What Does A Film Producer Do - Film Jobs Explained

Most people are pretty familiar with the term producer, but more often than not they have no idea what a producer actually does. In fact, early on in my film career my own mother used to go around telling people I was a producer instead of a director because well… she didn’t know the difference.

And with the stream of movie trailers now a days that like to boast their movie is brought to you by the producers from that other successful film, it’s no wonder people aren’t really clear on what a producer does so let's get into it!

Now while producers can have creative control, they aren’t the main creative force behind a film, that’s the director. However, the producer usually hires the director so they often also have the ability to fire the director. But on the other hand, directors who want more creative freedom often wear multiple hats and also produce their own films.

So let’s go over everything a film producer does and most importantly why you need them. Just like with Assistant Directors, there’s many different types of producers. There’s executive producers, who are at the top of the pyramid and often either supply or are in charge of acquiring funding for the film. And then there’s the more commonly known, producer.

Now part of the reason most people don’t really know what a producer does is because well… people with the title of producer really could have done a lot of different things. They could have helped fund the film, give big picture creative input, or they could have just coordinated the many steps required to create the film.

Basically, a producer is anyone who doesn’t fit into the normal film departments that had a considerable hand in making the film a reality. However, most of the time when someone is talking about a producer, they are talking about the main person who coordinated and organized all the key details that are essential for making the film.

As you can see, having a producer is vital for any film shoot and can help make your film a reality. So now that you know why you need a producer, let’s go over what exactly they do starting with pre-production.

In pre-production producers can either purchase or help develop film ideas with screenwriters, hire key crew members, set budgets, build schedules, send out contracts, and gather up funding and/or resources needed for the shoot. They often also do a lot of paperwork… like… lots of paperwork.

During production, producers can help run and coordinate the shoot as well as be general problem solvers. But producers aren’t always on set and more often than not, these set responsibilities are filled by a line producer.

Line producers are responsible for all the logistical operations of the set and oversee the staffing of the crew, scheduling, and help manage the budget. For example, if let’s say some key set piece is damaged during production and needs to be replaced. The line producer would be responsible for checking to see if there’s room in the budget to do so.

And finally during post production, the producer continues to help coordinate the film by being a liaison between the director and post production teams. In the event you need to reshoot any scenes, the producer would then organize a reshoot.

They are also responsible for coordinating any details and contracts involved in distributing and marketing the film. So now you know what a producer is and why you need them. Now mom, please stop telling people I’m a producer!

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