Christians in Cinema

Producer: Think of him/her as the General Manager/COO of the film. They raise the funds, hire key members of the cast and crew (director, screenwriter), and during filming, keep a handle on the budget. Is a $5,000 microphone dangled from a helicopter really necessary for this shot, or could we make do with something that costs $1,000 instead? Those are the types of questions a producer must handle daily.

Unlike the Broadway show, real Producers actually try to make money with their films.

On a smaller budget film (think independent), the producer will handle a lot of duties that might be delegated to someone else on a larger budget project. I’ve seen the production team of Signal Hill Pictures and ChristianCinema.com do things like:

• Scout locations (where will the movie be filmed?)
• Drive cast and crew to aforementioned locations
• Find equipment to rent for the production
• Locate a certain medication needed for a cast member

How do you learn to be a producer? You could go to film school or you could take jobs on film sets and watch everything that happens. When a producer does his job well, the film is done on time, under budget, and the investors are on their way to recouping their investment.