A Day In The Life Of A...Producer (Part 1)
Producers tend to wear a lot of hats throughout a production and because of this, a lot of the times, people aren’t quite sure what it is they do. This is a difficult role to pin down as it really varies. Depending on the type of media you work in the term producer can mean a million different tasks or a few specialised responsibilities. The producers at Particle 6 Productions take on many tasks such as;
Location Hunting
Research & Creation of Proposals / Pitches
Budget
Keeping Key Messaging in check
Hiring Cast & Crew
Client Relations
A mix of creative, financial, technological and administrative responsibilities. Today we have interviewed one of our wonderful producers about her duties.
Francesca's Interview
How did you come to be a Producer?
Well, I’ve been doing film production for over 10 years, I’ve taken part in many areas of filmmaking, from producing to cinematographer and editing. I have a masters in Journalism and documentary filmmaking. I’ve recently produced a documentary - and I think that I really enjoy producing as I get to be creative but I also get to manage the entire project. So that's sort of how I ended up in my position today.
What are the roles you usually take on under the producer umbrella?
Most recently, I've been doing a lot of pitches for broadcast companies such as the BBC. They [the pitch writing] always take a lot longer than you expect. There are a lot briefs often posted online and then you know, you read through them and then you sit and generate ideas. Episode ideas, Comedic ideas, research on scientific topics and then you pitch it! It can be pretty fun but also can be pretty daunting with the amount of writing you have to do.
What are your favourite pitches to write?
I have a bias to broadcast writing specifically when it's educational. As someone with a journalism and charity sector background I love to engage with the public on a deeper level. Being able to spread awareness and understanding to the people who not only want it but need it, is a life goal of mine.
What is it about Particle 6 that you feel has helped you develop in your production role?
I think that I've been given a lot of responsibilities and I'm able to be a part of every aspect of production. I'm there when the client first comes in, I help with creating ideas for them - and I'm talking about corporate clients now. I get to help with some of the casting, finding music, location scouting and getting them to watch the edits. Making sure to give their feedback to the editors and assuring that the clients are happy from start to finish. So I've just really been grateful to have an opportunity to be a part of every step.
Tell us about one of your most memorable projects that you’ve worked on as a producer.
The Mrs Wordsmith dancing shoot. It was one of the first projects I produced here [at Particle 6 Productions] with Cameron. It was a really fun day of production and shooting.
After all this discussion over what it is you do, can you try to sum up (in a sentence) what it is a Producer does?
They oversee a project from beginning to end.