ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

9 years, 2 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Hi Moe,

Production is more something you work into rather than take a course to get a job. There are many kinds of TV production, from small regional commissions through series producers for entertainment formats, with many different fees in between! Start off deciding what kind of TV you want to make, and in reality, by far the most valuable training will be just getting stuck in in a production office.

That inevitably means working up through the ranks, however your experience on camera will give you a head start over someone who hasn't. Start looking for work as a production runner, ie doing whatever anyone asks you to do very much including working bad hours and getting coffee. You may then go through being a researcher or production coordinator towards 'producer'.

Most of the skills aren't classroom skills, they're all about dealing with people and getting stuff done. Along the way you need to be legally compliant, be very(!) organised, handle random crap you couldn't plan for, know the price of everything and do deals, work out how much a shoot costs and know if you hit budget or not by accounting for it all. Classroom short courses will give you a direction to aim in but spending that time and money volunteering in a production office as a runner (and keeping your ears wide open to the conversations around you) will be a broader base to work from.

Self-study... Become excellent with Excel. You need your spreadsheets to dance to your tune, you need to understand every figure and formula in that sheet. You will be accountable for budgets big enough to buy multiple houses, and you'll be held accountable, so missing a simple sum somewhere can be catastrophic! Understand contracts, what contacts are, how they work, not to fear them. Learn how purchase orders work, what they mean, etc. Understand VAT, understand PAYE, understand tax credits, etc - these will be your life as a producer ;-)