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Page 1 of 3 What is Production?
Production is the logistics of creating a film. While directing is more concerned with the creative side, production is more about the practical aspects of making a film. This is by no means an absolute rule, roles are often non-spesific and vary with both the medium (TV, flim etc.) and the size of the project.
 Some maintain that part of the role of a producer is to maintain the 'overall vision' of a film. That is to ensure that all the other creative disciplines (art direction, director, costume, set design, script, lighting, sound etc.) do not stray to far from the main aim of the film. In some respects this is also the directors role, but being a director carries the serious danger of not being able to 'see the wood for the trees' or missing the bigger picture because you're concentrating on small details. Maybe the best way to define the role of a producer is in part ensuring the practical side goes ahead and in part acting as a balance to the creative control of a director. If you are part of a film production team, the best way do define the role of a producer is to sit down together with the other production heads, and bang out a definition and responsibilities that all understand and can work with. In summary one could define the role of the producer as: - Co-ordinate communications both within the team and from external groups/organisation.
- Schedule the whole process from pre-production to post-production.
- Maintain the morale of the team.
- Adjudicate creative decisions and differences.
- Maintain the 'big picture' of the whole project.
- Secure financing for the project.
As a producer you will need to be very active. Asking yourself basic questions to ensure the film goes well: Is the story board ready for use? Will everyone be where they are supposed to be with the equipment they need and the time required to allow the actual filmmaking process to occur?
Production is a vital area, all the cool ideas, hundreds of pages of beautifully scripted dialogue and a top of the range camera and equipment will not save a film if the production is terrible. Equally if the production is good and the atmosphere created is a positive, well-oiled machine then creativity will flourish. Recent studies by the psychologist G.L.Caxton discussed how creativity flourishes when individuals feel free from pressure and stress. As a producer you have the ability to remove the pressure and tap into the teams creativity.
Production Stages
These are the basic stages you will need to go through to complete your film. More complex films will often involve more processes. Remember, while these stages have gradually evolved as a good model of development, they are by no means absolute.
 Pre-Production
This includes finalising any contracts, assembling a team, generating basic ideas and arriving at the first draft of the script. Following this development of story boards, shooting scripts and actual development of the script until you have got a body of documents that are ready to go.  Filming
Once you've got everything ready it's time to begin the actual filming. This is the bead and butter of the process and while good pre-production will help this go smoothly, you'll need to be on top of the process constantly to make sure if anything is going to go wrong, you're ready to fix it.  Post Production
The finished footage now needs to be logged, edited and turned from a pile of rushes into a completed masterpiece. Next we take a look at Production Tools.
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