Question 1

What does a Producer do?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The role of a Producer depends on the scope of a film. For a large project with many moving pieces, a single Producer might have a very specific role such as overseeing the creative team. For a smaller project, though, the Producer will likely wear more hats. In general, it’s up to the Producer to get financing for a film and see it through the five stages of filmmaking, which are development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution.

Question 2

What are 5 types of Producers?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

A small, independent film might have one person who holds the title of Producer. But in many cases, a movie will necessitate different types of Producers brought on to oversee various aspects of a film, such as financing, budgeting, hiring, and creative decision-making. For this reason, there are several Producer titles that can be used during the making of a movie, including Executive Producer, Associate Producer, Co-Producer, Supervising Producer, and Coordinating Producer.

Question 3

Is Producer a good career?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

Being a Film Producer can be a highly fulfilling career, and in some cases, a very lucrative one as well. But as with any other specialty in the filmmaking business, it comes with highs and lows. A Producer often puts in the most hours – in terms of months or even years! – on a project, and frequently those hours are a labor of love. Until a Producer is working with a production company or studio on a movie, they may not get paid for their work until the film is distributed and the revenue from ticket or streaming sales starts coming in. In short, being a Producer can be a great career for someone passionate about their work who is willing to sometimes sacrifice the stability and financial security of other careers.

Question 4

What is a Producer’s role in film/TV?

Lynn Hendee · Accepted Answer

There are many different kinds of Producers and many roles a Producer can take on. In my case, the Producer’s role when making a film/TV series usually starts with acquiring underlying material, i.e. a book, idea, article, script, etc. The Producer oversees the development of the written material until it becomes a shooting script.
In the case of a series, this also includes overseeing the “bible” or breakdown of the season’s episodes. The Producer hires the Director(s) unless a Director is already involved from the beginning. The Producer helps cast the leading roles, hires the key crew and generally oversees the entire production including the budget, shooting schedule and financing aspects.
During production, the Producer is on set making sure all is going according to plan or, if not, that the revised plan makes sense. The Producer is an important set of eyes on the various takes while shooting, as well as a key voice regarding the quality of the dailies. The Producer deals with the many spontaneous issues that come up during production including personnel problems, creative questions, and generally lending support to the Director, crew, and Actors.
During post-production, the Producer oversees the editing of the show, gives creative notes on the cuts, the scoring, and other finishing processes. Importantly, the Producer is usually involved, to some degree, in the marketing and distribution of the film.

Question 5

How do Film Producers make money?

Lindsay Lanzillotta · Accepted Answer

It depends on the size of the film; it’s based on budget. You can get a fee for producing, just like a Director would get paid. With the Producers Guild [PGA], you don’t have to be a member. It’s not like the Directors Guild where there’s rate cards or rate sheets. But I have to say, it really ranges with independent films. As it increases in budget, you make larger fees. But it usually equates with the budget.
On top of that, as a Producer–and again, it depends on what kind of film you’re involved in–you can retain some sort of ownership of the film. You can help exploit the rights to the film, especially on small ones. You also have a portion of what is called the back end of the film, so if it ever makes a profit after your investors have been paid back with the return on their investment, then it’s profit participation time. And that’s divided up in a point system where Producers usually retain some points.
So you can make money that way. In independent film, it’s pretty hard to get to that point. You’ll be making money off of your fees, or you may be in some sort of situation where you’re working with a company and have a salary.

Question 6

How do you become a Film Producer?

Mary Jane Skalski · Accepted Answer

Some people become a Producer by doing it–they start producing short films and low budget features and learn by doing. Other people start by doing something else in the business and then taking those skills and moving them into producing–like working in script development or in post-production.
A hybrid of those two ways is by working with an established Producer–learning the skills of the job and then starting to do parts of the job as one gains experience.

Question 7

What skills does a Producer need?

Lynn Hendee · Accepted Answer

Tenacity may be the most important quality in a Producer. It can take a long time to get your project on the screen. It is not a profession of instant gratification. A Producer is a leader and should be able to keep a wide variety of personalities focused on the same goal of making the best film or television show possible. When necessary, you should be able to resolve conflicts which usually means listening well and communicating clearly.
Passion, commitment and solid sales skills are important during the often long process of putting your project together and even in the marketing of the final product. Solid storytelling skills are critical because the foundation of any good film is a good story. Learning how to work with Writers, recognizing a good (or poor) script, giving useful notes, are all important skills to develop and hone.

Question 8

What do Producers major in?

Lynn Hendee · Accepted Answer

In my case, my undergraduate degree was in Business Administration and my master’s was in Producing from USC. However, there are many majors that are useful for success as a Producer.
Certainly, Literature or Writing majors are helpful as are any business, Marketing, or Communications degrees and, of course, Film/TV majors.
Many Producers began as Lawyers, so that is another route.
However, if you have already majored in something else such as Science or Music or History or even Math, you may have encountered an idea or story within those fields about which you have deep knowledge and feel would make a great film.

Question 9

What is the single biggest suggestion you would give to someone wanting to get into this career?

Robert Rippberger · Accepted Answer

“The biggest suggestion for an upcoming Producer is to understand the art of closing deals while being honest and authentic. That’s what breeds the most success. There is a lot of reading and literature for managing and getting things done.
“Jerry Weintraub’s autobiography When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead and the autobiography of Robert Evans are both good books to pick up. These people started with resources but it’s still good to learn from them.
“Ultimately, the Producer must be able to throw around money so if they don’t have any then they need to get something of value they can trade for it. This is where most of the creativity comes in. Anybody can spend money but to be able to create it out of thin air without robbing anyone is magic.”

Question 10

What’s the #1 mistake people make when trying to get into this career?

Robert Rippberger · Accepted Answer

“The number one mistake people make (both when starting out and established) is they don’t consider what their viewers or audiences want. It’s a sort of inherent hubris. They make films that they want to see, which isn’t inherently bad, but it doesn’t mean that anyone else will want to see it. When a project is made it needs to be compatible with the health of the film industry.
“That means if there are a ton of vampire movies out currently then a wise Producer can see that the current market is saturated. They know that it will be at least a couple of years before their project is released and by then audiences will be tired. It’s impossible to guess what people will be drawn to. However, remaking somebody else’s dream will never lead to success.”

Question 11

What is the question people should ask about this career but rarely do?

Robert Rippberger · Accepted Answer

“How do you make money?
“The truth is that it can be very difficult to make any money producing, especially in the beginning. The chances of a project selling for a lot of capital right out of the gate is slim. It takes years of experience and resources.
“Therefore, the best thing to do is to generate passive income. It may take longer and steal hours but money coming in that doesn’t make a Producer take income from their projects will allow them to put more money onscreen. Producers handle the business side of filmmaking which means that they usually suffer the monetary setbacks as well.”

Question 12

What is one thing I should have asked which I didn’t?

Robert Rippberger · Accepted Answer

“How can I identify what is successful?
“Actively go to the movies and film festivals and track the latest successes. The market has a very short-term memory, at most six months. It is constantly in flux and people are always trying to get a project off the ground. A wise Producer will watch projects and follow artists.
“It’s a war of information so if they’re able to know about someone’s history and where they’re at in their career then it’ll help with creating a collaboration. Also, tracking other people’s success is a good way to gauge where a current project is in the grand scheme of things.”

Question 13

If you could describe in one word what makes you successful, what would it be?

Robert Rippberger · Accepted Answer

“Reliable.”

Film Career Finder

Start Here: