Producer

The Producer manages the entire film, from inception to completion and beyond.

Many people don't know what a Producer does. That's because there's so much that they do. They seem to be in charge of everything - and that's because, well, they are.

To give you an idea, at the Academy Awards, when they award Best Picture, the people who go up to collect the award are the Producers.

There are different categories of producers, and they use many different skillsets.

• Creative Producers work with the writer and director to develop the story. They come up with creative ways to handle issues that come up.

• Legal Producers focus on the legalities of making a film production. Contracts and managing rights are their strong-suits.

• Financial Producers are good at working with investors and raising money, and sorting the financial side so there is a return on investment.

• Line Producers have strengths in breaking down the script to work out what is needed to make the film - including the schedule, locations, cast, crew, and the cost. They create and manage budgets.

• Negotiating Producers are good and negotiating the best deals. They work well with people to reach the best agreement for all parties.

• Networking Producers are great at bringing people together. They have a wealth of connections that they can use to build the best project and connect the right people.

Producers are the main organisers of the film. If they don't do something themselves, they hire the right person to do it. These are some of the things of which they are in charge.

• They hire the writer. They may set the brief to commission a script, or will field pitches to develop a project. They will work with the writer to develop the script into something that can be sold.

• They will pitch the film to raise finance and bring on talent.

• They write the business plan. They set up and administer the company. This means they manage residual payments to investors, taxes, all the financial stuff. They manage the investors and Executive Producers.

• They manage the legal side of the production, including drawing up and signing the contracts.

• They are in charge of people management, including the hiring and firing of cast and crew.

• They set and administer the schedule. They set deadlines and enforce them.

• They hire locations, equipment, transport. They arrange the catering.

• They arrange the marketing of the film. They are the ones to make sure the film will reach an audience.

• They mitigate risk - financial, physical. They will have multiple contingencies if and when things go wrong. If something goes wrong, it's their butt on the line.

• They manage the Production Department. They may hire a Line Producer, and will have support from Production Manager(s), Production Coordinator(s), and Production Assistant(s).

Our Producer is Patricia Hetherington, who runs Action On The Side through her Production Company, Busy Kiwi Productions Ltd.