How to Become a Producer

Movie producers do plenty of fundraising for their films.

Every great movie has a movie producer who has made it possible. If you are passionately interested in a position of leadership, are skilled at raising money and if you enjoy working in film and video production, then you fit the career description for a successful movie producer.

Instructions

1. Consider majoring in business and minoring in a liberal arts program in college. Making movies is an aesthetic process. However, a movie producer bears responsibility for raising money for any film and video production with which she is involved. While a diploma is not cited as necessary in the career description of a producer, academic success will benefit you in this work because you can learn how to better perform in business matters as well as how to better analyze the artistic merits of the projects proposed to you.

2. Study the financial dynamics of the motion-picture industry. You will need to have a firm grasp of a movie's performance potential before you choose to invest your time, effort and money into giving it a "green light." Because raising money is your biggest task in making movies, you will also want to be sure that your movies can make money. You don't want to invest in film and video production that will sink like a stone at the box office. Therefore, do your research so that you can excel as a movie producer. An excellent resource to learn about box office totals (both for classic films as well as recent ones) is the website Box Office Mojo (see Resources). This website will list production budgets for films, as well as their domestic and worldwide performance totals.

3. Capture an audience early by producing short videos on the Internet. Film and video production costs are prohibitive for any novice producer who has not received an inheritance from a wealthy relative. Making movies is a process that can involve hundreds--if not thousands--of people, all of whom need to be paid. One way a future movie producer can get his foot in the door film is by producing short videos with low overhead costs, which can be distributed for free to an Internet audience. By using his skill and savvy, a future producer can parlay success with short videos into the power to begin raising money for larger projects.

4. Develop a viable marketing plan for the work you release. One of the most important things any career description of a movie producer should mention is that you must know how to handle money well. This means that you know how to allocate funds for a film and video production, and you know how to help the finished film reach a paying audience. If you are good at raising money for a film, but terrible at knowing how to market your work so that it will make a profit, then you need to improve on this shortcoming to be an effective movie producer.

5. Secure an entry-level position in the film or television industry, Preferably as a production assistant. Even if you are already independently wealthy before you decide to begin making movies, you will still want to know the "do's and dont's" of film and video production. The best way for this to happen is if you begin to work at movie or television studios at an entry-level position. (You will probably have more luck in getting work at a television studio for a small city than at a movie studio.) When you learn how good movies are made, you will eventually be equipped to perform in your role as a movie producer.

6. Enlarge your opportunities on the basis of commercial successes rather than simply via networking skills. Hollywood's most successful type of movie producer realizes that raising money is essential to making movies. Though she uses her influence and connections to bolster her projects, she realizes that the most essential component of her career description is the ability to make financially sound decisions. When mounting a film and video production, any smart movie producer will ask herself, "Will this film be profitable?"

Tips & Warnings

• Every investment is a risk, but it is usually better to make "calculated" risks with small investments. Although many filmmakers are passionate and certain of success with their work, you must be on guard as a movie producer for potential losses with any investment. Don't be suckered into sinking every last dime into a production with limited commercial appeal.

• Don't give into temptation to control every aspect of a film's production. Let the director, actors and production crew do their job without your constant interference. Rather than become an adversarial force on a movie set, help to nurture a film's production with gestures of support and guidance.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Box Office Mojo