I. The Producer’s Domain

The producer’s role:

• Finding, writing, developing, and pitching an idea

• Budgeting a script

• Negotiating a deal

• Securing financing

• Planning

• Shooting

• Editing

• Creating a team of talented people with great attitudes

The producer must:

• Satisfy both the client and the viewer

• Utilize the talents of the cast and crew

• Produce a program or segment

• Be a multitasker

The producer might:

• Write the script

• Do research

• Shoot and produce a program or segment

• Edit the footage on a desktop system

• Mix the audio

• Design and add graphics

• Write and record narration or voice-over

A producer’s job description combines:

• Art with craft

• Commerce with technology

• Leadership with collaboration

Producer’s talent areas:

• Creative

• Technological

• Finances

• Marketing

II. Defining a TV and New Media Producer

• The producer propels the project from an unformed idea to a final broadcast or download

• At various stages of production, they may bring in other producers who can help in handling the hundreds of details that need supervision or polish

• The producer is usually the first one on a project and the last one off

• They are essentially the overall project supervisor. They get the project off the ground and then supervise every step of its development and production

• Not every producer originates the idea; often, a producer is hired to work with a network or production company after an idea has been created and sold

The producer might be:

• The writer

• The director

• A source of the financing

• A part of a producing team

The job of a producer in television and new media:

• Governing force

• Often doubles as the director (unless the project is heavily actor-oriented)

• Usually hires and fires the director, writers, key department heads, actors, other talents, and crew

• Makes the final decisions

The job of a producer in the film:

• Acts as the liaison between the studio and the production

• Provides a support system for the film’s director

• Might shepherd their own scripts or projects, hire the director and cast, and oversee the film’s integrity, production value, and marketing

What makes a good producer:

• Eager to meet challenges

• Can multitask

• Can handle a steady stream of demands and questions

• Creative

• Flexible

• Open to new ideas and information

• Has genuine respect for all kinds of people

• Has an ethical and profitable approach to business

Skills required for all producers:

• Producing a specific kind of program or content

• Creative skills

• Financial skills

• Technical skills

• Interpersonal skills

A good producer:

• Is a problem-solver:

  • Anticipates what’s needed

  • Solves problems, rather than creates them

  • Is smart

  • Plays fair

  • Is a nurturer

  • Is an arbitrator

  • Can be both a leader and a team player

  • Is a risk taker

  • Has a plan for any predictable scenario

• Is the master of multitasking:

  • Might be working in several stages of production at once

• Is the middle man:

  • Becomes the point person for the director, the Director of Photography, the actors, and the crew members who rely on his leadership

  • Balances the needs of the network or client with the needs of the talent and cast

• Wants to know everything:

  • A good story and useful information are both at the core of their craft

  • The producer researches everything at their disposal - books and magazines, the industry trade papers, newspapers, the Internet, plays, biographies, art and history, and philosophy

  • They look for ideas that interest them and that might also appeal to a wide audience

  • Their goal is to understand where the media industries are going and keep current with what is popular now.

  • They watch TV and explore new media

• Enjoys the process:

  • The producer is comfortable doing business and being creative

  • They don’t need to know how to do everything, but they do know how to hire the best people to do certain jobs

  • They create a loyal and talented team who can all work toward a common goal - creating a compelling story

III. The Many Roles of a Producer

• Many producers started off as writers or directors or actors who had an idea for a project they wanted to see actualized. They wanted to brand their idea with their own unique voice, and because they wanted that voice to be heard, they refused to relinquish control over the development of the idea. They chose to become producers so they could protect that idea’s vulnerability and actualize their original idea

The producer in television and in new media has the power to:

• Educate

• Entertain

• Emotionally move an audience

The Five Stages of Production: From Idea to Wrap

Stage One: The idea (project development):

Your idea might be a full-length script or a simple one-paragraph treatment.

The producer often (not always):

• Writes or finds material to option, or obtains all rights to found material

• Evaluates the project’s initial costs, funding sources, and likely markets

• Develops the idea, first into a story synopsis and then into a formal proposal, or pitch, for getting funds

• Oversees the development of the idea

• Develops a rough estimate of the budget

• Pitches the project

• Raises network or client interest

• Obtains financing that covers the project’s initial development or that spans the entire project.

• Negotiates and obtains contracts for licensing fees and other legal aspects of the project’s distribution or broadcast

• Selects, interviews, and hires a director who shares the project’s visions and can deliver on schedule

• Selects and hires a writer or team of writers

• May consult with and hire additional producers, associate producers, and/or a production manager

Not every project requires a director; often, the producer may fill this role.

