What exactly does a movie producer do

Duties & Responsibilities of a Movie Producer

From the Producers Guild of America:

• Conceived of the underlying concept upon which the production is based or involved at its inception.
• Selected the material upon which the production is based and secured necessary rights for development and production of the material.
• Selected the writer(s).
• Supervised and oversaw the development process.
• Secured the initial financing.
• Served as the primary point of contact for the studio and/or financing entity.

• Selected the director, co-producer and unit production manager.
• Selected the principal cast in consultation with the director.
• In consultation with the director, selected the production designer, cinematographer, editor and visual effects co.
• Participated in location scouting in consultation with the director.
• Supervised the preparation of the preliminary budget and approved and signed the final budget in consultation with the Co-Producer and UPM.
• Creatively involved in the final shooting script in consultation with the director and the writer(s) and approved and signed the final shooting script.
• Approved the final shooting schedule in consultation with the director.

• Exercised final approval of the deals for the principal components of the production.
• Provided continuous in-person consultation with the director and principal cast
• In collaboration with the director, provided in-person consultation with the production designer, art department, wardrobe, make-up and hair.
• In collaboration with the director, provided in-person consultation with the stunt coordinator and on mechanical effects (if applicable).
• Supervised "on-set” and on a continuous basis the day-to-day operation of the producing team and the entire shooting company.
• Approved the weekly cost report.
• Viewed the "dailies” and provided in-person consultation with the director, the editor, the studio and/or financial entity.

• Provided in-person participation on visual effects in consultation with the director, the studio or financial entity.
• Selected the composer in consultation with the director, and participated in-person with the composer and the director in the scoring process
• Provided in-person consultation with the editor along with the director, the studio or financial entity, and participated on the final cut of the motion picture.
• Consulted with the director and the editor during the preparation of the first cut that is shown to the studio/financial entity.
• Selected the music supervisor in consultation with the director, and participated in-person during the music recording sessions.
• Provided in-person consultation with the director on the re-recording stage.
• Provided in-person consultation with the director on the titles and opticals.
• Provided in-person consultation with the cinematographer, the director, the studio and/or financing entity on the answer print or edited master.
• Consulted on the media plan and materials, and the marketing and distribution plans for the motion picture.
• Consulted on the plans for exploitation of the motion picture in ancillary and foreign markets.

Activities of a Movie Producer

1. Prepares a good project which includes -
2. Select a brilliant script
3. Select a brilliant director
4. Cast box office worthy actors
5. Pitch the project to a studio or find finances or fund it himself or in partnership
6. Once finance is ready -
7. Work out shooting locations
8. Hire technicians like cinematographer, makeup, costume, stunts, choreography
9. Hire actors, extras
10. Book locations
11. Arrange transportation
12. Supervise filming
13. Once filming is completed -
14. Hire technicians and supervise post production including editing, vfx, background score, dubbing, color grading, mixing
15. Work out deals for distribution and release of the film and also for deals for satellite, digital and music rights
16. Arrange to get the final film certified and uploaded for release
17. Work out publicity and marketing of the film and get a good release with good screenings
18. For all this obviously he has a team including executive producer, line producers, lawyers, director, marketing advisors, trusted partners etc

From experience, there are two major types of producers that are popular (for an independent production):

• The creative producer, and
• The line producer.

The creative producer

This type of producer is the idea man. He not only has the ideas, but he hires the cast and crew, including the director to produce a film. His main function in the business is working with a screenwriter that he normally hires to develop his or her idea into a fully scripted film that is commercially viable. By commercially viable I mean able to be sold to the general public who will bring in the big bucks, and is a hit. He also organizes the financing of the film.

The line producer

This type of producer focuses more on the logistics of the production, such as:

• Permits (includes filming and location permits)
• Actor and crew release forms
• Facilitates the catering needs and the working needs of the cast and crew

etc, etc.

If however, the film has a huge production budget, then you are looking at Executive producers and may be even co-executive producers, but for the most part, the creative producer or the line producer is sufficient for independent movie productions.

