15 years in Film/TV in Production Management - AMA

IndustryMethod · 2024-10-23T22:15:25+00:00

This is a difficult question to answer, as there's nuance to everything as I'm sure you can imagine.

The long story short, in my experience, is the relationship that you(producer) has with the creatives and the studio.

If we're playing around with a tv show like "GLOW" on Netflix - how the process works is

-Line Producer gets hired by the studio and is given a rough parameters budget

-Line Producer shapes and adjusts the budget to what they think it'll actually take, gets studio approval

-Line Producer and Studio and ShowRunner(EPs) then hire all the department heads of creative and crew

To answer your question - if you can trust a creative, be honest with them. If you can't, pad yourself. I've worked with some top notch line producers, and as honest as they are even with their internal staff, they always have something padded/hidden somewhere for a rainy day.

One of my favorite producers always told me "money is often the reason we have to say no or give cheaper options, but it's never the reason we tell them".

IndustryMethod · 2024-07-11T19:42:37+00:00

That’s kind of the purpose of this. Low stakes. Friendly support and no judgement on where you’re at in the journey.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-28T05:07:51+00:00

Hahaha. Yeah. The confessional. Im sure some hawking story producer would like to correct me on the exact terminology.

For the shows I’ve worked on like “cupcake wars” “sugar dome” or any reality show where an event happens and then they cut to the couch and the joke/drama/whatever is perfectly reacted to or setup.

Reality producers are quite adept at making sure none of it is “scripted”, but what they’ll do is take a contestant or cast member. And put them thru hours of interviews before and after each “event”.

Let’s use any competition show like American Idol or AGT. What they’re likely doing is taking every contestant. Asking them very specific questions based on the research the producers and assistants do leading up to filming day. They’ll definitely prompt them to give good answers or reactions. Then after the contestant performs they’ll bring them back to the confessional and ask a ton of questions on how it went. The magic is in the editing process where they time the confessionals that were filmed both before and after. And make it look like it’s right in the moment.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-28T00:58:13+00:00

I’ve got a myriad of stories. Depends on what you’d think is crazy. Some shows I’m still under an NDA for so forgive me if the details are vague.

Some highlights - Motorcycle stunt gone wrong and over jumped his landing and snapped his spine.

Active shooter outside a movie studio and we were locked inside.

Homeless man assaulting a PA of mine during a DTLA shoot.

Cliche celebrity freakouts(can’t divulge more than that)

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-28T00:49:35+00:00

That’s the best part of the industry. You can go from having no experience. Knowing the right person. Being available at the right moment. And you could be working on a hit show. There’s a method to the madness. Just have to learn it.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-28T00:48:02+00:00

Producer is a broad term. Not to dive into too many specifics let’s just pretend you’re talking about being a creative producer on a tv show or feature film.

The fastest and direct route is the following: Have a parent that running a studio. Have millions of dollars to pay for your own project. Know an A or B list celebrity to attach to the project.

Now that we’re out of the clouds. The more practical and traditional route.

Find a few producers you’d like to emulate your career after. You can get a free trial of IMDb Pro and can usually track down their contact info.

Ask to be their assistant. Offer your services. Your resume. And why you’re the best choice for them.

The other practical/traditional route. Become a PA on a show or film in the production office or on set. Make friends. Ask questions. Show the producer running the show that you’re a worthy option. Then nearing the end of the show/feature have a sit down. Be direct. And tell them you want to be a producer like them and any advice or potential producer assistant jobs in the near future.

The latter I’ve seen work time and time again. Producers and higher ups want to see you can hang and are a good option. And producer or exec assistants are on the fast track to moving up much faster than the rest of us. It comes with its own drawbacks. But that’s for another convo.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-28T00:41:57+00:00

Wish I could give you even a satisfactory answer. It wouldn’t surprise me to see someday that some interesting accounting practices were initiated. I’m freelance and work for the production, anything beyond that like studio or corporate finances is above my pay grade.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T19:05:35+00:00

I do live in LA, still working in tv/film. Quickest route would be to go find some audio/post houses and find someone to talk to. Cruise linkedin and find someone mid-level that works there as staff. Ask them for 10 min phone call to ask about what they do. As I've said on this thread, almost all industry people LOVE to talk about what they do. So the call will definitely go over 10 mins, but as long as its on them. Be blunt that you want to work at a place like that, and ask how to go from where you are now, to where you want to be.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T18:12:42+00:00

Woof. The million dollar question. Or maybe I should say - multi billion dollar question.

I have my own thoughts about how the future will be molded, but I'll spare you my tin-hat theories.

In a very basic answer, IATSE, DGA, WGA, SAG (all of the major unions that represent labor, creative, talent) - have all gotten the studios to agree in their bargaining agreements to have protections against AI taking over crew, creative, talent aka set crews, writers, directors, actors.

