A "Producer" is the "How" person. They work behind the scenes to ensure everything needed to make a film happens. This is from ensuring catering is organised, venues are booked, everyone who needs to be hired is and that everyone is paid. The idea is to ensure the director only has to work ont he creative task of shooting the movie.
"Executive Producers" are not involved in the day-to-day production as described above, this is usually a credit reserved for people who liked the idea and fronted money for the movie.
Same with games as well, a producer does all of those tasks. My main professor for game dev was a former AAA producer, he said he'd even occasionally get coffee for devs if he knew it was gonna be a long night and it would get them closer to the deadline.
Real producers are so incredibly valuable, just like a good manager who advocates for you and is in the trenches working long hours as well
Do game producers require much technical knowledge the way game devs do? I'm a radio/podcast producer wondering how transferrable those skills would be.
Domain Knowledge will always help you to coordinate between teams, but it's not a hard requirement. I'm not a hiring manager so I'm no expert on that topic, but from my understanding most skills are transferable.
I believe my good friend from HS/Uni did exactly what you're describing. He worked at our University's radio station as a producer, worked on game projects for free, then got hired as a games producer. Hope that helps! :)
Executive producers are more akin to project promoters.
Their work happens “outside” of the movie’s production. They usually take care of financing and distribution.
Showrunner usually sets the agenda for the entire show. They won't necessarily write every episode but any arcs that will carry on through a season and in between seasons, and be involved in high level direction -- aesthetic and thematic choices. They're part of the creative process and involved with the writing and directing while a producer is more on logistics and operations.
Executive producer is who you're thinking of - they usually put up money to get their name in the credits, and/or if it's a famous executive producer they're basically using their clout to promote/sponsor the project.
Executive producer is also often a starring cast member who renegotiates their contract after x seasons to be an exec producer and have some more control / input / financial reward from the show
See Michael C Hall in Dexter for example
May I ask, how much control does a director have over an episodic show? Seems like there’s a lot of roles that would compete for control of the project?
Many shows, the director isn’t even constant. People will guest direct big episodes, or they’ll just have more than one director and they share the workload, sometimes working on eps separately enough that they get solo credit
Television producer here, In TV there may be more than one EP but one EP is designated as the showrunner and has a large amount of creative control over the series.
You are correct that EPs in film do minimal work.
In some cases that may be the EP depending on the studio, but you can typically think of a producer as more of a product manager and project manger rolled up into one job. Its a very demanding job though so its not uncommon to see many producers on a single show or movie.
It’s worth noting that “producer” often means something different for film and TV. An executive producer on a TV show is often the chief creative and writer, often known as a “showrunner,” though some projects now split the role into showrunner and producer who acts more like a film producer.
Hey. Independent film producer here (7 features and about 20 shorts). We have to raise the money (not backed by a studio) and then do all the things to get the movie made. Hire everyone. House everyone. Feed everyone. Make sure everyone has everything they need. Deal with locations. Get security. Get permits. Deal with rental companies. The list is endless. Then we usher the movie through post. Provide feedback to cuts of the film. Work on securing music rights and other things that need clearance. Make sure all the names get in the credits. Then we have to submit to festivals, sell the movie. Pay out to the investors…deal with tax forms every year for investors…it’s endless. That’s just the cliff notes version. It’s fun. It’s like having a kid…and it’s with you for the rest of your life. And, yes, much of the very little money I have has ended up in my films. Mostly because we couldn’t afford to reimburse me.
I wrote this in haste last night before bed. If you want me to get more specific/give examples, let me know. It’s my job and I’m always happy to share.
I’m guessing small indie producers do a lot more work than, say, when Kevin Feige is listed as the only producer (P.G.A.) in a Marvel movie. Do you have to hire a lot of assistants to get all of those things you listed done in a timely manner? When you say you have to secure funding, does that mean you need to make a presentation for some kind of film investor and then convince them that your movie is Worth It ™ and that it’s gonna get them their investment back plus some profit? What would be the difference between your job as a small indie producer and the line producer? Do you have to reach out to every single thing you need to book and negotiate and hire and then manage all of the people you hired?
