A line producer is responsible for budgeting and maintaining the budget during film and TV production. They determine the cost of the project, allocate the budget, and prevent overspending. The job requires creativity, industry knowledge, and communication skills.
A line producer is a critical part of most film and television productions. As a member of the production team, this professional is responsible for budgeting each element of the production and ensuring that the budget is maintained during pre-production and principal photography. This job requires an ability to think creatively about budgetary issues and the frequent emergencies in the film and TV world, as well as a scrupulous ability to understand industry costs.
When a script is being prepared for possible production, a line producer is often brought on board to help set the film’s budget. He or she can tell the executive producers what to reasonably expect in terms of the price of the project, taking into account cast and crew salaries, cost of building sets and using venues, renting equipment, operating the set, and paying the safe . Everything is included in a film’s budget, from the costumes to the trailers and the grapes on the craft table.
If a budget has already been allocated for production, the line producer helps the rest of the production team determine how the money should be divided. This requires a lot of creative thinking as there are many departments in a movie or TV set that need money to operate at their best. A line producer must excel in weighing the different options for each project, for example, whether it is more important that the money is spent on costumes or set decoration, or whether there is room to hire a backup camera should the main one fail. .
When production starts, the work of a line producer is no less important. A set costs money every day to run; a line producer must prevent him from going over budget. In certain cases, if a project is extended beyond the initial filming dates, the line producer will usually come up with a second budget for additional filming. Working with the executive producer and the rest of the production team, the studio or financiers can be approached to add additional money to the production based on this secondary budget.
While it may seem like a monotonous job of accounting and adding numbers, thread production requires a lot of creativity, industry knowledge and communication skills. Being able to allocate and decline money without pissing people off is a vital part of the job; a good line producer will be just as good at talking to people as he is at dealing with money issues. Also, a critical skill needed on the job is the ability to read and understand script importance and style to know where the money is most needed.
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