A producer ususally gets the whole package together, delegates some of the responsibilities BUT ususally has the last word on :

-securing the capital-usually try not to use his/her own money

-dealing with the sources of the film’s capital especially if not using his/her own money

-securing and working close with the director (there have been some who tried to do both…) by reviewing the director’s filmed work (“the rushes”) and making helpful suggestions Might have to be the referee between the director and the actors, set designers, camera operators, costume designers

-securing the actors with discussions on salaries and extras…

-Securing the film on location site(s) if not filming in the studio

-the publicity campaign to sell the film to the public

-Other duties until the film is finished

-Attend the premiere

-Attend the Academy Awards ceremony and if the movie wins for Best Picture takes home the award for Best Picture …

Firstly, there are multiple types of producers, such as Line producer, executive producer, supervising producer, co-producer, producer, etc.

Each have their own tasks but for the sake of answering this question let’s stick to talking about what a producer does in general. Smaller films don’t have all the listed types above, but rather one or two producers sharing duties.

A producer’s duties include any or all the following:

• a producer is in charge of gathering crew members and assigning them roles and assigning the heads of different departments
• a producer is in charge of finding actors and organising casting calls
• a producer is the manager of a project, they’re in charge of approving everything and all communications
• a producer is in charge of finding/raising a budget for the film and then allocating it to the different departments accordingly
• a producer is in charge of catering to his/her set
• a producer is in charge of all paperwork and obtaining location permits. They have the crew contracts, the location approvals, any legal paperwork needed, etc.
• a producer is largely a problem solver. When things go wrong, you fetch the producer.
• a producer is in charge of distribution and marketing.
• some producers are the scriptwriters of their own films.
• some producers simply fund a film, those are known as executive producers.
• a producer organises meeting times, rehearsal times, pick up/drop off times etc etc.
• in short, a producer is in charge of all technical, organisational and business aspects of making a film. Sometimes, in the cases in which the story is theirs, they’re also involved in the creative aspect.
• a producer can fire anyone on set, in many cases, including the director.
• a producer oversees the project from start to finish. They’re the first person on set and the last person to leave the set. They’re involved in all stages of production (pre, production, and post).
• a producer sets deadlines for the departments. For example editors, scores, sound effects, when to cast the actors, etc.
• a producer is also, more often than not, keeping everyone in the dark about certain issues that arise until they’re fixed. They do a LOT of damage control.
• a producer is in charge of gathering sponsors
• a producer is in touch with everyone on set (unless it’s like, a big hollywood film, in which case people report to their head of department who in turn reports to the producer).

Now keep in mind that most times, a producer delegates some of the above tasks to other crew members, but that entirely depends on the size of the project, whether its a hollywood film, an independent film or a student film. And keep in mind, that it differs from set to set.

Here’s what that entails:

• Conceiving the movie’s premise, or securing the rights to a movie’s source material (a script or book to be adapted or someone’s life rights).
• Lining up initial financing.
• If there’s no script, hiring a screenwriter to bring the story to life and then working with that writer though a development process, which might mean bringing more writers on to the project.
• When the script is ready, hiring the creative team — which includes the director, cast and crew department heads.
• Once filming begins, supervising the day-to-day operations on set.
• And when the film is in post-production, working with the creative team on that end (editor, composer, visual effects supervisor), as well as people on the business side who are focused on marketing and distributing the movie.

And it’s not hard to see why the job title causes so much confusion. Such is vagueness of the term ‘producer’ that we’ve even met film producers who have struggled themselves to describe the job in a few concise sentences.

So as much as trying to define the term ‘film producer’ is akin to successfully nailing jelly to a wall, today we’re going to do just that and definitively explore:

What Exactly IS a Producer?

From the off, we can state that a producer wears many different hats during the course of a movie’s completion (and it’s for that reason that it’s tricky to sum up in just a few words.) That said, there are two hugely essential parts of the process that the producer nearly always takes sole care of:

Development: Long before pre-production can start, there naturally needs to be something to produce! It’s up to the producer to find and discover a story worth committing to celluloid—a property that they own—whether it comes in the form of an original screenplay, a novel that’s ripe for adaptation, or even the life story or personal tale from an interesting subject.

