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What does a film producer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted expert
Johnathan Paul
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Film producer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real film producer resumes:

  • Manage day-to-day completion activities including project planning and QA testing.
  • Work has been feature on the USOC website, NBC, ESPN, and PBS.
  • Help grow the Facebook page to nearly 100k likes.
  • Shoot, edit, & design DVD for wedding, sports, and educational videos.
  • Produce, write, direct, and serve on the production crews on, films and documentaries.
  • Experience videographer of captivating documentaries, business promotion video, music video and live event coverage.
  • Compose and edit scripts for television newscasts, entertainment television programing including fiction and non-fiction productions.
  • Compose and edit scripts for television newscasts, entertainment television programing including fiction and non-fiction productions.

Film producer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 69% of Film Producers are proficient in Animation, Film Production, and Music Videos. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Creativity, and Leadership skills.

We break down the percentage of Film Producers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Animation, 69%

    Produced various television commercials and music videos incorporating animation, film and video (Tyscott Records, Indiana University Basketball)

  • Film Production, 7%

    Co-founded the diversified entertainment management and film production start-up.

  • Music Videos, 6%

    Developed and contributed to 15 films, TV pilots, web series, music videos, short films, and scripts.

  • Feature Film, 2%

    Worked with Ballard High School to take students into the field to give them the experience of working on feature films.

  • Documentary Film, 1%

    Write, shoot, and edit documentary films, instruct students

  • Fiction, 1%

    Composed and edited scripts for television newscasts, entertainment television programing including fiction and non-fiction productions.

Common skills that a film producer uses to do their job include "animation," "film production," and "music videos." You can find details on the most important film producer responsibilities below.

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a film producer to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "producers and directors must convey information and ideas clearly in order to coordinate many people to finish a production on time and within budget." Additionally, a film producer resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "developed reality check franchise, and political website project with rtndf and annenberg school of communication. "

Creativity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling film producer duties is creativity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "because a script may be interpreted in different ways, directors must decide on their approach and on how to represent the script’s ideas for the production." According to a film producer resume, here's how film producers can utilize creativity in their job responsibilities: "freelance writer and film producer produced creative content in both script and novel form. "

Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of film producers is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday film producer duties, as "directors instruct actors and help them portray their characters in a believable manner." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assigned crew roles for production and post-production and operated cameras during shoots leadership experience"

See the full list of film producer skills

The three companies that hire the most film producers are:

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Compare different film producers

Film producer vs. Assistant stage manager

A stage manager is someone who oversees theatrical performances and all practical and technical aspects of rehearsals and shows, such as lighting cues, sound, prop usage, and costume changes. The core skills that stage managers should possess to accomplish their responsibilities include excellent attention to detail, the ability to multi-task and work under pressure, and strong leadership and problem-solving skills. They should be able to delegate tasks to staff. The job requires no formal education.

If we compare the average film producer annual salary with that of an assistant stage manager, we find that assistant stage managers typically earn a $6,837 lower salary than film producers make annually.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between film producers and assistant stage manager. For instance, film producer responsibilities require skills such as "animation," "film production," "music videos," and "feature film." Whereas a assistant stage manager is skilled in "live performances," "technical aspects," "stage management," and "asm." This is part of what separates the two careers.

The education levels that assistant stage managers earn slightly differ from film producers. In particular, assistant stage managers are 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a film producer. Additionally, they're 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Film producer vs. Stage manager

Producer interns require strong analytical, delegation, planning, time management, and prioritization skills, in addition to flexibility and the ability to work in fast-paced environments. Interns will need to set up rehearsals, transport musicians and instruments, plan and assist with recreational activities, and perform various other production tasks.

A career as a stage manager brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a film producer. In fact, stage managers salary is $43 lower than the salary of film producers per year.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that film producer responsibilities requires skills like "animation," "film production," "music videos," and "feature film." But a stage manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "stage management," "audio equipment," "control room," and "technical aspects."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Stage managers tend to reach similar levels of education than film producers. In fact, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for film producers in the next 3-5 years?

Johnathan PaulJohnathan Paul LinkedIn profile

Adjunct Professor, University of North Texas

We've slowly seen more and more companies in film, television, and video game development move a portion of their business to online and remote for the past ten years. However, with the global pandemic, we've seen those new models get pushed to the forefront in a concise amount of time. With that said, my classes have been integrating communication and project management apps into the classroom workflow and the core creative tools I use. So apps such as Zoom, Slack, Notion, Frame.io, Evercast, etc. are heavily used in my class, as students will now need to have a working knowledge of some or all of these applications once they move into the industry.

Film producer vs. Producer internship

An assistant to the producer primarily performs support tasks to assist producers in various production programs and projects. Their responsibilities often include preparing and managing schedules, handling calls and correspondence, coordinating with different personnel and teams to relay information, liaising and negotiating with suppliers and other services providers, maintaining records of all transactions, and running errands as needed. There are also times when they must answer inquiries, arrange appointments and travel plans, recruit and train new employees, and resolve issues and concerns should there be any.

An average producer internship eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of film producers. The difference in salaries amounts to producer interns earning a $12,870 lower average salary than film producers.Using the responsibilities included on film producers and producer interns resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "music videos," "youtube," and "documentaries.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a film producer is likely to be skilled in "animation," "film production," "feature film," and "art direction," while a typical producer internship is skilled in "video production," "audio clips," "news stories," and "video content."

Producer interns typically earn lower educational levels compared to film producers. Specifically, they're 5.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Film producer vs. Assistant to the producer

Assistant to the producers typically earn lower pay than film producers. On average, assistant to the producers earn a $19,548 lower salary per year.According to resumes from film producers and assistant to the producers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "film production," "feature film," and "documentaries. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between film producers and assistant to the producers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a film producer might have more use for skills like "animation," "music videos," "art direction," and "documentary film." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of assistant to the producers require skills like "customer service," "food safety," "video production," and "travel arrangements. "

The media industry tends to pay the highest salaries for assistant to the producers, with average annual pay of $33,680. Comparatively, the highest film producer annual salary comes from the start-up industry.The average resume of assistant to the producers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to film producers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.5%.

Types of film producer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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