What Does a Producer Do? 9 Observations on the Biz’s Most Misunderstood Job

6. Charles Herman-Wurmfeld on the idea of basing a project on a basic, marketable concept, which drives many Hollywood films.
Observation: Ideally, creative ambition should precede concerns about marketability.
“To get your words together in relation to story is an invaluable service to yourself and to your fellow story-tellers as filmmakers so on that level I think a concept is a good idea, like the DNA of your project. But I am also not really interested in just servicing a concept just because it’s commercial. Specifically, ‘Hollywood, je t’aime’ is very directly not commercial. Jason’s [Jason Bushman, the director] vision of the script was to tell a story of gay men that was not accommodating in any way a more hetero-cultural vision of what gay people are… So…I think the budget needed to be tailored to make sure we didn’t produce something that we could not return on. On that level I think we accommodated our market because we did a little research and found out what kind of space we thought we would land in around this time, when offers were being made and we tried to reverse engineer our budget all the way backwards and…make something that we could shoot in our home and our backyard and neighborhood where we lived, utilizing movie stars that we had discovered and that was our conceptual universe.”

7. Brent Meeske on the qualities it takes to be a successful producer.
Observation: The ability to maintain interpersonal relationships is one of the most important skills a producer must have.
“I would say the most important tool is the ability to maintain interpersonal relationships… That’s probably the one thing I spent the most time doing, whether with the people of Branson, Missouri or with my individual characters. And that means maintaining a relationship over three and a half years when I disappear for six months at a time or if it’s with Jack Black, who I went to high school with 23 years ago, maintaining that relationship, staying present, and being in the position at the right time to ask for that favor, ask for that meeting. If I had to boil it down to one job it’d be that: maintaining relationships, no matter who it’s with.”

8. Kristen Tucker on distributing an independent film.
Observation: Don’t shy away from trying alternative distribution models.
“I think it’s really good that there are so many outlets now and it seems to be evolving. It’s really exciting, especially for an independent filmmaker. We took our last film on a progressive distribution tour… These guys got in a van and they drove our film from city to city around the country, kind of like a band does… I think it’s really important to learn about all of your options and think about what’s really best for your film and how to really reach the audiences before making any decisions.”

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9. Kevin Misher on the question, “What does a producer do?” Observation: Well…everything. “I think the producer does everything. And it only stops when you meet somebody who is hired to do a certain role or assigned to do a certain role that you have absolute confidence in. Even with that you’re involved in a collaborative process but if somebody doesn’t do their job well you’re either going to fire them or start doing their job for them… So hopefully you hire really well, you collaborate with people you respect and who share a singular vision because the other thing a producer does is set the track that you’re rolling on and have a vision of what it’s supposed to look like on the other side of the field. And if you don’t do that and you can’t impart that to people or hire people who share that vision or are going to enhance that vision, you haven’t really done your job… So I think soup to nuts, you’re involved.” For more, check out the podcast of the entire panel discussion on the LA Fest website. Previous Page 2 of 2 Login to recommend this article » posted on June 29, 2009 Films to Snag Comments 1 the music supervisor says on July 9, 2009 at 1:42am The producers job may be misunderstood and somewhat ambiguous, but the job of the music supervisor is probably just as, if not more misunderstood.  I was a producer on two short films and learned first hand that it takes a person who really desires this role and can do it well.  That’s why I’ve stuck to music supervision.  It’s my passion and I thrive to do my job well. Several times I’ve had to pick up the pieces after a producer tried to wear the hat of a music supervisor.  It’s one hat that needs to stay on the head of a real and experienced music supervisor.  There’s too many jobs that are producer jobs and needs to be handled by an experienced producer. Too many times I hear comments about people wanting to be a music supervisors because it seems like a dream job and all music supervisors do is listen to music all day.  This is so far from the truth.  Listening to music is about 30% of the job.  The administrative side take about 70% of the music supervisors time.  This is too much work for a producer who’s plate is already full. I wrote about this in my blog, “The Role of the Music Supervisor.”  It’s hard work just like the job of a producer.  Read my blog to get a better understanding of the job of a music supervisor and how a producer should not take on this task.  Blog: http://filmindustrybloggers.twi.bz/a _____________________ Dominique Preyer Hear It - Clear It Music Supervision Music Supervisor (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) http://www.HearItClearIt.com http://twitter.com/HearItClearIt 2 jon williams says on June 30, 2009 at 12:09pm Films are only made if they’re produced. It’s become very easy for first time feature directors to think they can put on the producer’s hat as well, not realising the truth of the observation that ‘once the film is locked the producer’s job has only just begun’. And, consequently too often, and too soon, they abandon their film. For me, being a producer is doing the best for everyone who has had anything to do with making it, in perpetuity. We live in the age of the ‘long tail’, and copyright outlives us all. Jon Williams, producer ‘Diary of a Bad Lad’, Pleased Sheep Films http://www.pleasedsheep.com 3 Hitsofthe60s says on June 30, 2009 at 11:31am #1 Hits of the 60s Show is proud to be a part of the “Branson” documentary that had a World Premier at the LA Film Festival. While we are not troubled by addictions of drugs and alcohol, we are troubled by marketing the #1 Hits of the 60’s Show in a town of 100 shows and on a low budget. Now playing in it’s 7th year, we credit the length of the run to the “Quality” of the show. #1 Hits of the 60’s Show bring to life the 60’s Decade with the cast and band through music, dance, comedy and unique video segments. For more information on the show go to: http://www.1hitsofthe60s.com Login to Leave a Comment »