Stage Two: The plan (preproduction):

The idea can provide a kind of blueprint for the research and hiring of the essential crew members

The producer often (not always):

• Is the principal point person for the financing and/or distribution group

• Is involved in negotiations, contracts, rights, and union discussions

• Secures rights and permits for locations, music, and other elements

• Breaks down a script or treatment into a rough budget estimate

• Continues consulting with the director on aspects of the script and production

• Hires and consults with the cast and crew

• Supervises the completion of the shooting script.

• Scouts and approves all locations

• Consults with the production designer on the overall look of the production

• Consults with the DP and director on the shooting format

• Breaks down the shooting script to prepare the overall shooting schedule, call sheets, and production report forms

• Negotiates with appropriate unions on contract and fee agreements

• Prepares all contracts and deal memos, or oversees them after the unit production manager has compiled them

• Signs off on the final budget

Stage Three: The shoot (production):

The producer often (not always):

• Is on set or on call, always available

• Consults with the writer(s) and supervise any changes

• Works closely with the line producer

• Works with the production designer and approves all aspects of the project’s overall look, tone, and mood Consults regularly with the director, talent, production designer, and other key department heads

• Screens the dailies with the director

• Prepares, balances, and/or approves the daily or weekly cost estimates

• Stays on top of any press or publicity material generated and supervise what’s appearing in the media about the project

Stage Four: The final product (postproduction):

The producer often (not always):

• Screens and logs all footage

• Supplies the editor with a “paper cut” that acts as a script for the editor, with notes, time-code references for footage, and reel numbers and logs. lists all graphic elements and audio components

• Is fully present during editing or comes into the editing room on a regular basis to review the editor’s work in progress

• Continues as the point person for the network, client, or producing group

• Keeps track of all other delivery requirements

• Keeps a close eye on the budget

• Selects negotiates, and books postproduction facilities

• Is familiar with all elements needed in the edit

• Works closely with the music composer and/or stock music supervisor

• Supervises audio sessions

• Works closely with the graphics designer(s) on graphic design elements

• May organize and conduct focus groups or audience testing and supervise any editorial changes that could result from their responses

• Signs off on the video master of the final cut for client delivery

Postproduction can be one of the least controllable financial aspects of the project.

Stage Five: Next steps (wrap up and distribution):

The producer often (not always):

• Pays and reconciles all outstanding invoices

• Finalizes all legal contracts

• Reconciles all budget issues and submits a final report to the client

• May distribute copies of the final product to key personnel in production

• May be involved in advertising and promotional campaigns

• May consult with the network or production company on publicity

• May work closely with the network or production company on securing international broadcast, copyright issues, ancillary rights, and licensing

• May coordinate press activities by carefully controlling what material is appropriate for release to the press

Where you can meet people for networking:

• Festivals

• Organizations

• School clubs

• Openings

• Charity events

To become a producer you can:

• Create an online presence, write a blog

• Follow the trends in television and new media

• Research who’s financing the ideas and in what ways the projects are financially viable

• Keep on top of media industry news

• Follow the smart blogs

• Observe the ebb and flow of current trends

• Research the legal requirements like copyrights, contracts, deal memos, and other forms of negotiation that can protect your idea and the whole project

Creativity, Clout, and Control

• Every producer works toward some kind of payoff, which can be financial, creative, or experiential; ideally, it’s all three

• That payoff is more likely to occur if the producer uses the components of creativity, clout, and control.

Creativity: Inspiration and Creative Skills

• Your idea is the creative essence of your project

• You may write it yourself, or you have found an idea that’s been originated by someone else

• After you’ve legally secured it, you develop it and flesh it out, and finally, you make it come alive

• Your team may be small or large, but it’s a vital creative component

• This team brings together the writers, actors, directors, crew, and production designers whose visions are aligned with yours

• You’re creating and building a team of talented people who share your passion, reflect it in their work, and bring positive creativity and energy into the process

Clout: Networking and Contacts Skills

• You can research opportunities to meet people at various events, such as festivals, school clubs, or charity events

• If nothing currently exists, exercise your producing skills by putting on networking events or organizing film/TV festivals

• Create an online presence, write a blog

• You can sharpen your producing skills when you know who’s who, and who does what best

• You can follow the trends in television and new media, and research who’s financing them and in what ways the projects are financially viable

• When you keep on top of media industry news, follow smart blogs, and observe the ebb and flow of current trends, you are stockpiling your own clout

Control: Business Skills

• You can research the legal requirements like copyrights, contracts, deal memos, and other forms of negotiation that can protect your idea and the whole project that revolves around it

• You can master the numbers when you fine-tune your skills in breaking down a script, budgeting, costing out, rough estimates, and daily costs

• Research budgeting software, and research online sources for shortcuts and hints on budgeting

