The most effective film producers in the industry are able to bring nearly any script to life and turn it into an acclaimed smash hit. It's not just a matter of discovering a rough diamond-- although that helps. It means being able to turn a "meh" motion picture into a summertime blockbuster or turning a surefire hit into a beloved movie franchise.
A lot of producers didn't begin producing motion pictures. They were directors, writers, cinematographers, and even secretaries. Steve Spielberg didn't produce his first big-budget movie (E.T.) till after establishing himself as a director with several TELEVISION credits and the movies Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark. James Cameron was a production assistant, set dresser assistant, mini designer, and matte artist prior to his first feature-length film director credit-- Piranha II: The Spawning. He went on to produce Titanic and Avatar, motion pictures that integrated to gross nearly 5 billion dollars at package office.
Kathleen Kennedy has produced the last 5 star Wars films but began as a cam operator at a San Diego TV station. Her "break" came when she was worked with as a Spielberg assistant that could not type. Kevin Feige had to apply 6 times before getting accepted to film school and he's produced more than 40 Marvel motion pictures. What we're trying to say is big-time motion picture producers aren't born, they're made. In many cases, they had entry-level tasks and worked their way up the ladder, learning all the method. Feige might be the outlier here-- an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel Universe got him worked with as an associate manufacturer at age . he was named President of Production at Marvel Studios.
So you can hang around brushing up on comics and wait for lightning in a bottle, or you can roll up your sleeves and put in the work, finding out everything you can about what goes into making TELEVISION shows or feature movies. Since as a producer, you'll be accountable for everything.
What Does a Manufacturer Do?
Being a movie producer is an intriguing position. You are accountable for almost whatever that occurs during recording, although you never ever act, Browse around this site run a camera, use makeup, or any of the hundreds of other things that happen on and off the set. As the manufacturer, you're the one in charge of hiring all of those individuals.
In smaller sized films, you might even be the writer, director, cinematographer, gaffer, and so on. Robert Rodriguez is popular for producing El Mariachi all by himself for simply a little more than $7,000. He managed the shooting from start to end up, protected funding, looked after post-production, and found cast members.
For El Mariachi, all of the pre-production took location in Rodriguez's head. On a major movie, however, that ends up being a much bigger task. Pre-production consists of securing the rights to an existing work, locking down the script, getting the storyboards provided to the director, and getting the locations developed.
From there, the cast is selected, teams are employed, and even wardrobe choices are made. Other creative options, such as the amount of CGI required or technical aspects of shooting the film are gone over. It depends on the manufacturer to bring everybody together and set the specifications.
This is where having a little bit of history in the industry is a good thing. You meet a lot of people moving from task to task, company to company. Exists a key grip you specifically liked working with? Or a closet expert who easily made those last-minute modifications? Conversely, existed a chief lighting service technician or gaffer who refused any and all input?