I picked riding back up in the last 2-3 years as an attempt to have a bit of headspace as I thought you can’t really answer your phone sat on half a ton of unpredictable animal. When we moved up to Leeds, I found a stable about 5 minutes from my house that offered “loan horses”. It’s basically where owners want some help with their horses 2-3 times a week which includes stable work, feeding, turn out and of course riding. It’s a commitment as it’s about 2-3 hours out of my day for all that but it’s a commitment I need to keep as both the owner and the horse rely on me those days of the week. It’s easy enough to just cancel a lesson if work gets too hectic but with this I have an obligation and if you know me, you know I don’t like letting people down or breaking my word.

Why is leaving your phone behind during rides so important?

Horses are BIGGG, very easily spooked and also feed on energy. Contrary to belief, there is also a lot more that goes into it than just sitting, kicking and pulling on the reins. There is a lot to think about in terms of position, how you move and for me at least personally, it requires thought and focus. 

If I am really honest, I actually enjoy leaving the phone behind even if I am just shovelling s**t in a stable or filling some haynets. The stable is set on this beautiful hill with incredible views with gorgeous red kites constantly flying overhead. It’s very grounding during the hectic day. (god I feel old saying that!) 

Has it taken you time to adjust? Tell us about your new pace.

Honestly, no. I think the move came at the right time. I still travel just as much and coming home to a calm pace has been invaluable.

What were the biggest challenges of launching NM Productions as a Female Founder?

Sadly, the world has always been a boys club. I started NM when I was around 24/25 years with the face of a 16 year old standing at 5ft nothing in height. People would barely give me the time of day to say what I needed to say, let alone give me a job. I have been described as both being “a dog with a bone” and having “the gift of the gab” Tenacity and not taking no for an answer has brought us to where we are. 

Have those challenges changed, or evolved over time?

There are challenges in every business and they are constant. I can honestly say hand on heart that in the past few years I have not felt that being a woman has hindered us in any way. I don’t claim to be an expert on things that I don’t know about, but on the flip side, I will stand my ground and fight our corner on the things that we do know about. I think having that mentality has alleviated a lot of challenges. I also think the calibre of work we have done at NM speaks for itself and if you want to work with us, we will deliver to a high standard and have a laugh doing it. Our approach has always been a no bullshit approach.

How do you personally manage the “comparison crisis” that’s so common in our industry?

A good friend once said “face your front”. Focus on what you are doing, where you are going and what you are going to do to get there. 

What boundaries have you set to protect your personal time?

I have always notoriously responded to anyone and everyone immediately, no matter the time or circumstances. It’s easy in this industry for lines to get blurred and I have learnt it’s important to keep space to protect your own energy. 

What excites you most about Pintsized Studios?

I really want to diversify the kind of work we do and over the years we have been approached for branded or long form content. It’s the direction we've been wanting to go in and I think that Pintsized is well positioned to take on that kind of work.

What kinds of brands or content are the perfect fit for Pintsized?

We’ve picked up a fair bit of work for sports brands through NM which I think would be well suited to the Pintsized model. However I think that generally any clients who want small talented splinter teams to show up with minimal kit and capture great content then Pintsized is for you.

How do you balance the fast-turnaround model with maintaining high creative standards?

It’s all about the teams. You don’t always need a  massive crew and flashy gear to create incredible content. We work with some great videographers and editors who work fast and deliver amazing work.

What challenges did you hit aiming to build a team that can do both ‘big and small’?

It’s important to me that my team knows about everything going on in the business at all times. We always start them off small, knowing how to deliver quality without the big budgets to fall back on. That’s how I started. You have to learn to be resourceful and gritty and think on your feet. If you can do small and nimble, then scaling up to big is somewhat easier. The challenge with big is more people, more budget, more moving parts to think about. The challenge is ensuring they are thinking about every little facet at all times.

In what ways has being outside of London helped your leadership style?

I like to think it has promoted independence and autonomy in how my team works. Being less accessible to them, means they can’t just spin around in their chairs in the office and ask me questions constantly. It encourages them to lean on one another, those more senior to take on more of a leadership and mentoring role and also makes them more resourceful and critical in their own work before sending things out the door. 

Where do you feel most yourself, in a client pitch, on set, or in the saddle?

I feel myself in all those environments, as they are all different versions of me. The key however is feeling grounded and settled in myself during those times, that makes the difference. 

Anissa’s story is not one of compromise. It’s about intention. She’s producing iconic campaigns, still pushing creative boundaries… but now, she’s doing it with her boots sometimes firmly in the mud, not just on set!

And with Pintsized Studios, she’s offering a model that reflects the same ethos: agility with integrity, speed with substance, and creativity with care.

Sometimes, it turns out, the best ideas don’t come from always being “on.” They come from turning the phone off, mucking out a stable, and riding out into the morning mist with nothing but space to think.