Of course, it’s not as easy as just reading a book, thinking “that’d make a good film,” then assembling the crew. A producer must initiate and enter into negotiations with whoever’s responsible for the source material, with the ultimate aim being to acquire the rights on their terms.

Financing: Once the film rights have been bought, the monetary fun doesn’t stop there. Producers are the ones who pitch the movie to studios (or their employer) in the hopes of securing financing, and thereafter managing said finances throughout the life of the production to make sure everything is delivered on time and on budget.

Even once the movie is in the can, the financing duties still aren’t over. Distribution of the final product also needs to be sorted out, and that’s squarely in the remit of the producer.

So A Producer Handles the Cash, Basically?

Not quite! It’s a large part of the job of being a film producer, but depending on personal style, he or she may get personally involved with a number of tasks.

The hiring of the director and screenwriting staff is nearly always handled by the producer, but from here things depart from the conventional. Depending on the scale of the project, the producer may wish to get involved with hand-selecting any or all members of team.

Sometimes, however, that is left in the care of the director. On multi-million dollar productions, practicality may dictate that a hierarchy of producers are required that the executive producer can delegate to. From top to bottom, the chain of command runs:

• Executive Producer
• Co-executive Producer
• Line Producer
• Supervising Producer
• Producer
• Co-producer
• Coordinating Producer
• Consulting Producer
• Associate Producer
• Segment Producer
• Field Producer
• Edit Producer
• Post Producer

How much the executive producer passes down the chain varies from movie to movie, but to make matters more complicated, the individual producer titles listed above also come with separate duties—for instance, a coordinating producer will organize scheduling and the division of labor, while a supervising producer may have a big hand in script rewrites and the edit producer will oversee post-production.

So Production Staff are Like Management?

It’s not quite as simple as that. While producers generally have the final say on anything they decide to get involved in, more often than not a good producer will hire professionals that can do their respective jobs without supervision so that they can focus on the bigger picture.

But as we all know, the creation process behind filmmaking is a very fluid one and subject to change at any given moment.

Sometimes, you’ve got to put the finance book down, roll your sleeves up, and get your hands dirty.

The Producer will often be the catalyst for the project themselves because they have written the script and want to have the movie made. If they don’t have connections or significant prior work, the only way to prove their ability is to produce the work themselves. They will take their own script or one they have agreed to produce and do the following:

• Find locations.
• File permits with city or town to shoot in the locations.
• Hire crew.
• Place ads for auditions.
• File paperwork with Screen Actors Guild for the film.
• File the film online with the Independent Movie Database (IMDB).
• Create a website for marketing.
• Create social media accounts to generate an early buzz.
• Secure financing – either through crowdfunding, other investors or themselves.
• Audition and hire actors.
• Hire a Director.
• Continue social media marketing.
• Work with Director and Director of Photography and writer about the direction of the script.
• Buy Insurance for the location/shoot/equipment.
• Hire an editor.
• Continue social media marketing.
• Complete the film through Post-production.
• Market the film through entering Film Festivals.
• Continue social media marketing.
• Travel and network to have that film distributed.

The list is not necessarily in this order and often the Producer will take on several of the other roles such as Director, one of the actors, the writer, etc.

Until the budgets and scope of films get larger, and more people get involved and the roles become more delegated, it is you, a few crew members and actors. The Movie Producer will do whatever it takes to get that film completed, edited and ready to be seen.

Ensuring that everyone has the tools and resources they need

I believe at its core a Movie Producer’s role is to ensure that everyone has the tools and resources they need to effectively execute their jobs.

This can range from financially backing the film to fighting operational problems on set. They are responsible for setting the tone of the entire collaboration from start to finish.