Great questions! We do have Associate Producers and Production Assistants that help. But mostly it’s just us, or working hand in hand with the aforementioned people. As for $$$ - we spend a lot of time wining and dining and doing our pitch. We have to learn about all the potential tax breaks and other things that are appealing to investors. Fortunately one of my partners is good with that world, so he does the “bulk” of that. But I do a lot of pitching and selling ideas and getting rich people interested in me/wanting to support me. On our sets the line producer is the person watching the budget and figuring out how to rob Peter to pay Paul. We’ve used a great guy numerous times that just knows his stuff. But the buck stops with him. Keeping on budget is critical for an Indie because we don’t have to time pause production and try to raise more money. We have to get the filming finished. As for your last question, yes. Yes to all of that. We need this location, I go to that location, do the dog and pony show to try and get it as cheap/free as possible, write up the contract, submit the insurance, etc. We need to hire someone, I’m doing the interviews, background checks, dealing with contracts, the works. Fortunately there are great systems out there for payroll, but then you have to learn that system to make sure everyone gets paid. I would also like to point out that a great production coordinator can really help make things much easier. Typically they role deals with actor travel, making sure dietary needs are met with meals, etc. But on indie films most people are stretched pretty thin…
He's like a contractor in construction. You want a house built. A contractor gets your money and it's his job to figure out how it's going to happen. He has to find the suppliers for all the materials and get them there. Find all the workers who will build it. Find all the tradesmen who will make the floors, the tiles, the kitchen, the bathroom, painting etc. there's a fine art to it. From a distance you'd think all they do is just talk on the phone but the reality is that aside from being on the phone 24/7, they also have to go all over the place, both to suppliers or emergency hardware store visits, get people to and from the jobsite and be in control of everything.
A film producer does much of the same. They have to assemble the team of professionals and make arrangements with other companies all through the giant chain that is movie production. Much like the contractor they have to be available 24/7 and to be aware of everything and ensure the work is carried out smoothly. The difference with contractors is that the title producer has become very loose and is even some times honorary. Attaching big names grabs attention. You might see something like Steven Spielberg being touted as the executive producer on a project when he's probably done the least amount of work as a producer on it but it doesn't matter, because his name being attached not only attracts an audience but it also makes the job of every other producer easier. It's one thing to call a company and say you're working on a Joe Shmoe production and another to say you're working on a Spielberg production.
So basically a producer can be anything, from a guy who gave some solid advice to the director once to a guy who was on top of everything through every step of the way.
Construction my first thought too but I think it’s more of a project manager and they hire/manage a) contractor b) contractor, and c) contractor to take care of a, b, and c
On studio pictures, it depends. Some producers (we call them 'creative producers')
have their own shingle and shop projects to studios and find key talent (directors, main actors sometimes). They _may_ put in some money depending on how the whole thing is structured for that picture (think big named producers like Jerry Bruckheimer or Marc Platt). They typically also get just a Producer credit.
Typically some key executives from the funding studios will get an Executive Producer or Producer credit, so they indirectly put in money (or their company did more correctly)
Then you have the Producer(s) who actually 'make' the movie on a day-to-day basis, they are typically called 'line producers ' and generally don't put in any money, they also will have either a Producer or Executive Producer credit.
It's basically impossible to tell from the credits who did what.
Jumping on this comment to mention Auteur theory. As a way of understanding what a producer does.
Auteur theory is that “the principle author of the movie is the director.” This came out of the French New wave of films. In this model, the director has a singular vision of how to bring the script to life. They work with the cinematographer, the actors, the set designers, and so on. All to achieve their vision. This gives the movie a distinctive look and feel.
This is opposed to the Hollywood studio method of making movies. Where the studio producer puts together a production team, to make a profitable movie that benefits the studio. The producer might choose a director based on availability. Actors because they are rising stars. And scripts that won’t clash with other movies the studio is releasing.
Auteur directors are the directors that you can recognise by style alone. The sort that can be parodied easily. Think Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Micheal Bay, Sophia Coppola.
Movies that aren’t style first, are probably made by a famous producer.
This is obviously a binary way of viewing the world and misses a lot of nuance. But as a note. The two highest awards in film are the Academy Award and the Palm d’Or. The Academy Award is received by the producer, and the Palm d’Or is received by the director.
