The person who handles the logistics and finances of the production: budgets, crew bookings, location permits, scheduling, and making sure everything actually happens.

The director creates; the producer makes it possible. A good producer protects the creative vision by managing practical constraints so the director can focus on the work. Without a solid producer, even great ideas fall apart on shoot day.

Producer in the real world

On OK Go’s Here It Goes Again (2006), there was effectively no producer. The band hid the video from their label and manager entirely, bought eight treadmills through a deal their director’s husband arranged, and shot in her Florida home. When the label did eventually find out, they were furious. The video went on to win a Grammy. It remains one of the strongest arguments for what happens when the absence of a conventional production structure leads to something genuinely original.

Related terms

Director, Production schedule, Commissioning budget, Call sheet, Assistant Director (AD)