Their role is multi-faceted and will often end up wearing multiple hats to make sure everyone from technical to creative are able to do their job to the best of their abilities. They are a roadblock remover and enabler of action.

They are the Nick Fury to the Avengers, bringing together the superheroes to create an amazing end product.

Technical, creative, and investing

A common refrain, even among some movie producers, as to what a movie producer actually does, is that “no one knows,” and, while of course, this isn’t true, the varying nature, from job to job, can make the title ambiguous. Especially when a producer is someone who is credited for a reason that doesn’t involve additional input but, instead, is given the credit as a reward for longstanding service.

In my case, I’m doing literally everything, because of the micro-budget, independent nature of the films I make. This means paying for expenses out of pocket, organizing cast and crew, setting up shooting schedules, finding assets for editing, and feeding the cast and crew when it comes time to shoot. Since I’m also writing the things I produce, I’m a “creative producer,” as well.

The primary types of producers are technical (someone who knows the ins-and-outs of how to get a crew put together and generally how a film is made), creative (someone who has a creative input and knows the right creative brains to involved in the production and may also be a writer) and investing.

The latter is someone who pays for the actual production and gets a producer credit because they made it happen, and in some cases helps bring in other investors, either by setting an example or by actively seeking them out.

Responsibilities for each role may vary on individual projects

There are different kinds of movie producer jobs, and responsibilities for each role may vary on individual projects. Generally speaking, an Executive Producer may help with financing and/or bringing an instrumental component to the project.

The main Producer(s) are involved throughout the entire process from concept through creation through delivery. This process includes development (optioning, perfecting and shopping a script, attaching elements and finding funding), pre-production (hiring and overseeing all department heads, casting, crewing, budgeting, overall equipment and resources), principal photography (overseeing all production elements assuring the movie has the highest production value and comes in on schedule and budget), post-production (editing, music, color timing and delivery), marketing (which will happen throughout the entire process) and distribution (finding the best home where the movie connects with its audience).

A Line Producer manages the budget of a movie and oversees the day to day physical aspects of the shoot. Co-Producers and Associate Producers have varying producer-related responsibilities that are defined by each individual product.

A movie producer is a problem solver

Especially in the indie film world, a movie producer is a problem solver. Whether you’re producing a short film on depression and suicide or a web series about Latin culture, you’re the one that people come to whenever they need something. And that can literally be just about anything.

We’ve had to find new sets within days because our old sets got flooded because of rain. We’ve had to negotiate contracts, manage budgets, develop investor decks, plan and execute crowdfunding campaigns, and even drive actors in the dead of night after filming has concluded.

When you’re a producer, you have to be the swiss army knife of advocates for a project. No task is above you. You have to be ready to jump in however needed to help realize the vision of the film.

The more appropriate question would be “Is there anything a movie producer doesn’t do?”

I think it really comes down to where you sit in the layer cake and your function as a producer. Do you bring money to the table? Do you help organize cast and crew? Do you have good relationships with distributors?

I’m an indie film producer, so in my case, the more appropriate question would be “Is there anything a movie producer doesn’t do?“

To offer a detailed answer to your audience I will give an example of what I did as a movie producer on my most recent project “Standing Eight”.

For this particular project, I wrote the film, assembled key crew, cast, ran two successful Kickstarter campaigns. (In order to succeed in this particular fundraising front, I emailed everyone I knew, I bombarded my social media friends daily – almost begging them to donate, entertaining them with me singing, dancing, doing push-ups, and other silly things like this to entice potential donors and, somehow it worked. Twice. Once for production, once for the post.)

Fast forwarding to when we got the funds and start working, what did I do? I controlled the boards on our festival entries. I had to be the face of the franchise and go to as many festivals as financially possible.

After a successful run and eleven awards later, I prepared for release, but decided to do an extended cut; (Because that’s what we do as producers; we keep checking and checking and see if there is room for improvement), therefore, even though the film did so well in festivals, before releasing it to the world, I decided to do a new cut.