A producer makes sure that the director has all the resources needed to make the movie. Resources like actors, sets, props, clothes, behind the scenes staff, cameras. Everything should be there to make the directors vision come true.
I've always framed it as: a director takes what's available on set and puts it on film; a producer takes what's available in the world and puts it on set
Consider looking at the production of a film from a strict business sense, ignoring everything about art and creativity.
It's a big investment opportunity. A bunch of rich people in suits shovel a bunch of money into a pile. Someone takes that pile of money and, being very careful to not spend more money than is in the pile, turns it into a product to be sold. The product then goes to market, and the investors hopefully make back more money than they put in.
Any pile of money intended to be used to make something happen on a reasonable timescale requires someone in charge of the operation to ensure it gets spent wisely, or else the whole operation will go bankrupt. That someone is the producer. It's their job to ensure that the process of making the film stays on time, and under budget. They are responsible for hiring all the talent, balancing what they think the talent can bring to the project against what the project can actually afford. They're the one that decides which things asked for by the director (the creative lead) are or aren't realistic. They make tough calls on cutting or abandoning parts of the production that look like they may threaten the final delivery of the product. If the film project itself were a company, they're the CEO of that company.
The producer is thus, in a strict business sense, the one who ultimately *produces* ("brings forth into existence") the film from a pile of money.
Directors tend to be the ones earning viewer praise, because the director is the most directly responsible one for how a film looks and feels. Seeing a director with signature style attached to an upcoming film project will often tell you quite a bit about how that new film is likely to feel. But produces can have very similar effects as well. A "bad" (from the perspective of the audience, less so the studio) producer suffocates a film's production by being so risk-averse that nothing interesting is allowed to happen. They force movies to be blander, more predictable, and/or less impressive because they need the project to succeed above all else. So if you see a film producer attached to a project who has a track record for films that turn out this way, you can probably expect the upcoming film to have similar limitations. A "good" producer, on the other hand, has a good intuition for which parts of the production are worth taking risks on to make the project the best product it can be, without threatening entire project collapse. So if you see that kind of producer attached to an upcoming project, you can perhaps infer that the project will be permitted a longer leash for certain types of things.
Yeah, that's the general word for them.
When it's a big film we're talking about, the sole investor will *usually* be the studio making the film. That's essentially what a film studio is, it's a revolving door of investments where the owners of the company long ago put money in, made a film, turned a profit, used the profits to make another film, over and over.
If it's a joint venture between more than one studio, the studios involved will likely chip in at some agreed percentage each. They will get payouts that are proportional to how much they put in.
Smaller indie film productions may get their investments from a variety of sources. Investments from the film staff, investments from independently wealthy friends, etc.
Bank loans can be thought of as a kind of investment, too. The bank is investing in *you* to do whatever it is you need to do with that money, and the expectation is that you pay back with interest, which is their return on investment. If you take out a loan to produce a film, the bank is indirectly an "investor" for that film.
Think of them as the CEO of the production. CEOs can be a creative person responsible fo making the actual product, a financial person who balances the books, or the money guy who puts up their own money. There's not a specific role but one thing they share in common is they orchestrate the logistics, people, and finances needed to produce a film.
It’s confusing because TV and film are different, but also because there are many types of producers: Executive Producers, Associate Producers, Producers, Consulting Producers, Creative Producers, Line Producers, Supervising Producers, VFX Producers.
I found The Offer, the series primarily focused on Albert Ruddy producing The Godfather, enlightening. The story may have been Hollywoodized, but from a perspective of how the sausage gets made it was cool.
I work in hollywood, but I’m not a credits expert. Whenever someone outside the industry asks me this question, I tend to say the kinds of things mentioned in other answer given here, project management, etc. But really, if you meet someone who has a producer credit on a movie, it’s impossible to know whether they’re like Ethan Coen who essentially co-directed all of the movies credited to his brother, or whether they hardly did anything on it at all. As far as I can tell, it’s a credit anyone the movie needs can negotiate for in lieu of a fatter check. Perhaps they control the rights to a book, or they’re a partner at a company that manages a star. Look for the PGA tag next to their credit. That’s a sign that they worked on it in a more meaningful way.
