Content and Production Role Research

Content/production role research  

We have a small crew for this project, meaning that each member is responsible for multiple roles. I have been assigned the roles of producer, props master, script supervisor and location scout. Some of these roles are new to me and others will provide challenges I am yet to face so I have researched each role and my responsibilities with each role to ensure I keep the project on track and to schedule.  

 

My most dominant role for this project is being the producer as without a producer, there is no project. The producer propels the project from an unformed idea to a living-colour broadcast. As my pair’s pitched ideas won the commission, we have become the producers of the show. Producers are risk-takers, who seize an idea, run with it, and convince others to follow them. The producer’s role also comes with heavy demands and responsibilities. The role involves finding, writing, developing, and pitching an idea. Your idea forms the essence of your project. Then, you’ll develop it and flesh it out, protect it legally, and finally, you’ll produce it (Kellison, 2006). Whatever genre producers work in, they need to be full of ideas, skilled at creating content and ensuring that whatever information they feature is factually correct. Producers are responsible for completing the pre-production paperwork and managing various teams of people (ScreenSkills, n.d.A). They are often the first people on a project and the last ones off, they are the overall project supervisors who get it off the ground, onto its feet and support it through development and production. They also must budget a script; negotiate a deal and secure financing. The producers usually hire all key members of the production such as the director, writers, key department heads, actors, and other talents, crew, or anyone else needed to bring the project to life (Kellison, 2006). 

 

Productions involve many departments working together that all need to have a shared vision for a successful show (Brown and Duthie, 2019). It is also an important aspect of the producers’ role to motivate the team, keep morale up and ensure a creative and stable working environment for everyone involved (AGCAS editors, 2022).  If this is achieved the role of producer can be extremely rewarding, as Justin Wilkes stated “I love bringing talented people together. There’s no greater feeling than standing on a shoot, sitting in an edit or watching the final product on TV, knowing that you as the producer pulled together an incredible, hard-working group of people to create something.”. There are several skills required by the producer to achieve this rewarding feeling. These include Collaboration, communication skills, conflict management, listening skills, and leadership skills. A producer can do nothing without a team as without them to actualize the project, a producer is useless. The producer uses her people skills to not only attract qualified people to the project but to keep them engaged and collaborative (Kellison, 2006). It is typical for a producer to overcome obstacles and problem-solving is essential to being a producer. In TV plans change frequently and often at the last minute so the producer is tasked with finding solutions quickly (Brown and Duthie, 2019). Some other skills include being highly motivated to withstand the pressure of the role; confidence in your ability; being able to motivate others; being well organised and planning skills and presentation and pitching skills (AGCAS editors, 2022).  

 

On the day of the live transmission, the producer works closely with the director in the gallery and is on hand to deal with urgent issues (ScreenSkills, n.d.A). One major difference between producing something tape and something live is it becomes all about timing. Charlie Haykel stated in an interview that when “Live, you have that energy and that unpredictability. We plan out everything we can anticipate, but you also have to have the bandwidth to anticipate what you can’t anticipate. You want a live show to feel like it’s under control but maybe it’s about to go out of control. That’s why people want to watch live, because of the moments you can’t produce. You just have to hope those moments don’t go on too long!” (Mink, 2018). All of the aspects and skills listed above will be things I have to take into consideration when stepping into my role as a producer. 

 

My role as a prop master will involve managing the props department, and ensuring the props are made, stored, and prepped for the shoot. I will work closely with other props team members and the set design team to determine what props are necessary. In industry and on a larger scale they will draw up properties lists, deciding which are to be hired and which are to be made. Once filming has finished, they return all hired props and organise the sale or safe disposal of everything else; this will be an important part of my role as prop master. Prop masters are good at sharing the director’s vision, working with a variety of materials, communicating with production design teams, and organising budgets (ScreenSkills, n.d.B).  

 

A script supervisor for unscripted TV sits in the gallery during the live production and counts bars/beats to ensure the show runs to schedule, this includes ensuring the show begins and ends on time. They oversee the durations of all segments including VTs, as these will affect the total run-time of the show. In pre-production, the script supervisor/PA works closely with the producers to finalise a running order for the show. As part of this role, I will be responsible for formatting the script into a coherent document and creating a timed running order by assigning a duration to each segment, ensuring the show totals a 30 min run time. During the broadcast, they sit alongside the producer and director in the gallery (ScreenSkills, n.d.C). To do this role successfully it is important to be confident and organised and remain calm in stressful situations. This is particularly important in live TV as you need to be able to react quickly to last-minute changes and be confident to relay changes to everyone. It is important everyone knows where they are on the script, what’s next and how long is left on each item and the overall duration (Brown and Duthie, 2019).  

 

As a location scout, my primary role is to find, research and secure locations which are well-suited for various scenes/segments of the show. Scouts will have a comprehensive understanding of the screenplay as this will inform them on what locations are needed and the characteristics of these locations. For this role, it is important to have a creative eye and be able to think logistically. Once research has been completed, it is important to gain the required permissions to scout the locations. They will often be accompanied by a cinematographer, production manager, location manager and director. Once the location has been signed off by the producer, director and DoP the scout must secure permission to shoot at the property. This means having a solid understanding of laws and undergoing the necessary paperwork and permits to gain shooting access. I will work closely with the director (in my case the VT director) to understand what locations will be best suited for their vision and story. There is also a large aspect of collaborating with the producer to ensure the location can fit into the project’s budget (Deguzman, 2022).  

 

 

References  

 

AGCAS editors (2022). Television/film/video producer job profile | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] www.prospects.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/television-film-video-producer#:~:text=As%20well%20as%20overseeing%20the [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023]. 

 

Brown, L. and Duthie, L. (2019). The TV studio production handbook. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Academic. 

 

Deguzman, K. (2022). What is a Location Scout — Job Description Explained. [online] StudioBinder. Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-location-scout-job-description/#:~:text=A%20Location%20Scout  [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023]. 

 

Kellison, C. (2006). Producing for TV and video : a real - world approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier, Boston ; Heidelberg. 

 

Mink, C. (2018). How to Produce a Live TV Special. [online] www.backstage.com. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-to-produce-a-live-tv-special-65807/  [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023]. 

 

ScreenSkills (n.d.A). Producer in the unscripted TV industry. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/editorial/producer-unscripted-tv/  [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023]. 

 

ScreenSkills (n.d.B). Prop master in the film and TV drama industries. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/craft/prop-master/#:~:text=Prop%20masters%20run%20the%20property  [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023]. 

 

ScreenSkills (n.d.C). Script supervisor in the unscripted TV industry. [online] ScreenSkills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/production-managment/script-supervisor-unscripted-tv/  [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].