For the new version, I went again through all the dailies. Worked with two editors with all new selects to do a completely new version of the film. Worked with the sound designer. Recorded ADR and punch sounds (while on the set of another film).

I found an incredibly talented musician, Jase Harley to score and gives us the soundtrack. I oversaw numerous VFX shots and I sat in and on numerous color sessions until we got it right. I also put together all the promotional materials.

I think that covers most of it. So yeah, what don’t producers do?

The term “producer” is the most ambiguous word in the film business

In TV commercials (also known as very short movies), this is especially true. Commercials are initially created by advertising agencies but the agencies don’t actually make the little movies. Once a client (AT&T, Ford, Arby’s eg.) approves the idea, a film production company, built around one or more directors, is booked. The ad agency team generally consists of an account executive (deals with the clients), one or more writers, an art director, and a producer.

This “producer” oversees the whole process for the agency and deals with the production and post-production (editing) companies. The center of the production company team is the director.

There is an executive producer whose primary job is either writing the bids or overseeing a staff assistant who does the calculations. Some companies have “line” producers (more like production managers) on staff who do the actual producing of the jobs while others use outside, freelance, producers.

On really big jobs there will sometimes be staff and a freelance producer on board. In these cases, the staff producer handles the politics and the freelancer does the real producing.

And what, exactly, is that?

The line producer hires the crew (all of whom are freelancers), rents the stage or secures the location. In consultation with the key crew members, they rent the equipment, props, wardrobe, and special effects if needed, and oversee (but do not have input to) casting.

For distant locations, the producer arranges for the travel, lodging and other logistics for the production unit. The producer (line producer, freelance or staff) makes it all happen. They provide the director with the material and people he or she needs to put the movie on film. “Film” is by now an archaic term but until the digital revolution, it was nearly always filmed (sometimes videotape – now also obsolete).

The producer is also responsible for bringing the job in on, or preferably under, budget. And in commercials, the producer is the liaison between the ad agency and the production company with regard to budget overages, scheduling, and other logistical and political considerations.

When you work as a freelance producer in commercials, you really have three clients. This often makes the job politically hazardous.

Your first client, the company that hired you and pays your fee, is the production company. They give you a story-board, script, and budget and it is your job to get the commercial “in the can” within the constraints of that budget, into which you had no input.

In most cases, the person who wrote the budget was competing for the job and made it too low. In some cases, this person had no real field experience and overlooked necessities that cost money and/or underestimated the amount of time (money) it would take to get it done so the pressure is built into the job.

Your second client is the director. Line producers are mostly movie people, we have theatrical backgrounds and are trained or experienced in making movies. In feature films most directors come from this same mindset either through film school, job experience, being film editors, directors of photography or some discipline of that sort.

Commercial directors, on the other hand, generally come out of advertising or photography. They are often (there are exceptions) less secure in the craft than movie people and tend to “overshoot” to cover their asses. A personal example (true story) of this occurred for me on a mountainside in Arizona when an advertising agency guy said to me. “Can’t you make him stop shooting? We had this hours ago.”

The point is that your second client, the director (whom you were hired to support in the first place) is often the producer’s biggest headache when it comes to bringing the shoot in on budget.

The third client is the Ad agency producer who gave the job to your primary client in the first place and whom you usually need to “butter-up” a bit. In my experience, it is not unusual that they ask for things to be done that were not in the specs or the budget of the job so you have to negotiate budget overages.

As you see the pressure comes from multiple directions and, as the line producer, you have to handle all this while running the shoot itself, dealing with the crew and “talent”, the weather, the helicopter that’s late, the local Sheriff, etc., etc., etc. It’s not always an easy job.

The one person always involved in every stage of the process

A movie producer captains the ship of a film from start to finish – from the script to distribution. He or she is the one person always involved in every stage of the process.

Unlike the writer, who may only come on during development, forced(!) to hand off his or her baby to the director during the production process. Unlike the editor, who will likely just come in for production and post-production. Unlike even the director, who is usually hired by the producer to direct the film.