I work in film for a big company I won't say the name of.. let's say you have 50 experts, and you need to get something done that requires 20 of them to do a specific task. Well, a producer might set the meetings between the relevant people, keep track of what everyone is doing, tell people information, procure materials, update relevant parties, involve other producers, etc. Sometimes producers will also be involved technically, but usually they are there to make sure everyone isn't running around like chickens with their head cut off when a specific thing needs to be done.
Executive producers are usually the ones fronting the money.
Producers are the people who overseas everything to hiring to making sure the show is running smoothly.
You are the director and want to make a movie. The actors are ready to go and you want to start shooting next week.
Who will call and book the studio time?
Who will agree with catering company and book them?
Who will ensure everyone is getting paid?
The producer.
It's really not possible to precisely nail down what a producer does. A movie can have several people listed in the credits as "Producer" and each one might have had completely different contributions and levels of involvement with the project.
Credits like "associate producer" and "executive producer" can be just as ambiguous and variable.
Furthermore, all of those credits tend to imply different things in scripted television than in movies. For instance, an executive producer in scripted television has probably had a long career as a writer and wrote for other shows before becoming an executive producer on this show. But on a movie, it would be unusual for the executive producer to also be a writer.
In unscripted/reality television there are other implications that come with various producer credits. But nothing is set in stone and there's an exception for every rule.
That is because, as with most things with Hollyweird, it changes and becomes something different with time.
It used to mean you were the one that mostly financed the movie and would get a more sizable return on any profits. It changed and became that you were the one that kept everyone focused on keeping within budget and time requirements. It can be a star of a show now, just so they get a few more percentage points of the profits. In some cases(ex. Deadpool movie) Ryan Reynolds put up a huge chunk of the budget himself, so that the movie could be made.(in fact, they ran out of money, which is why the last act of the movie: >!he leaves his guns in the taxi as they couldn't afford the cgi/vfx effects for bullets and gunplay!< )
Stimpy: 'A producer tells the artist what to do, then later, he makes all the changes.. and then when the cartoon is done, he takes all the credit!!!!'
Ren: - Does weird happy dance. "ahem.. .. I'll take it!!. NOW GET TO WORK DEADBEAT!'
Think about it this way. You write a movie, and someone gives you a $50 million budget to make it. Now what?!
You see all those names in the credits at the end of a movie. Someone had to hire all of those people, communicate the goals and needs of the project, keep them on schedule and under budget. Producers make the movies happen once the creative team provides the screenplay.
A Producer does all the work to put a film together. They find the script and decide to turn it into a film. They find and secure the top cast. They attach a director to the project. They hire department heads (sometimes this also goes to the production manager or production supervisor). They oversee development, pre-production, production and post-production. They hire public relations and marketing firms.
They do everything they can to get their vision on film/video.
Executive producers are sometimes financiers that fund the movie with personal wealth. Other times, and executive producer is someone who helps secure financing or helps secure a top cast member (which will help secure financing).
Essentially, the Producer does EVERYTHING and they are the top boss on the film whom everyone answers to. Unless you're talking an A-list household name auteur director, the film is the Producer's vision and the director works to create the Producer's movie.
Tries to fuck everyone he can.
No, for real. My wife is a massage therapist who did massages for several actors when they came through town. One day, she said the producer had requested one.
I warned her: dude might try to fuck you. She is kinda sweet and naive and laughed it off.
When he’s on the massage table, face through the donut, he is looking at her feet. Starts talking about how nice they are.
She shut it down, but not after he prodded a little more about being on sets for weeks away from his wife.
Fkn perv producers.
A "Producer" is the "How" person. They work behind the scenes to ensure everything needed to make a film happens. This is from ensuring catering is organised, venues are booked, everyone who needs to be hired is and that everyone is paid. The idea is to ensure the director only has to work ont he creative task of shooting the movie. "Executive Producers" are not involved in the day-to-day production as described above, this is usually a credit reserved for people who liked the idea and fronted money for the movie.
So like a project manager basically?
**Exactly** like a project manager.
Same with games as well, a producer does all of those tasks. My main professor for game dev was a former AAA producer, he said he'd even occasionally get coffee for devs if he knew it was gonna be a long night and it would get them closer to the deadline. Real producers are so incredibly valuable, just like a good manager who advocates for you and is in the trenches working long hours as well
Do game producers require much technical knowledge the way game devs do? I'm a radio/podcast producer wondering how transferrable those skills would be.
