What's the difference between a director and a producer? Formula Kino

Mumin Shakirov: Who's in charge Russian cinema– director or producer? IN Soviet times the state entrusted money for the production of the film through the studio to the director of the film. It was this person who managed the film’s budget, which, depending on the scope of the production, ranged from half a million to a million Soviet rubles. A lot of money. The director of the film drew up the estimate and was responsible for every loin spent. But most often he followed the instructions of the director, that is, the creator who realized his plan according to the script.

With the advent of the producer in Russian cinema, the status of the person who today spends money on film production has changed dramatically. The names of these people are well known along with the names of successful directors. The viewer, of course, pays little attention to the project managers; they follow the actors more, and less often the directors. But cinema today depends largely on producers who get money for the film, risk capital and are responsible to sponsors or investors for the money spent. Sometimes producers and directors act as one person.

My interlocutor is the General Director of the Elephant studio, Sabina Eremeeva. She belongs to to the younger generation producers who came to cinema in the early 2000s. She has behind her such projects as “Mars” directed by Anna Melikyan, “Manga” by Pyotr Khazizov, “You and I and You” by Alexander Veledinsky and “Nobody Knows About Sex” by Alexey Gordeev. Who is a producer in modern Russian cinema?

Sabina Eremeeva

Sabina Eremeeva: This is the person who comes up with the project, is the initiator of everything, because he is basically looking for a script plus a director. Since we still have director's cinema, and everyone relies, first of all, on the director, regardless of whether he is a debutant or an already well-known master of Russian cinema, nevertheless, this is a moment of choice. Short films are watched, works are reviewed, scripts are read and a bet is made on the script, the choice of plot and director, and the rest is all added in the process, when you already understand that the choice has been made. This is also a choice of topic, since every producer has such a super task: how to anticipate the situation? Because film production is a year, until the film is released, while all this is being thought about - this is, relatively speaking, one and a half to two years. Anticipate the situation that will be in demand in two years. This is an analysis of the market today and its prospects. This is a certain risk.

I try not to follow templates, but at the same time I analyze the situation: what is launched and according to what principle. Sometimes it confuses me when a successful film is followed by a similar film on a similar topic, and so on. It's not even a sequel, it's just repeats at the same time. I don’t understand the motivation, because, as a rule, only the first successful projects collect foam. I want to come up with something new, even risky, but again I go from the personalities, I go from the personalities, from the idea, from the script and from the director. For example, what I'm interested in is comedy melodramas. I feel like there's a market for it and it fits with my personal interests of comedy and romance.

Mumin Shakirov: Producers often interfere with creative process, participate in the development of the script, give advice on film set and even sit in the editing room. Each has its own methods of working with directors, while others completely trust the creators, limiting themselves to solving financial and production problems.

Sabina Eremeeva: I cannot say that I am interfering, because I am also a co-author of the project, not literally, but in a broader sense. I would call it collaboration - starting from the very beginning. For me the most important stage– this is the preparatory moment, and the most difficult is the editing and tinting, “post-production”.

On the set, the producer is a completely useless creature, because the machine is running, and the most you can do is watch the materials, somehow comment. But the producer cannot significantly influence the course of events, except to stop filming, because everything is decided “on the shore.” If you didn’t have time to do something before filming, it means you didn’t have time or didn’t understand.

Then the difficulties begin in “post-production”, which is the most painful, because this is always the moment the right approach and choice. When there is a certain working version, and you do not have a clear decision, positioning, you begin to collect opinions - festival selectors, if it is an “art-house” film and you understand that the film can be promoted through the festival. I made a conclusion for myself: until the film is as ready as possible, do not show it to anyone. Because, as a rule, they give a diagnosis, and the diagnosis is also obvious to the authors, but they do not give a prescription. And you seem to be waiting, counting on a frank opinion on what can be done about it. There is no recipe, everything is clear with the diagnosis, and any statement about an unfinished film, when it comes out, is always very painful for the film, because it is always very preliminary. When, for example, my friends show me a film and ask me to comment, I always speak out very carefully and only tell them, because I cannot speak publicly about a film that is not ready. I can only qualitatively discuss a finished and made film.

