webdev In the first instance, the producer is the person who frequently instigates the video production in the first place. In the world of commercial and corporate video production, the producer has to develop their business and win clients and maintain relationships with these clients. This is totally vital to the process and everyone involved in it, no producer, no clients, no work, no videos.
The producer can win business in a number of different ways. There is a wealth of marketing avenues to help them develop business relationships. These include PR, networking, referrals, and advertising, a good web presence, social media and good old telephone business development. With a decent mix of all of the above, not before long, the producer should have a decent roster of clients looking to have videos produced.
It’s not what you know..
The next element vital is to have a good team of staff to take up all the various roles required to shoot a video. Specific roles are talked about in other parts of this document, but suffice it to say, the most important thing is to have a group of trusted professionals to ensure that the shoot goes as smoothly as possible. This is also why it is so hard to get into the business without knowing the right people or nepotism – to put your trust in a stranger is difficult, when your reputation and career is at stake.
The producer is generally (depending on the size of the operation) in charge of most other elements of ensuring production company runs smoothly, from invoicing to insurance, rights releasing to DVD duplication and more.
When a client has a requirement, the producer will take a brief from the client, talk through their desirables and essentials, then refer to his creative team and come back with a quote. If the quote is successful, the producer will liaise with the client and his creative team in a pre-production phase, to put all essential elements of the shoot and post production in place.
Producer’s need to have a steady head
It is the producer’s responsibility to arrange everything as far as the shoot is concerned, from locations to studios, to production team and timings. A good head for co-ordination is vital, as the producer will be the point of contact for many different people, clients and production staff included. After everything is set up and the shoot commences, the producer sits back and allows the director to run the production, it is now important for the producer to make sure the clients (who are usually on set) are kept happy and well feed and watered.
After a (hopefully) successful production shoot, the producer will hand over the reins to the production companies’ head of post production. From this point the shoot will be edited, graded and put through what other elements of post production and motion graphics that are necessary. Typically the client will be able to ask for several rounds of editorial changes to ensure their video is perfect before final sign off.