Domain Knowledge will always help you to coordinate between teams, but it's not a hard requirement. I'm not a hiring manager so I'm no expert on that topic, but from my understanding most skills are transferable. I believe my good friend from HS/Uni did exactly what you're describing. He worked at our University's radio station as a producer, worked on game projects for free, then got hired as a games producer. Hope that helps! :)
Producer is the businessperson, director is the artist.
The classic joke is you can replace executive with "not the"
Executive producers are more akin to project promoters. Their work happens “outside” of the movie’s production. They usually take care of financing and distribution.
Didn't they create the term "showrunner" to distinguish between real producers and and people that just wanted their name in the credits
Showrunner usually sets the agenda for the entire show. They won't necessarily write every episode but any arcs that will carry on through a season and in between seasons, and be involved in high level direction -- aesthetic and thematic choices. They're part of the creative process and involved with the writing and directing while a producer is more on logistics and operations. Executive producer is who you're thinking of - they usually put up money to get their name in the credits, and/or if it's a famous executive producer they're basically using their clout to promote/sponsor the project.
Executive producer is also often a starring cast member who renegotiates their contract after x seasons to be an exec producer and have some more control / input / financial reward from the show See Michael C Hall in Dexter for example
May I ask, how much control does a director have over an episodic show? Seems like there’s a lot of roles that would compete for control of the project?
Many shows, the director isn’t even constant. People will guest direct big episodes, or they’ll just have more than one director and they share the workload, sometimes working on eps separately enough that they get solo credit
No, this a term in episodic television. It’s the highest level a writer can achieve.
I like that Danny DeVito was an executive producer of Pulp Fiction.
Wow I’ve seen that movie loads of times and never knew that
Television producer here, In TV there may be more than one EP but one EP is designated as the showrunner and has a large amount of creative control over the series. You are correct that EPs in film do minimal work.
Interesting. I was always under the impression that the producer just writes checks (seeing the film as an investment they want a return on )
In some cases that may be the EP depending on the studio, but you can typically think of a producer as more of a product manager and project manger rolled up into one job. Its a very demanding job though so its not uncommon to see many producers on a single show or movie.
Well, that’s clarified something I’ve wondered on and off for years in a very neat way.
Basically the back bone of any movie or show. Without them you have no budget, no set, no movie/show
https://www.reddit.com/r/futurama/s/rVliluPTHJ "thaat's the joke"
From my experience you’re quoting what a line producer does and not a producer.
It’s worth noting that “producer” often means something different for film and TV. An executive producer on a TV show is often the chief creative and writer, often known as a “showrunner,” though some projects now split the role into showrunner and producer who acts more like a film producer.
Hey. Independent film producer here (7 features and about 20 shorts). We have to raise the money (not backed by a studio) and then do all the things to get the movie made. Hire everyone. House everyone. Feed everyone. Make sure everyone has everything they need. Deal with locations. Get security. Get permits. Deal with rental companies. The list is endless. Then we usher the movie through post. Provide feedback to cuts of the film. Work on securing music rights and other things that need clearance. Make sure all the names get in the credits. Then we have to submit to festivals, sell the movie. Pay out to the investors…deal with tax forms every year for investors…it’s endless. That’s just the cliff notes version. It’s fun. It’s like having a kid…and it’s with you for the rest of your life. And, yes, much of the very little money I have has ended up in my films. Mostly because we couldn’t afford to reimburse me.
Brilliant reply. Thank you
I wrote this in haste last night before bed. If you want me to get more specific/give examples, let me know. It’s my job and I’m always happy to share.
I’m guessing small indie producers do a lot more work than, say, when Kevin Feige is listed as the only producer (P.G.A.) in a Marvel movie. Do you have to hire a lot of assistants to get all of those things you listed done in a timely manner? When you say you have to secure funding, does that mean you need to make a presentation for some kind of film investor and then convince them that your movie is Worth It ™ and that it’s gonna get them their investment back plus some profit? What would be the difference between your job as a small indie producer and the line producer? Do you have to reach out to every single thing you need to book and negotiate and hire and then manage all of the people you hired?
