Major Project: Producer Research

As a low budget independent producer - I will be taking on other roles from different department which means I need to make sure I am fully prepared and organised. Producers have the overall control over the film and must work closely with everyone involved to ensure a great product is created. The producer does not only work before the film in pre production by bringing all the creative people together (cinematographer, director and production designer) they also are on set in production, and in post production work closely with the director and editor.

Source: http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/757_producer

What is the actual role of a producer?

Producer – Oversees all financial, legal and scheduling of a film production from development through filming to release and marketing. Producers command the primary credit for any theatrical release.

I looked on a ''How To Become a Movie Producer Guide'' on TomCruise.com which provided some very helpful research. I have discussed below the research given as well as how it has helped me develop the aspects of our production and what ideas it has given me. 

The first step, was the find the story, script or idea to turn into the movie - however this part is already been done and it is still being worked on to make sure the script is already for production.

Locating financing to meet the production budget for the film: Another absolutely crucial part of the producer’s job. This is where the financial wizardry of many of today’s producers come into play: you can’t make a movie without the money to pay for all the highly skilled people involved. From buying the screenplay to marketing and advertising the film, it all takes money. In some situations, producers may finance the production themselves or use whatever wealth at their disposal to secure loans for the production.

Budget is something extremely important and something which I want to make sure isn't overlooked. It's definitely true that the advertising and promotion also should be included on the budget. I currently have paid around £90 for the publishing for the website which lasts a year. This ensures that we have more storage on the website, along with the .com domain to make it look more professional. It also lets us have extra help and support if needed along with some additional features on the website. I have begun to also create a budget list which will help me know how much money we are spending, and how much we will have left to pay the actors. It's a very long process as we are still buying the props, however i'm sure it will be done. We did try to receive funding from Indiegogo and Kickstarter however it didn't work too well. Therefore Vic and I are putting in the money ourselves and we are luckily getting help from my dad who will be funding the project too. Our average budget right now is £700 - £1,000 (max) however it may go up depending on prices for a large prop, or could go down depending on location and cast prices. 

Finding the creative team to make the movie: For the major producers of a Hollywood movie, this normally means the key players on the production including the director and star actors. The producer often secures financing based on commitments from negotiations with these partners for a film shoot, so pieces of this step may come before the previous. Much of the other creative team are hired either through the director or producers further down the hierarchy of the production.

I've thought a lot about our team for the project, and originally it was going to be Chris Sarmiento on sound and Lawrence Sedgwick as DOP. However, after a few test shots we have decided Chris would be more suitable on camera than sound as that's his strong point, and also Lawrence isn't available for filming every date so Sam Babington will be sound operator, this is much more suitable for everyone. Patricia Dixon will be the production assistant and i'm confident she will do well in this, we've already discussed with her numerous times about what her job will entail and she knows the project and story well. Vic and I are happy with the team and I'm excited to be working along side them. 

Managing schedule and expenses during the shoot: Depending on the difficulty of the shoot or the environment, costs can quickly escalate during production. It’s up to the producer to keep the creative team on task and moving forward as quickly as possible in order to keep expenses down. However,  producers also have to balance costs with the quality of the finished product. Here lies the source of conflict on many movie shoots – what to keep and what to get rid of and when to just move on.

This Vic and I have discussed any additional costs we may need. I have thought about any costs that may occur incase we have to reshoot. If worse comes to worse we would have to re pay for cast travel expense and also for the location. I will leave some money spare from the budget for this incase we need it. 

Keeping post production on schedule and under budget: Just as they manage the schedule and budgets on location, producers stay in partnership with directors, editors and visual effects artists to keep post production running smoothly. While post production isn’t under the same pressures of location filming by nature, it has increasingly become an area of film production where costs skyrocket. Careful planning in pre-production may mitigate costs and time crunch in these latter stages.

A post production schedule was something I hadn't thought about, however it's definitely a tip I shall be getting straight to. In the post production schedule I can include dates which Vic can edit to (discussing with him to make sure its realistic). I could also make weeks for specific things such as sound, colour grading, music, foley. This will help us to be more organised and to push for a quicker edit. 

Marketing and promotion of the film: A producer often worked with a studio or distributor on how to best promote and market a film. This includes everything from the posters found in a movie theater lobby to commercials to a film’s website. The producer gives input to all these facets of making sure audiences know about the film and want to go see it.

I will be creating a poster for our film, along with a short trailer to promote our film.

The tips I found are useful in making sure I am doing all the right steps from production to post production. I found the post production tip especially helpful and it will definitely help us to stay on track.

Source: http://www.tomcruise.com/blog/2010/11/05/how-to-become-movie-producer-guide/