General Description
This is an ideal career for creative thinkers. A film and television producer plans and manages both the technical and artistic streams of the film or TV production process. You supervise the budget, recruitment of staff, script development and coordination of sets, locations and equipment. In many ways a producer is like the Managing Director of a company.
Career Advice - Film & Television Producer Career
Your job is to ensure all aspects of the film or TV production co-ordinates well enough to produce a marketable film or TV series. Like any good leader you need to be able to hire good managers to help you achieve this goal.
What you do every day
You work closely with the Director throughout the entire pre-production, production and post-production process. During pre-production one of your tasks is to study the script in order to determine what physical requirements you need to source such as locations, equipment and crew members. A key task in pre-production is to hire department heads.
As the Producer you will create a broad schedule for the production, focusing on casting auditions, finding locations, rehearsals, camera tests, production meetings, shooting dates and post- production dates.
During production, you will oversee the changes in the schedule. On a daily basis you will also make sure that the production is running smoothly and come up with alternatives if problems should arise. You manage distributor expectations, executive producers and conflicts that may arise between creative and technical elements.
Personality that best fit this career
A successful Producer must be highly organised,creative in your thinking and have extraordinary administrative skills. You are highly persistent, able to multi-task to a high degree, and be very good at problem solving. You should also have a positive attitude, remain calm under pressure and be very committed to the work. It is important to be able to co-ordinate and work in a team and have a keen interest in film and television.
Best thing about this career
The most rewarding thing about being a Producer is seeing all your hard work come to fruition, when the project appears on a TV or film screen. Working on productions can also give you valuable life experience as you work with a variety of different people and manage different situations Contributing to the telling of a great story, making a difference to people’s lives and enabling other industry professionals to achieve their dreams are the best things about the job.
Worst thing about this career
You must be prepared to work very long hours with 12 hour days not uncommon resulting in tiredness and sleep deprivation. At times projects derail resulting in expensive losses and disheartened people.
About the Author
Kat Holmes
Producer of Kat Life Films
Kat Life Films produce films that challenge the viewer and their perception of either themselves or the world around them. They fictionalise current events and issues, and centre the narrative on ordinary characters trying to find meaning in their lives. Kat Life Films aims to produce films that matter.

Did you know it cost $7 million to build the Titanic and $200 million to make a film about it?