#line producers

[alishathomas09]

A 4-Steps Guide to Hiring a Top Line Production Company

Hiring a line production company is not as easy as it sounds. You may find a lot of line production companies when you scour the web but that is not it. Hiring a top-line production company has more to do with understanding what a line producer does. Line producers are at the heart of the production, hiring the crew, allocating the money, and making sure the filming is done safely, creatively, on budget, and on time. They are typically the most senior member of the production team, second only to the producers. Since they play a crucial role, it's important to differentiate the best from the rest. That’s exactly why we have put together this little guide to help you hire the best line production company. Read now!

[scifrey]

Producers: What Do They Do?

Today, someone at work asked me what, exactly, a "Producer" does. (In reference to the fact that I said that I might be Line Producing a short film next year.) 

I took a moment to think about how to explain Producers to the filmic layman and came up with this:

The Producer:

·         Builds the Creative Team, then lets them work together to kick some ass.

·         Directs the project (but not the film), and advises where necessary; oversees the logistics, scheduling, and budget; Does the admin that supports the Creative Team (or delegates it)

·         Acts as the intermediary between the Creative Team and the Network/Granting Agencies/Government Agencies/Money

·         Stands by with a big-ass rocket launcher to shoot down any incoming issues so the Creative Team can just keep on kicking ass and being awesome.

 Basically, the Producer is the Nick Fury of the project.

EDIT: stiletov pointed out:

Actually the line producer is in charge of budgeting line items. I think you’re thinking of regular old producer. If you want money for something it’s the line producer you negotiate with.  Producers on smaller productions might pull double duty.

Which, yes, *slaps forehead* I did mean on a small project like mine where I will be both the Producer and the Line Producer (but, uh, hopefully, not the wallet. That's what grants are for, right?) And I flipped the terms Producer and Line Producer by mistake in my earlier posting. Sorry, ya'll.