Mumin Shakirov: An important component of a director's work is the choice of actors.

Sabina Eremeeva: We initially say who we would like. The first step is for the director to make proposals. I always go from the director. It’s stupid to invite a director in order to impose your point of view on him. I think this is wrong. I choose a certain director with a certain taste, and that is what makes him valuable to me. Therefore, first of all, I listen to what the director wants. When I have any doubts, of course, I discuss it. But I can say from the little experience I've had that I've never had any disagreements with the director in terms of casting choices. Somehow we always found mutual language, we thought, looked and did additional tests. From me, as a producer, there are no instructions regarding the actors, and there cannot be.

Mumin Shakirov: Sabina Eremeeva reserves the right to interfere in the film editing process.

Sabina Eremeeva: Yes, I can, and, in fact, I always reserve this right. This, unfortunately, is a waste of time, because the picture always dictates and begins to live its own life. And it’s always clear what’s superfluous. Unfortunately, this is very close to the director’s heart and it is difficult for him to separate from each frame. He cannot always be objective - this is understandable. I'm just biding my time. Someone needs a week - I say: “Okay, a week.” Someone needs a month - I say: “Okay, a month.” Then, when I run out of patience, I say: “That’s it!” For me, it is undesirable for the director to be removed from editing. Fortunately, I have always avoided this, we somehow agreed, but I reserve the right of installation.

Mumin Shakirov: Despite the enormous influence of the producer on film production and on the fate of the film, Russian cinema remains a director's film. This point of view is shared by Sabina Eremeeva.

Sabina Eremeeva: Firstly we have certain traditions, which cannot be destroyed in a few years. Moreover, in each of my projects, I work mainly with debutant directors, those with their second film. There is a certain tendency: I am for everyone new project I have a hard time finding money. Moreover, the directors with whom we worked, after the release of the film, they have a lot of interesting offers, financial offers, more profitable than I can offer them. And I’m also starting from scratch, I’m also starting to apply for government support, I use it regularly and am looking for co-producers. And the director is in this case made a film - he has more choice. Since I exist completely independently, it is always much more difficult for me to find a larger budget. All the glory in case of success and so on goes to the director. And thank God!

Mumin Shakirov: But times are changing - the position of the producer is strengthening.

Sabina Eremeeva: Generations change, so they cannot help but reflect all trends. For example, young people come who have a different consciousness, who are already enslaved by the producer. They are all well informed, and they know what is happening in the West, what role the producer plays there, they already have little experience working on television, where the dominant function, in general main man– this is the producer, and this is not even discussed. Therefore, when they come to film producers, they are already depressed, they are ready to agree to everything, they are a priori ready to make any compromises. Sometimes this annoys me, because I want a certain will, and when a young director comes to me, I say: “What are you interested in?” - he says: “What are you interested in?” I say: “I want to come from you, from your ideas.” He says: “And I can do anything! Is this what you need? And in this case, it’s not interesting, because anyway, the projects that I do are author’s projects, very individual, I’m interested in the director, his originality. I don’t need to make some average films, I don’t perceive what I do as a pure business, because for me it’s not a business. It’s clear that I earn some money, but this is not an end in itself.

Mumin Shakirov: There are many famous and successful film producers in Russia. For Sabina Eremeeva them personal experience– This is an opportunity to learn and achieve new results.

Sabina Eremeeva: As a rule, these are Konstantin Ernst and Anatoly Maximov, and Alexander Rodnyansky with Igor Tolstunov. And this is not only due to the fact that they have television resources. I like their approach. Making a film is absolutely half the battle; it’s just part of the process. How to promote it? And this is not only money, because there were examples when there was money, there was additional PR, but, nevertheless, the films did not receive the same resonance. This is, first of all, creativity and concept. And a clear intuition on how to promote, what to promote and what to sell. And it seems to me that these producers succeed. For example, “Dozor”, “9th Company”, “Peter-FM” - I think this is the most interesting.