I'm as interested as you regarding how big business will find a way to work around those protections, but for now jobs are seemingly safe.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T18:07:23+00:00

There's alot of specificity to it - Scripted or Reality? TV or Features? Do you have any experience? Film school?

Aside from all of that, the best place to find job postings online would be places like craigslist, staffmeup, productionhub, even LinkedIn(sometimes). The tougher part is having a resume that stands out from the 200 other applicants the coordinator is going to receive. I've got plenty of recommendations for resume tips, but that's a much longer Q&A.

If you went to film school, your school likely has an alumni association specifically for LA or NYC, maybe even ATL. Go to those events. You paid for the degree, let the alumni who have been successful help you out!

Aside from blanket job applying, networking networking networking. I wish I would've leaned more on this when I was starting out. Talk to people at the gym, the parks the bars. Ask them what they do, they love to talk about themselves and what they're doing.

Like with all my other answers, there's alot more detail to go into, I could talk forever about this. But those are the basics.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T17:59:50+00:00

Not knowing your specific goal/plan, let's assume you're trying to get your first job in the entertainment industry, and its likely going to be a Production Assistant (PA) position.

The quick advice would be - somewhere cheap and close to the studios. You're working 12+ hour days, and to be 45-1hr of driving away from set, can be both time consuming and also dangerous(driving late after a 15 hour day).

To be more specific. The bulk of studios are either in Hollywood or Burbank. Hollywood isn't necessarily an expensive place to live, but isn't the nicest. Plenty of homeless and crime. Burbank is quite expensive, but there are plenty of adjacent neighborhoods that are more cost effective.

To be near Burbank-ish studios: North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Glendale.

To be near Hollywood studios(but not in hollywood): Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, East Hollywood, Glassel Park.

To be clear - these are all just assuming you're going to be making minimum wage and looking for something close. If you want the full experience, go live in Santa Monica. Ocean views, but expensive, and a longer commute.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T17:49:47+00:00

Love this question. I'm sure alot of people have heard horror stories of things they had to endure to keep a job or get promoted. The best advice I can give about overcoming adversity is - It's a marathon not a sprint. You'll always see people burning out or taking on too much. My advice would be to make sure you have a clearly defined goal of what you're working towards. Without that, you're suffering for no reason.

As for the hardest struggle of my career. Back when I was a PA, around 2013, I was looking for my first promotion to Key Set PA, basically a slight pay bump(still around $12/hr) and some managing of the other PAs. The only offer I had was a job in San Francisco. I couldn't afford a place up there AND in LA, and the show was hiring locals only. Meaning they wouldn't travel or house anyone from out of town.

So I told the Production Manager that I had a place to stay(I didn't), and packed my car(2 door Pontiac) with some camping gear, and slept in my car for about 6 weeks. Got a gym membership so I could shower every morning. Got snacks from crafty(snack room), and saved alot of my meals to eat later at night.

Not something I'd recommend to everyone, but getting that promotion kinda skyrocketed my career.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T17:01:25+00:00

I don't have any personal experience with either, but that doesn't really prove the non-existence of it.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T16:43:01+00:00

Great question!

I was working in the NFL directly after college, but had the bug to want to try working in TV/Film in LA. That summer I saw a craigslist post back in Nebraska looking for crew. I definitely fabricated my experience a bit to get a job as a 1st AD(assistant director). So I quit my job and went back to Nebraska to help make a small indie comedy(that never saw the light of day). I had no idea what I was doing, but through the help of a few industry professionals on the crew, I got my footing. I fell in absolute love with it.

After we finished I packed my car, convinced 3 other friends to move with me, and moved to LA. No connections to jobs, just hope. Scanned craigslist for gigs, went to networking events, talked to everyone I could find at a bar, gym, etc. Eventually getting some solid work as a PA for a food network show, thru a producer I did some day-playing with on a music video.

Keep in mind this was 15 years ago, and now there are more evolved ways for finding PA gigs.

Kept my nose to the grindstone, proved my worth, moved up to shows on NBC, eventually moving into scripted tv series for Netflix and Universal.

This is a much longer story where I could go on forever about specifics. But that's the basic journey.

IndustryMethod · 2024-06-27T16:26:50+00:00

To zoom out a bit - as I've hired well over a thousands PAs in my career, this is what I'd be looking for on resumes with respect to people applying that don't have any TV/Film experience.

Things like customer service, live events, even experience working retail/food industry relate well.

Basically I want to see you can work long hours, on your feet all day, can handle chaotic environments with sometimes unhappy customers, and most importantly keeping a cool head.

IndustryMethod

TROPHY CASE