The Producer’s Real Job

As I was reading the uncanny trajectory of Sev Ohanian, who went from graduating from USC to being co-producer on Fruitvale Station with zero experience as a “real” producer in his wallet, one of his sentence struck me:

After all, a producer’s job is to keep everyone communicating.

I’m not sure how obvious this is for you, but this simple sentence brings the lights on a fundamental skill that is often forgotten in favor of the more practical skills (budgeting, scheduling, bringing assets).

Filmmaking is never a one-person endeavor. And it can reach the hundreds of collaborators. And humankind might have mastered language, but if History is teaching us anything is that silence and misunderstandings still prevail.

So the job of a producer is to make sure everybody is on the same page at all times, and that the project keeps moving forward. And the only way to do that is by having clear and steady communication.

To compensate for his lack of field knowledge Ohanian decided to be proactive and ensure the communication between all members of the team was as fluid as can be at all times:

Part of my job was to report back to the producers in LA while I was up in Oakland in prep and represent the production company. But of course that led me to naturally starting to create a lot of jobs for myself. I would start to identify areas that needed work, like ‘Okay, we don’t have a plan for this scene that we’re shooting in two weeks.’ And I would just start getting in touch with department heads, making sure things were covered, following up, etc. It very quickly spiraled into an endless To-Do list.

You might not have a ton of experience, but if you are proactive and a good communicator, you’re already in great shape. Everything else will be learned by practice.

The role of a lead producer can be summed up to three things:

Have a shared vision of what the film you’re making is about

Have access to money, talent, or material

Maintain clear communication with everyone on the team

Which is why it is essential as a filmmaker to partner up with a lead producer who becomes an ally and takes care of this huge side of the process so you can focus on the actual filmmaking and directing sides of it.