• You also want to understand and know your audience, both domestic and global

• In this era of technological revolution, research the changing equipment in production and postproduction

IV. Producers’ Titles and Job Descriptions

• In both nonscripted and scripted television, and in new media, producers can also be writers and/or directors

• From show to show and genre to genre, producers’ titles and job descriptions can vary considerably

Producers’ Titles and Job Descriptions:

• Executive Producer:

  • Makes the deals

  • Finds the finances

  • Usually, they set up and control the budget

  • May hire various crew and cast

  • Can be in charge of other producers for one or more projects

There may be several executive producers and co-executive producers on a single project. For example, one may be the liaison between the network and the press, another deal directly with talent and creativity, and a third with budgets and business planning.

• Showrunner:

  • Responsible for the overall creative direction of a series

  • Often he may have the title of executive producer

  • Might be the original creator of the show and/or the writer of the show’s storyline overview

  • Usually the primary writer

  • Sometimes manages and guides other writers in creating the scripts

  • Often may rewrite scripts and make sure they’re delivered on schedule

  • Might be involved in pitching a new show idea to a network and casting the actors

  • Maintains the essential vision of the show

The showrunner on a reality show, talk show, news, specials, and so on may not always be as involved in the writing and may be more involved with generating, selling, and/or managing ideas. A showrunner can be a writer, a producer, or both, and has the power to hire or fire, shouldering the burden of the show’s success or failure.

• Producer (Senior Producer, Supervising Producer):

  • They can be an entrepreneurial producer or a producer commissioned to come in at any stage to work on the project

  • Initiates ideas and hires and coordinates the crew

  • Might be the writer and/or the director, or might hire them

  • Supervises and controls the budget

  • Supervises and controls the technical and administrative aspects throughout the project

  • Oversees contracts and negotiations

  • May receive a percentage of the final profits, if any, as well as a regular salary

• Integrated Producer:

  • They can create and manage interactive content for the web, gaming, mobile, and newer systems

  • Is equally adept at directing teams of producers and designers

  • They are able to draft project goals, schedules, and budgets

  • Has mastered most software programs

  • Can shoot live action

  • Deals easily with both vendors and clients

• Associate Producer:

  • Also called the co-producer or assistant producer

  • Producer’s right hand

  • Does specific jobs that the producer assigns

  • Their work can be on the creative side, such as helping to set up interviews on a talk show, and can also lean toward administrative tasks, such as making production schedules, allotting budgets to departments, booking talent and/or crew, research, interviewing talent, finding locations, and more

• Line Producer (Production Manager, Unit Production Manager, Producer, or Co-Producer):

  • Is most involved in the day-to-day operation from the beginning to the end of the project

  • Keeps budgets on track and compares estimated costs to actual expenditures

  • Represents the administrative side of television

  • Turns ideas into reality by figuring out the logistics of a project

  • Keeps the production on schedule

  • Breaks down the script into a storyboard and its components for production, and decides the sequence of shooting that’s most cost-effective

  • They work closely with the producer(s) in various aspects of location scouting, transportation, and lodging

• Staff Producer:

  • Generally hired on a permanent or per-project basis

  • Works in a network or production company as an employee with benefits.

  • The job usually involves producing an ongoing aspect of the show that’s assigned to them

• Segment Producer:

  • In magazine format shows, news broadcasts, talk shows, and reality-based programming, they are assigned to one of several stories aired within the program

  • May produce their own segment

  • Some shows may have several teams comprised of a producer, PAs, a camera operator, and an editor who work together on their segment

• Independent Producer:

  • May own their own company with a capable infrastructure, and work on projects for a network, another production company, or a variety of clients

  • May have a complete staff, or hire on an as-needed basis

  • Usually pays their own insurance, benefits, taxes, and other expenses like overhead and equipment

• Field Producer:

  • A producer who is “in the field” or at a location some distance away from the primary producer.

  • They can be on the scene faster and less expensively

  • Can work flexibly in a variety of fields like sports, entertainment, and news

Often a producer is needed to supervise and produce a recording session, an interview, a voice-over recording, or a satellite feed. The Session Producer keeps it on track, is aware of the time used, and the length of a shoot or recording takes, and generally maintains close quality control.