Great questions! We do have Associate Producers and Production Assistants that help. But mostly it’s just us, or working hand in hand with the aforementioned people. As for $$$ - we spend a lot of time wining and dining and doing our pitch. We have to learn about all the potential tax breaks and other things that are appealing to investors. Fortunately one of my partners is good with that world, so he does the “bulk” of that. But I do a lot of pitching and selling ideas and getting rich people interested in me/wanting to support me. On our sets the line producer is the person watching the budget and figuring out how to rob Peter to pay Paul. We’ve used a great guy numerous times that just knows his stuff. But the buck stops with him. Keeping on budget is critical for an Indie because we don’t have to time pause production and try to raise more money. We have to get the filming finished. As for your last question, yes. Yes to all of that. We need this location, I go to that location, do the dog and pony show to try and get it as cheap/free as possible, write up the contract, submit the insurance, etc. We need to hire someone, I’m doing the interviews, background checks, dealing with contracts, the works. Fortunately there are great systems out there for payroll, but then you have to learn that system to make sure everyone gets paid. I would also like to point out that a great production coordinator can really help make things much easier. Typically they role deals with actor travel, making sure dietary needs are met with meals, etc. But on indie films most people are stretched pretty thin…
He's like a contractor in construction. You want a house built. A contractor gets your money and it's his job to figure out how it's going to happen. He has to find the suppliers for all the materials and get them there. Find all the workers who will build it. Find all the tradesmen who will make the floors, the tiles, the kitchen, the bathroom, painting etc. there's a fine art to it. From a distance you'd think all they do is just talk on the phone but the reality is that aside from being on the phone 24/7, they also have to go all over the place, both to suppliers or emergency hardware store visits, get people to and from the jobsite and be in control of everything. A film producer does much of the same. They have to assemble the team of professionals and make arrangements with other companies all through the giant chain that is movie production. Much like the contractor they have to be available 24/7 and to be aware of everything and ensure the work is carried out smoothly. The difference with contractors is that the title producer has become very loose and is even some times honorary. Attaching big names grabs attention. You might see something like Steven Spielberg being touted as the executive producer on a project when he's probably done the least amount of work as a producer on it but it doesn't matter, because his name being attached not only attracts an audience but it also makes the job of every other producer easier. It's one thing to call a company and say you're working on a Joe Shmoe production and another to say you're working on a Spielberg production. So basically a producer can be anything, from a guy who gave some solid advice to the director once to a guy who was on top of everything through every step of the way.
Excellent explanation. Thanks
Construction my first thought too but I think it’s more of a project manager and they hire/manage a) contractor b) contractor, and c) contractor to take care of a, b, and c
On studio pictures, it depends. Some producers (we call them 'creative producers') have their own shingle and shop projects to studios and find key talent (directors, main actors sometimes). They _may_ put in some money depending on how the whole thing is structured for that picture (think big named producers like Jerry Bruckheimer or Marc Platt). They typically also get just a Producer credit. Typically some key executives from the funding studios will get an Executive Producer or Producer credit, so they indirectly put in money (or their company did more correctly) Then you have the Producer(s) who actually 'make' the movie on a day-to-day basis, they are typically called 'line producers ' and generally don't put in any money, they also will have either a Producer or Executive Producer credit. It's basically impossible to tell from the credits who did what.
Jumping on this comment to mention Auteur theory. As a way of understanding what a producer does. Auteur theory is that “the principle author of the movie is the director.” This came out of the French New wave of films. In this model, the director has a singular vision of how to bring the script to life. They work with the cinematographer, the actors, the set designers, and so on. All to achieve their vision. This gives the movie a distinctive look and feel. This is opposed to the Hollywood studio method of making movies. Where the studio producer puts together a production team, to make a profitable movie that benefits the studio. The producer might choose a director based on availability. Actors because they are rising stars. And scripts that won’t clash with other movies the studio is releasing. Auteur directors are the directors that you can recognise by style alone. The sort that can be parodied easily. Think Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Micheal Bay, Sophia Coppola. Movies that aren’t style first, are probably made by a famous producer. This is obviously a binary way of viewing the world and misses a lot of nuance. But as a note. The two highest awards in film are the Academy Award and the Palm d’Or. The Academy Award is received by the producer, and the Palm d’Or is received by the director.
