When I see TV or movie credits I see:
executive producers; supervising producers; associate producers; produced by…; etc.
The list goes on and on. Would someone be kind enough to explain to me why so many producers and their contributions? Or has this been discussed already?
Here’s to those who wish us well…may all the rest go straight to hell
These titles are all ego perks given to actors and writers to sweeten contract negotiations. They don’t mean anything, except, maybe, as an indicator of how important the real producers think an individual person is to the show.
Elmer J. Fudd,
Millionaire.
I own a mansion and a yacht.
TV producer and film producer are different. A TV producer is more like a director, and the associates and assistants and such are in charge of different parts of the show’s actual production.
Film producers are usually money givers. The amount of money you give can give you a title, but there will always be an executive producer or producers. These people take the decisions about anything to do with costs; payroll, effects budget, length of a shoot, etc. Other producers, ones who don’t always give money, do the dirty work for the execs on the set. On a set, you will see a couple of people, dressed very nicely with tiny mobile phone attached to their ears, who seem to be very concerned with how long everything is taking and weather and stuff that may affect the shooting schedule like that. There are also things like line producers and such that actually do technical film-making jobs, akin to a director.
On the lowest end you have production assistants. These are the people who do the grunt work for the director, assistant director, and most importantly, the second assistant director. They herd extras, stop traffic, run things to and fro, get water for the cast, watch sets during breaks, and tell people to be quiet when shooting starts.
Of course, director can be producers like Spielberg and Lucas, actors produce, and some, like Spike Lee and tons of film school students, write, act, direct, edit and produce.
If the money
TV producer and film producer are different. A TV producer is more like a director, and the associates and assistants and such are in charge of different parts of the show’s actual production.
Film producers are usually money givers. The amount of money you give can give you a title, but there will always be an executive producer or producers. These people take the decisions about anything to do with costs; payroll, effects budget, length of a shoot, etc. Other producers, ones who don’t always give money, do the dirty work for the execs on the set. On a set, you will see a couple of people, dressed very nicely with tiny mobile phone attached to their ears, who seem to be very concerned with how long everything is taking and weather and stuff that may affect the shooting schedule like that. There are also things like line producers and such that actually do technical film-making jobs, akin to a director.
On the lowest end you have production assistants. These are the people who do the grunt work for the director, assistant director, and most importantly, the second assistant director. They herd extras, stop traffic, run things to and fro, get water for the cast, watch sets during breaks, and tell people to be quiet when shooting starts.
Of course, director can be producers like Spielberg and Lucas, actors produce, and some, like Spike Lee and tons of film school students, write, act, direct, edit and produce.
If the money
I hate double posts and I hate those extra three words. (If the money). Actually, it’s kind of riveting. If the money what? What was I going to write? Was there much more?
WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?
Related to producers, I often see movies advertised as being ‘From the PRODUCERS of Star Wars’ or some such crap like that. Does the guy who supplies the money and coordinates the project have any bearing what-so-ever on the actual quality of the film? Hell, I find that even seeing a movie because you like the actor/actress in it is not a good enough predictor of quality, so why would I give a shit about the producer?
Go rent “Wag the Dog”. It’s a great film, and shows a no doubt highly fictionalized, but good enough for laymen, depiction of what producers do. I’d say the Dustin Hoffman character produced and directed the war, and Bob DeNiro exec produced, but like I said, it’s undoubtedly more true to the spirit of the industry than the reality of it.
True. The producer finds the money and hires the major names (director, major stars, writer) on the project. He deals with the big picture. An executive producer handles the smaller details – where to shoot, arranging studio time. The various line and associate producers deal with day-to-day details (renting equipment, finding extras, etc.).
I agree that the producer of a film isn’t as important as the director and stars.
“East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx
Read “Sundials” in the new issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction. www.sff.net/people/rothman