They are responsible for making the movie happen – for establishing financing, hiring the team, and ultimately looking out for the story. Of course, the director has the power during filming, but it’s the producer’s cut of the film, which the audience sees, not the director’s (this, of course, has led to numerous ‘director’s cuts’ being released at a later date.

Why does the producer get the final say? Because they have all the responsibility. The responsibility to investors in particular, which leads them to be the one who must navigate the treacherous waters of art vs business.

Responsibility to the story in the sense that they should strive to protect the writer’s work from being degraded in any way by a director or anyone else, whilst acknowledging any weaknesses in the script upon which others may ultimately improve.

Crucially, they must have a rare combination of excellent delegation skills and good taste. They must choose the right filmmakers for the job, and they must choose the right film to champion in the first place.

You have to have everything set up prior to making a film

Being a movie producer is not easy. You are responsible for finding funding for features. You are responsible for finding distribution and actors and putting together a team of cinematographers, finding locations, a director, etc.

If you have millions of dollars in the bank, you can make a movie. You can also even make a movie for 10k. There have been a lot of movies made under 40k that have been successful.

The one person always involved in every stage of the process

A movie producer captains the ship of a film from start to finish – from the script to distribution. He or she is the one person always involved in every stage of the process.

Unlike the writer, who may only come on during development, forced(!) to hand off his or her baby to the director during the production process. Unlike the editor, who will likely just come in for production and post-production. Unlike even the director, who is usually hired by the producer to direct the film.

They are responsible for making the movie happen – for establishing financing, hiring the team, and ultimately looking out for the story. Of course, the director has the power during filming, but it’s the producer’s cut of the film, which the audience sees, not the director’s (this, of course, has led to numerous ‘director’s cuts’ being released at a later date.

Why does the producer get the final say? Because they have all the responsibility. The responsibility to investors in particular, which leads them to be the one who must navigate the treacherous waters of art vs business.

Responsibility to the story in the sense that they should strive to protect the writer’s work from being degraded in any way by a director or anyone else, whilst acknowledging any weaknesses in the script upon which others may ultimately improve.

Crucially, they must have a rare combination of excellent delegation skills and good taste. They must choose the right filmmakers for the job, and they must choose the right film to champion in the first place.

ou have to have everything set up prior to making a film

Being a movie producer is not easy. You are responsible for finding funding for features. You are responsible for finding distribution and actors and putting together a team of cinematographers, finding locations, a director, etc.

If you have millions of dollars in the bank, you can make a movie. You can also even make a movie for 10k. There have been a lot of movies made under 40k that have been successful.

The key is making a move on a budget, then making it so successful that you get your money back plus some. A lot of people make movies in the wrong way. They pay a star a ton of money to be in a movie, then film a movie and then take it out and try to get distribution.

You have to have everything set up prior to making your film. Raising funds for films is the hardest part, and getting a script read by producers in Hollywood is also very hard. I’m an actress, a writer, and I just started producing TV Shows. We have some shows being shopped around right now.

The producer is the glue that guides all of the moving parts of a production

A producer’s role starts with finding, buying, and developing an original or adapted screenplay. Once the project is found, a producer is involved in securing financing, finding distribution, the hiring of the director and screenwriter(s), the daily operations of production, and management of postproduction.

A good producer develops a team that can manage the daily operations so the producer can manage the broader needs of the project. In essence, the producer is the glue that guides all of the moving parts of a production.

While on a big budget studio production, there typically is a hierarchy of producers including but not limited to the Executive Producer, Line Producer, Producer, and Associate Producer.

A producer’s role varies depending on the project

I like Producer Robert Teitel’s analogy: “The studio or whoever finances the movie is the team owner. The director is the coach. The star is your star athlete. And the producer is the general manager.”

A producer’s role varies depending on the project. Part of their task is often to either fund the project or find someone to fund it then manage the relationships and ensure the investors get the movie they invested in.

As a producer on a smaller project funded by the Director like I was, it can more about coordinating the project, managing the relationships and creating an environment that supports the creative talent of the cast and crew.