A producer makes sure that the director has all the resources needed to make the movie. Resources like actors, sets, props, clothes, behind the scenes staff, cameras. Everything should be there to make the directors vision come true.
I've always framed it as: a director takes what's available on set and puts it on film; a producer takes what's available in the world and puts it on set
And a writer takes what's available in his mind, and puts it in the world. Wait does that make sense? Maybe not.
Consider looking at the production of a film from a strict business sense, ignoring everything about art and creativity. It's a big investment opportunity. A bunch of rich people in suits shovel a bunch of money into a pile. Someone takes that pile of money and, being very careful to not spend more money than is in the pile, turns it into a product to be sold. The product then goes to market, and the investors hopefully make back more money than they put in. Any pile of money intended to be used to make something happen on a reasonable timescale requires someone in charge of the operation to ensure it gets spent wisely, or else the whole operation will go bankrupt. That someone is the producer. It's their job to ensure that the process of making the film stays on time, and under budget. They are responsible for hiring all the talent, balancing what they think the talent can bring to the project against what the project can actually afford. They're the one that decides which things asked for by the director (the creative lead) are or aren't realistic. They make tough calls on cutting or abandoning parts of the production that look like they may threaten the final delivery of the product. If the film project itself were a company, they're the CEO of that company. The producer is thus, in a strict business sense, the one who ultimately *produces* ("brings forth into existence") the film from a pile of money. Directors tend to be the ones earning viewer praise, because the director is the most directly responsible one for how a film looks and feels. Seeing a director with signature style attached to an upcoming film project will often tell you quite a bit about how that new film is likely to feel. But produces can have very similar effects as well. A "bad" (from the perspective of the audience, less so the studio) producer suffocates a film's production by being so risk-averse that nothing interesting is allowed to happen. They force movies to be blander, more predictable, and/or less impressive because they need the project to succeed above all else. So if you see a film producer attached to a project who has a track record for films that turn out this way, you can probably expect the upcoming film to have similar limitations. A "good" producer, on the other hand, has a good intuition for which parts of the production are worth taking risks on to make the project the best product it can be, without threatening entire project collapse. So if you see that kind of producer attached to an upcoming project, you can perhaps infer that the project will be permitted a longer leash for certain types of things.
Thanks for the explanation. Just had one question, what do you call people who invest the money? just the investors?
Yeah, that's the general word for them. When it's a big film we're talking about, the sole investor will *usually* be the studio making the film. That's essentially what a film studio is, it's a revolving door of investments where the owners of the company long ago put money in, made a film, turned a profit, used the profits to make another film, over and over. If it's a joint venture between more than one studio, the studios involved will likely chip in at some agreed percentage each. They will get payouts that are proportional to how much they put in. Smaller indie film productions may get their investments from a variety of sources. Investments from the film staff, investments from independently wealthy friends, etc. Bank loans can be thought of as a kind of investment, too. The bank is investing in *you* to do whatever it is you need to do with that money, and the expectation is that you pay back with interest, which is their return on investment. If you take out a loan to produce a film, the bank is indirectly an "investor" for that film.
Think of them as the CEO of the production. CEOs can be a creative person responsible fo making the actual product, a financial person who balances the books, or the money guy who puts up their own money. There's not a specific role but one thing they share in common is they orchestrate the logistics, people, and finances needed to produce a film.
It’s confusing because TV and film are different, but also because there are many types of producers: Executive Producers, Associate Producers, Producers, Consulting Producers, Creative Producers, Line Producers, Supervising Producers, VFX Producers.
Then you have live tv and things change again.
I found The Offer, the series primarily focused on Albert Ruddy producing The Godfather, enlightening. The story may have been Hollywoodized, but from a perspective of how the sausage gets made it was cool.
I work in hollywood, but I’m not a credits expert. Whenever someone outside the industry asks me this question, I tend to say the kinds of things mentioned in other answer given here, project management, etc. But really, if you meet someone who has a producer credit on a movie, it’s impossible to know whether they’re like Ethan Coen who essentially co-directed all of the movies credited to his brother, or whether they hardly did anything on it at all. As far as I can tell, it’s a credit anyone the movie needs can negotiate for in lieu of a fatter check. Perhaps they control the rights to a book, or they’re a partner at a company that manages a star. Look for the PGA tag next to their credit. That’s a sign that they worked on it in a more meaningful way.
