If you’ve ever stayed to watch a film’s credits, you’ve seen the names of actors, directors and certain crew members whose contributions are self-explanatory. You’ve probably seen multiple names with production credits, but their roles may not be as clear. There are so many different types: executive, supervising, associate, line, segment, and even co-producers. You may ask yourself what is a producer and what do they actually do.
Executive Producers
Simply put, a producer is an overseer for a movie or TV program. An executive producer is one whose responsibilities typically include:
- Developing the show or film premise and/or procuring rights to a script or other source material.
- Funding (including putting up their own money and/or securing money elsewhere).
- Assigning the creative leads.
- Managing day-to-day operations.
- Leading marketing and distribution efforts.
Executive producers such as David Guillod often wear many hats and their involvement and responsibilities vary from project to project.
Types of Producers
For some films, a producer may be one who lends their name to a project and does nothing else. It’s also common for one to also be a director, actor or another crew member. An executive producer often supervises other production staff members with specific roles and duties. Line producers run the physical aspects of filming. A supervising producer often oversees creative staff, such as writers, casting directors and music composer. Segment producers may be responsible for a portion of a program that contains multiple segments. Co-producers may serve on teams leading or assisting other crew members. Production assistants fulfill a number of roles which depend on the type of film, the budget and other requirements.
Production credits have increased over the past few years, with some producers having the comparable name recognition to that of the lead actors. It is often a producer or production team that is credited with the Best Picture award and appears onstage to accept the Oscar(s). These people serve essential functions for a movie or other production from soup to nuts.
