THE PRODUCERS

The Producer is the businessperson with a dream and more importantly, the business and industry experience, skill and determination to make it a viable, deliverable reality.

The Producer is:

• The person responsible for the film from concept stage to maximization of revenue on release
• The person in authority to take important, financial and where appropriate, artistic decisions
• The entrepreneur who causes the film to be made and released

THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

The Executive Producer is someone who is either financing a film, or representing a studio, production company or party that is financing or co-financing a film.

• Films can have multiple backers, and therefore more than one executive producer.


• Executive producers - often referred in the past to as "the Suits" because of their tendency traditionally to wear more formal attire - may not have any movie-making experience at all.


• Today actual `suits’ are very rare indeed.


• When a studio invests in a motion picture and it assigns an executive to oversee the making of the film, this executive is given the title Executive Producer. Alternatively, an owner or director or even a line-producer of a large company co-producing with a studio may fulfill the role of Executive Producer.


• He or she doesn't have a specific job on the set. Instead her or his responsibility is to make sure that everyone else is doing their job; that the project is on schedule and is not over budget.


• The Executive Producer protects either the production company or studio's investment (depending on the size and nature of the project), by overseeing the project.


• The Executive Producer will work closely with the Line Producer and Director if any concerns arise. For example, if bad weather holds up filming, or an actor is injured - if anything at all goes wrong that threatens the picture staying on budget or on schedule - the Executive Producer will press the Line Producer who will press the production for solutions.


• Another role of Executive Producer is to make sure that the film is being made as planned; they ensure that ad hoc or on-the-spot changes do not inherently alter the original project the studio approved.


• Often viewed as something of an outsider, it is nevertheless the function of an Executive Producer to work closely with the Line Producer and get the Production Crew on his or her side while looking over peoples’ shoulders.


• Movies cannot be made without financial backers and Executive Producers play a vital role protecting and growing the investments of those investing in film productions.


• Sometimes an Executive Producer is very closely associated with the actual hands-on production as an actor (which is happening more and more nowadays; check out Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Pheonix, Pierce Brosnan, Queen Latifah, Daniel Craig and many, many more). This actor is what the industry calls a `Marquee Name’ or a `brand’ and he or she may invest in the project or is instrumental in influencing a studio to invest in a film he or she has agreed to play the lead in. In these cases, the investor will carry the title of Executive Producer, in addition to their normal credit of actor, director, etc.


• Anyone with enough money to invest or enough brand equity in the marketplace (ie: a Marquee Name), to attract investment, can become an executive producer.


• This title does not necessarily require film experience of any kind, or input into the process - although film experience, being a canny businessperson and being respected in the Industry can help a whole lot and is – we reckon – indispensible,


• An Executive Producer of a long form motion picture is typically a Producer who is somehow involved with a property that has since been optioned into a film, even if there is no direct input into the creative process of the film itself. e.g. a person who has previously owned or currently owns a literary property's movie rights or someone who has produced or been involved in the production of a past version of the film; a marquee actor grooming her or himself for the lead, with sufficient brand equity in the film industry to attract investment.


• He or she is usually the person who has arranged finance for the film.


• The title of Executive Producer (EP), or Executive in Charge of Production, typically describes a Film Producer who doesn't participate in the technical operations of the production process, but who is still responsible for the ultimate success of a project.

The generally accepted role of the Executive Producer is to supervise the work of the Producer on behalf of the production company, studio, the financiers or the distributors, and to ensure that the film is completed on time, and within budget, to agreed artistic and technical standards.

The term is often applied to a producer who has raised a significant proportion of a film's finance, or who has secured the underlying rights to the project. Typically, Executive Producers are not involved in the technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but have played a crucial financial or creative role in ensuring that the project goes into production.

RESPONSIBILITIES

It is quite difficult to pin down the precise responsibilities of the Executive Producer, as there may be several Executive Producers on any given feature film. In general, they usually fall into one or more of the following categories:

• DEVELOPMENT The Executive Producer secures the rights to a story and develops the screenplay, but then hands over to the lead Producer, and has no direct involvement in the physical production of the film.


• PACKAGING The Executive Producer authorizes and supervises the packaging of the film.


• FINANCING The Executive Producer raises a significant proportion of funding for the film, assists with presales, or helps to secure distribution agreements. On some films, a well-known Producer, Director or marquee star may also be accorded this title because their association with the project helps to facilitate contacts with financiers and distributors.


• PRODUCTION The Executive Producer acts as a mentor to the Producer and supervises production for the financiers. This type of Executive Producer is almost always involved in short film production schemes, where they typically co-ordinate the film's production from initial financing through to final distribution.

SKILLS

Executive Producers:

• Must be excellent negotiators.
• Require a keen business sense, and an intimate knowledge of all aspects of film production, financing and distribution.
• Are usually very well connected both within the industry and with investors and investment groups.
• Should have a strong sense and understanding of the market for films and of the developing trends in production and audience tastes.
• Must have a keen understanding of which packages will earn more than they cost when packaging a product.

POTENTIAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PATHS

Executive Producers may be well established Producers, who are able to strengthen a production package and attract money to the project. Alternatively, they may have a more specialized background, as a Distributor, Sales Agent or financier, and possess specific skills or contacts that make them critical to the success of the film.

Some of the best EPs around have worked their way up through the industry in way or another and are intimately acquainted with business financing and the production and the intricacies of the production process.

THE CO-PRODUCER

A Co-producer performs a substantial portion of a creative producing function and is primarily responsible for one or more managerial, producing functions.

• Co-producer could mean what it implies, or it could mean something else.
• It seems to fall between the credit of Line Producer and Producer.
• It may involve shared producer responsibility.
• A Co-producer usually has less responsibility than a producer for the completion of a project.
• A Co-Producer in South Africa may represent a long-form film production company in a co-production with a studio.
• If a Line Producer has a creative input to the production, he or she is also sometimes credited as a Co-producer.
• Note that if a project has more than one producer, it doesn't mean that these individuals are ‘Co-producers’ in the technical sense of that term.