Understanding the Producer’s Business

The Producer's Business Handbook 

Abel Ferrara, American screenwriter and filmmaker, once said, “Most filmmaking is about shaking hands and just starting.” Most people do not think or understand what needs to be done before a filmmaker gets to the shaking hands portion of the filmmaking process or what an executive producer is or does. To put it simply, the producer is the businessperson behind the web series, film, and/or television series. This is the person that obtains the funding, creates the business plan and the budget, and is responsible for every aspect of the filmmaking process. To get the reel rolling, the producer must plan on how much funding he or she needs, whom would be a potential investor(s), how to approach the potential investor(s), and obtain the funding. The bottom line is without funding there is no web series, film, or television series.

When I was creating a business plan for my final project at Full Sail University, my business plan was for a film production company. From my research, I had some knowledge on what a production company does. I did not truly understand it until I read the book entitled The Producer’s Business Handbook The Roadmap for the Balanced FilmProducer (third Edition) by John J. Lee, Jr. and Anne Marie Gillen. This book provided a more in depth view of a film production company including sources of funding, production incentives, Internet marketing, and entertainment law. This edition also provided access to spreadsheets including greenlighting worksheets, activity and cash flow projections, and target audience analysis. The chapter on funding included obtaining funding in both inside and outside of the United States. The best feature of the book was that it was written so that anyone could understand its content. By reading this book, I had a valuable understanding of the film production company and the producer, and was able to write a better business plan than I would have without it.  I highly recommend this book to all filmmakers.