Havas Lofts Experience: A Diary from Manchester to Prague
Recently, our Manchester-based Senior Editor and Technical Coordinator, Chris Johnson, left the bustling streets and vibrant energy of his home base for the historic locales and cobblestoned alleys of Prague for a four-week stay, joining the POP team on the ground there. This was part of an opportunity to participate in the Havas Lofts program, a global learning experience designed to give employees across Havas insight into how the network operates across many countries and cities. The initiative fits perfectly with POP’s borderless approach, which allows us to offer the best expertise to our clients while fostering cultural connections between diverse people and places.
With over 13 years of experience in post-production, Chris combines a sharp attention to detail with hands-on technical expertise, helping shape and deliver high-quality content across a range of projects. Working across both creative and technical disciplines, he collaborates closely with teams to solve problems, refine processes, and maintain consistent standards. He’s particularly interested in improving how teams work day to day — a goal in line with Havas Lofts — and finding smarter, simpler ways to get the best results all while supporting an environment where both creativity and technical skill can grow.
Here he shares how the day to day of this experience looked like, along with some fantastic local cultural tips.
Week 1: “Getting a feel for how the Prague team works”
My first week in Prague has been a mix of learning about the studios workflows and exploring such a beautiful city that feels like it’s straight out of a film. At work, I’ve been diving into how the team handles localisation and versioning, the system for tracking time (AirTable) and how they are slowly introducing Workfront into projects. I’ve also picked up some great After Effects tricks, using plugins and preset scripts to speed up their day to day, all the way from project set up to exports (definitely bringing those back home).
The people here have made day one nerves disappear pretty quickly. I met the whole video team straight away and ended up celebrating a birthday on my first day with cake and prosecco on their beautiful roof terrace — not a bad welcome! Everyone’s been super open and collaborative, especially Kryštof for providing a project workflow masterclass, and it’s been great getting a feel for how the Prague team works.
Outside the studio, Prague city has been stunning in the sunshine. I clocked over 50,000 steps across the weekend wandering through Old Town, across Charles Bridge, and up toward Prague Castle. It feels like there’s a beautiful part of history around every corner. My highlights have to be seeing the castle lit up at night and (apart from the climb) the Great South Tower in St. Vitus Cathedral for unreal views across the red rooftops. I also took time to slow things and rest my feet with a morning at Hostivař Dam. Safe to say week one has set the bar pretty high.
Week 2: “Settling into a nice routine”
After a whirlwind first week, week two in Prague has been all about settling into a nice routine, both in the studio and out in the city.
On the work front, my focus shifted entirely to UK-based projects. With the Prague studio in the middle of migrating systems to Adobe Workfront, this gave the local team one less distraction. It was a fast-paced week, and I joined multiple pitch projects and exciting briefings. Working on tasks for the Manchester office allowed me to stay fully productive for the home team while letting Prague manage their migration in peace. Near the office, I found a local Lahůdky (deli) where I sampled a few different traditional Chlebíčky (open sandwiches) which were delicious.
Outside of work, I ticked off more iconic tourist stops to explore Prague’s history and viewpoints. I dove into the moving history of the Jewish Quarter and admired the patterned facade of Schwarzenberg Palace. Seeking higher ground, I trekked up Petřín Hill and climbed the tower for a fantastic view and spent a peaceful afternoon at the serene Vyšehrad fortress. I then visited a charming structure on Sunday, which had been built into an artificial cave at Grébovka. To top it all off, I caught an amazing view over the Vltava bridges from Letná Park and found my way back to a large beer festival which was just around the corner from my Airbnb.
Week 3: “A good mix of comfort zone and new perspectives”
Another busy week across both studios. With a bit of sickness in the Manchester team, I ended up fully booked with the home studio’s work, helping with a pitch and also building some assets for an existing client. It’s been interesting for both me and the team here to see the different projects and workflows again, along with conversations around the differences and similarities. Feels like a good mix of comfort zone and new perspectives.
Outside of work, there was still time to get a bit more stuck into Prague life. The producers took me out on Tuesday for a few drinks across some local bars, proper laid-back team bonding, and a great way to get to know everyone outside of the studio. I’ve also been spotting more of the city’s character during the week, from the rotating Franz Kafka head sculpture to the huge Vítkov Hilltop Memorial overlooking the skyline, Prague really does feel packed with surprises around every corner.
The definite highlight of this week though was getting out to Bohemian Switzerland National Park at the weekend. Starting in Hřensko, I spent the day on a long walk through forest trails and massive rock formations with some unreal views along the way. It was the perfect reset after a busy week and a pretty memorable way to wrap up my final weekend in Prague.
Week 4: “Ending things on a high”
My final week in Prague was a great mix of learning, team time, and wrapping things up properly. I got to sit down with Adi and Judita over lunch early in the week to talk through how they have been adapting to Adobe Workfront, including new features they have worked on, as well as the work they are doing creating a very exciting new project. It’s really useful to see how everything connects from a production point of view. Later in the week, Adi and Radek walked me through the upcoming project in more detail — a seriously impressive tool which has been built with atomisation, scale, and Vermeer in mind.
The team made sure to end things on a high too. We had a proper team building afternoon with a few activities around the local area in mixed groups, followed by a BBQ on the roof terrace. It was a great way to bring everyone together before the summer party, and a nice moment to reflect on the past few weeks with the team.
Outside of work, I kept things pretty relaxed. A few evening walks around central Prague, taking in the atmosphere one last time, and finding a bar to watch the Czech Republic’s second World Cup game with a pilsner in a traditionally Czech bar was a definite highlight. Friday wrapped up with a few final beers after work with Adam from the team before an early flight home on Saturday. Safe to say Prague has left a pretty strong impression and I will be back.
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