• Postproduction Supervisor:

  • They are familiar with the footage to be edited, and keep logs of where the footage is and on what reel numbers

  • May create a paper cut or storyboard of the editing order of the shots, with their time code and reel locations

  • Keeps track of the graphic and audio elements

  • Supervises all editing, graphic, and audio sessions

  • Works closely with the editor and the sound designer throughout the final stages of postproduction

V. The Need for People Skills

Producer’s skills essential to the success of a project:

• Creative skills

• Business skills

• People skills

The producer relies on the following skills while working on the project:

• Collaboration:

  • Embraces collaboration

  • Encourages teamwork

  • Supports each member of the team

  • Encourages an open discussion

• Communication skills:

  • Vital skills for effective relationships

  • Communication might be:

    • Verbal (the choice of words as well as the tone and volume of our voice)

    • Nonverbal (facial expressions, body language, gestures)

• Conflict management:

  • Most conflicts can be managed effectively if you can grasp the cause of the conflict and deal with it

  • The peacemaker

• Emotional intelligence (EQ):

  • A person’s emotional strengths are considered as important as their intellectual abilities

  • A high EQ is measured by a producer’s ability to show genuine empathy, respect, positive leadership skills, and sincerity for the team

• Learning styles:

  • When you can understand the different ways in which each member of your team learns, you can strengthen the bonds of communication

• Multiple intelligences:

  • Originally researched and revealed by a Harvard professor, Dr. Howard Gardner

  • The research reveals at least a dozen distinct predominant intelligence that each of us can claim, such as a strong musical, mathematical, spatial, or athletic intelligence

• Listening skills:

  • Being attentive

  • Not interrupting

  • Acknowledging that we hear the other person

• Leadership skills:

  • The producer recognizes that the team is made of individuals with their own needs

  • Leadership comes with the producer’s territory

Most of us have one main way in which we absorb information:

• Visual:

  • Learns best by reading or looking at information

  • Creates a mental picture of the data

• Auditory:

  • Absorbs information better when it comes to hearing the spoken word or audio

  • Has strong listening skills and verbal abilities

• Kinesthetic:

  • Information is best conveyed through ways that are physical, spatial, or sensory, such as charts and 3-D modeling

• Analytical learner:

  • Understands information best when it’s presented as sequential, linear, organized, and delivered one step at a time

• Global learner:

  • The opposite of the analytical learner

  • They see the big picture first, then breaks it down into smaller and more manageable details

• Goal-oriented:

  • Tends to stick with a task, with no breaks or lulls, with an almost single-minded focus until the job is done

• Process-oriented:

  • The process and the journey of reaching the goal can be as engaging as the goal itself

Leadership skills and ideals:

• Commitment:

  • Believe in your project

  • Stand firmly behind it

• Credibility:

  • Don’t let your need to be liked to get in the way of getting things done

• Delegation:

  • Hire the best people you can find, learn what they do and leave them alone to do their job

  • Check-in regularly to confirm that the project’s vision remains intact

• Motivation:

  • Find ways to show your thanks

• Ethics:

  • Assess your own ethical framework

  • Makes it more likely to create a project that’s under control, stimulating, and a positive experience

• Accountability:

  • You’re accountable to your team

  • Keeping up with changes in technology, creative trends, and the business of the TV industry is a part of the job

• Honesty:

  • Your word is solid enough to build your reputation upon it

• Objectivity:

  • Listen to criticism

  • Don’t take it personally

  • Hear all sides of an issue

• Patience:

  • Respect the fact that people work at different rhythms with varying working styles

• Personal balance:

  • Have a professional and a personal life

• Will power:

  • Save your energy

• Relationships:

  • You can cultivate new friends who share your passion for producing while staying close to your most important supporters: friends and family

• Daydreaming:

  • Make the time to take a walk

  • Have a mental break and a few deep breaths

Summary

As the producer you:

• Are at the core of a project

• Encourage collaboration

• Provide strong and balanced leadership

• Know when to step back and let people do their job

• Model patience, humor, and a clear vision of the project, supplying creative direction while balancing the pressures of the budget

• Are generous with your flexibility and encouragement, while staying connected to the realities of the budget and time constraints

Are focused and relaxed

A good producer:

• Knows about the elements of producing

• Might also be talented as a writer, director, or editor

• Is a storyteller, an entrepreneur, or a risk taker

• Has strong leadership skills and works well with a team

Understands the larger context of television and its offshoots, including its past history, current status, and future potential

Review Questions

1. How do producers in TV and new media differ from film producers?

2. List three important skills and traits of a good producer. Explain why each is helpful.

3. List one role the producer plays in each of the five stages of a project’s development.

4. Define “clout” in producers’ terms.

5. What does the line producer do? How is this job different from other producing titles?

6. List two reasons why “owning” your emotions can help in managing conflicts.

7. What areas of production might be impacted by a failure of leadership? A failure of ethics?

8. Define three learning styles outlined in the Learning Styles section that best describe your own, and give examples.

9. How can delegation skills contribute to the execution of a project?

10. What have you learned so far about being a producer? Has it affected your interest in producing?