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In today’s issue of The Friday Filmmaker, I’m going to take you through the various Producer credits.
Understanding the role of each Producer is important if you plan on teaming up with one. It ensures you understand what to expect from the role and the potential rewards. This will set your relationship up with a Producer for success.
Unfortunately, the Producer credit is by far the most confusing!
Here are some things that add to the confusion:
It’s all a bit of a mess. But don’t worry, over the years I’ve worked with every combination of Producer there is.
So I’ll lay them out one by one. Keep in mind this is for independent projects, not those financed by a studio.
Here we go:
The Producer usually owns the lion’s share of the IP.
They find the project, develop it, finance it, produce it, sell it and own it. The best analogy for a producer is property developer. The responsibility and liability of the entire production rests with them. And so do the potential rewards.
Role: Developing, producing and selling intellectual property.
Fee structure: Producer fees, overheads, profits.
Ownership: Lion’s share.
Reports to: Financiers.
An Executive Producer is either providing finance or securing it.
They are usually private investors, distributors or sales agents. They can also be Producers providing consulting services related to finance. Because so many people can fall under this credit, you’ll often see many EPs on an indie film.
Role: Finding or providing finance.
Fee structure: Percentage of profits, extra fee if a consultant.
IP Ownership: Up to 50% for private investors.
Reports to: No one if an investor, the Producer if a consultant.
Share the responsibility, share the risk.
A Producer will bring on a co-producer to help with financing and managing the production. It's usually a strategic decision by the Producer. They don’t receive the full Producer credit because they provide less finance and take on less risk. This is most common in a co-production between two companies in different countries.
Role: Raising finance and managing the production with the Producer.
Fee structure: Producer fees, percentage of profits.
IP Ownership: Up to 50% but usually less than half of the Producer.
Reports to: The Producer - but it’s more of a collaboration.
An Associate Producer facilitates finance or assists the Producer.
An Associate Producer could find a minority amount of finance. For example, they might attach a sales agent or distributor to the film. Or they work with the Producer to help the entire production, from development to release.
Role: Raising minority finance or facilitating production.
Fee structure: Producer fee.
IP Ownership: Nil.
Reports to: The Producer.
Nothing gets done without a line producer.
This person is the secret weapon behind a production. They deliver the film on schedule and on budget. They are responsible for the day-to-day management of the production. Think of them as the COO (Chief Operations Officer) of a film.
Role: Operations.
Fee structure: Producer fee.
IP Ownership: Nil.
Reports to: The Producer.
Creative side over the business side.
This is a new title and in some ways is a misnomer, as the Producer’s role is creative. But some producers gravitate more towards the creative aspects of the role. This title reflects their focus on ensuring a film realises its creative potential. It’s not used as a on-screen credit as they still receive a Producer credit.
Role: Developing, producing and selling intellectual property.
Fee structure: Producer fees, overheads, profits.
Ownership: Lion’s share.
Reports to: Investors.
Now here’s the catch: there are no hard and fast rules about these credits. The above is a guide. A Producer makes the final decision about which credit to assign to each individual. And individuals might try to negotiate a more favourable credit.
Well that's it for today's issue. I hope you enjoyed it.
See you next week for our last issue for the year.
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