Transition: What does a Producer do?

As my role as Producer I did some research in the general role to help me understand what I would need to do.

Key things a producer needs to be able to do:

• Be good at motivating people
• Have good communication skills
• Work well underpressure
• Have a good creative vision
• Be good at problem solving

(1) Producers have the overall control on all aspects in a film production.
They bring together a production team to work on the film.
The are often the 1st people to get involved in the project and their responsibilities span all four phases of the production. Producers secure the rights, choose the screenwriters and story edit team.
In the pre-prod it's the role of the producer to bring together the key members of the creative team including; the Director, Cinematographer and Production Designer among others.
They also approve locations, studio hire, the final shooting script, production schedule and budget. **More time and money spent in pre-production can reduce time and money wasting when the production gets underway**
Once filming beings Producers are responsible for the day-to-day smooth operation of the production team. They're in constant communication and consultation with the Director and other key creatives, on and off set.
They'll approve all script changes and cost reports. They are also the 1st point of contact for all production partners, investors and distributors.
During post the Producers need to liaise with the Director and post production department. The Producer will deal with the finance and distribution companies in planning the marketing and distribution of the finished film.

(2) Some of the roles a Producer has are:

• raise funding
• read, research and assess ideas and finished scripts
• commission writers or secure the rights to novels, plays or screen plays
• build and develop a network of contacts
• Liaise and discuss projects with financial backers
• use computer software packages for screenwriting, budgeting and schedualing
• hire key staff e.g. Director
• pull together all the strands of creative and practical talent involved in the project to create a team
• maintain contemporary tech skills
• organise shoot scheduales
• troubleshoot
• ensure compliance with relevant regulations
• supervise the progress of the project from production to post production

• hold regular meetings with the director to discuss characters and scenes
• act as a sounding board for the director
• bring the finished production in on budget

As producer in my production I will be writing the script, casting actors, finding locations, filling out risk assessments and liaising with the rest of my group throughout the production. This research helped me understand my responsibilities and how they effect the rest of the crew and the production itself.

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(1)- Creative Skill set Producers -creativeskillset.org/job_roles/757_producer

(2)- Prospectus TV Producers - www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/television-film-video-producer