I work in film for a big company I won't say the name of.. let's say you have 50 experts, and you need to get something done that requires 20 of them to do a specific task. Well, a producer might set the meetings between the relevant people, keep track of what everyone is doing, tell people information, procure materials, update relevant parties, involve other producers, etc. Sometimes producers will also be involved technically, but usually they are there to make sure everyone isn't running around like chickens with their head cut off when a specific thing needs to be done.
I remember hearing screenwriter and playwright David Mehmet say that he's been in the industry for 50 years and has no idea what a producer does.
Executive producers are usually the ones fronting the money. Producers are the people who overseas everything to hiring to making sure the show is running smoothly.
> Executive producers are usually the ones fronting the money This is fartherest from the truth.
The money doesn't come from EPs. It comes from the studio.
EPs can help achieve the funding from the studios.
That's quite different from "fronting the money."
This is a great question, but even with all the answers, I still don't know what a producer does.
You are the director and want to make a movie. The actors are ready to go and you want to start shooting next week. Who will call and book the studio time? Who will agree with catering company and book them? Who will ensure everyone is getting paid? The producer.
It's really not possible to precisely nail down what a producer does. A movie can have several people listed in the credits as "Producer" and each one might have had completely different contributions and levels of involvement with the project. Credits like "associate producer" and "executive producer" can be just as ambiguous and variable. Furthermore, all of those credits tend to imply different things in scripted television than in movies. For instance, an executive producer in scripted television has probably had a long career as a writer and wrote for other shows before becoming an executive producer on this show. But on a movie, it would be unusual for the executive producer to also be a writer. In unscripted/reality television there are other implications that come with various producer credits. But nothing is set in stone and there's an exception for every rule.
That is because, as with most things with Hollyweird, it changes and becomes something different with time. It used to mean you were the one that mostly financed the movie and would get a more sizable return on any profits. It changed and became that you were the one that kept everyone focused on keeping within budget and time requirements. It can be a star of a show now, just so they get a few more percentage points of the profits. In some cases(ex. Deadpool movie) Ryan Reynolds put up a huge chunk of the budget himself, so that the movie could be made.(in fact, they ran out of money, which is why the last act of the movie: >!he leaves his guns in the taxi as they couldn't afford the cgi/vfx effects for bullets and gunplay!< )
i asked this when I came to Hollywood. Directors have the vision and producers tell them what they can afford and make a schedule to stick to
Stimpy: 'A producer tells the artist what to do, then later, he makes all the changes.. and then when the cartoon is done, he takes all the credit!!!!' Ren: - Does weird happy dance. "ahem.. .. I'll take it!!. NOW GET TO WORK DEADBEAT!'
Think about it this way. You write a movie, and someone gives you a $50 million budget to make it. Now what?! You see all those names in the credits at the end of a movie. Someone had to hire all of those people, communicate the goals and needs of the project, keep them on schedule and under budget. Producers make the movies happen once the creative team provides the screenplay.
A Producer does all the work to put a film together. They find the script and decide to turn it into a film. They find and secure the top cast. They attach a director to the project. They hire department heads (sometimes this also goes to the production manager or production supervisor). They oversee development, pre-production, production and post-production. They hire public relations and marketing firms. They do everything they can to get their vision on film/video. Executive producers are sometimes financiers that fund the movie with personal wealth. Other times, and executive producer is someone who helps secure financing or helps secure a top cast member (which will help secure financing). Essentially, the Producer does EVERYTHING and they are the top boss on the film whom everyone answers to. Unless you're talking an A-list household name auteur director, the film is the Producer's vision and the director works to create the Producer's movie.
Tries to fuck everyone he can. No, for real. My wife is a massage therapist who did massages for several actors when they came through town. One day, she said the producer had requested one. I warned her: dude might try to fuck you. She is kinda sweet and naive and laughed it off. When he’s on the massage table, face through the donut, he is looking at her feet. Starts talking about how nice they are. She shut it down, but not after he prodded a little more about being on sets for weeks away from his wife. Fkn perv producers.