And this is not only a resource. It's just an understanding of what can be pulled out of the project. For example, I saw working version“Piter-FM” was at the premiere - I sincerely congratulated all the participants in this film, because they pulled out everything possible from this project, the film worked out, the film was a success. It was a very interesting advertisement. And in the end the film raised money. I was very happy. Moreover, the producers all had concerns - could such a movie be in demand? And I am very glad that this movie is in demand, audiences went to see it. This means that you can do more risky projects and get your audience.

Mumin Shakirov: We talked about who a producer is in Russia today with the general director of the Elephant studio, Sabina Eremeeva.

Today it has become surprisingly popular and fashionable high-profile title producer. The profession of a producer seems incredibly lucrative and prestigious, many aspire to become one, and some stars change their producers like gloves, or start producing on their own. What is the benefit of an honorary title? Why is being a producer difficult, interesting and dangerous?

Who is a producer?

A producer (from Latin produce - to produce, to create) is a trusted representative of a product, brand or manufacturer. Currently, the high demand for the profession is due to interest in implementing creative projects for various purposes. The responsibilities of a producer may include both evaluating investments with a view to increasing them, as well as having a professional sense of the future popularity of an artist or film.

Every self-respecting actor or director has a personal producer, which increases the chances of professional recognition in wide public circles. Today it is impossible to do without the services of a specialist in this field of art: without what a producer does, it is difficult to independently establish the necessary connections and relationships. Only good specialist is able to competently assess the potential of an artist, singer or group and apply job responsibilities producer to the fullest. Sometimes, in order to create a masterpiece, it is not enough. You need the business acumen and experience that is unique to producers.

The role of a producer is not only accompanying his clients to various events, parties, and organizational functions; it is, first of all, a financial investment in the chosen product - this or that “star”. In the world of show business, those who want to be promoted and become interesting for him flock to producers like bees to honey. First and foremost, the producer's responsibilities are financing and caring attitude to your deposits.

In the entertainment industry and the world of show business, the producer profession is one of the most popular and dangerous at the same time. He must determine the payback of the project independently, through experience and intuition he must feel the potential in a particular artist. Each producer is a king and god for his ward, because he opens up the world of popularity, fame and success for him. Sometimes, by investing in, a producer achieves unprecedented popularity for his ward.

The financial side of the issue still remains with the producer. This is the main responsibilities of the producer - controlling all processes. However, in fact, you can produce not only a star - a singer, artist, actor or dancer. The subject of production can be a brand or a product, but the most important thing in all this is the experience and subtle instinct of a specialist.

How to become a producer?

Many people think that being a producer has many advantages and unique opportunities, but in reality this is far from the case. To become a producer, you need to have not only solid capital, desire, experience and great desire, as well as a lot of useful contacts and skills. Otherwise, only failures and financial losses await him. About how to become good producer, no one can teach or tell, because successful people they will never share the secret of their wealth and success. Also, the key to achieving certain results is a thorough knowledge of the proposed product, regardless of its type and type. Sometimes experienced filmmakers achieve success in producing.

In the music or show industry, the producer must be a generalist who has a good understanding of tastes and modern preferences, since the wrong choice of the object of production can be disastrous.

Many producers are also good sound engineers, organizers, and even stylist-managers. On initial stages the producer must independently evaluate the person, consider his chances of success, and only then use all his assets in order to achieve the desired result.

Is it easy to become a producer?

If you don’t know how to become a producer, then specialized courses and seminars can help with this. Having mastered the profession, you will be able to independently produce clients in the music, dance, film and show industries. Multidisciplinary experience allows us to monitor the situation from a broader panorama, anticipating the desires of the public and studying all related information as deeply as possible. Of course, you should study to be a producer if you have sufficient capital for investment, business insight and high degree responsibility.

You can easily find out where they study to become a producer, having received an education in accordance with the chosen profile. Job Descriptions Producers also do not rule out mastering an additional profession by actors, screenwriters, and directors to independently promote projects. By choosing courses where you will study to become a producer, you can quickly learn the intricacies of this type of art, while simultaneously mastering organizational, directorial, camera and acting skills.

What is the basis of a producer's work?

To find out what a producer does, just look at the degree of return on investment for the project and the fame of a particular star. Of course, one cannot do without the personal qualities of intuition and instinct, multiplied by extensive experience. This is what distinguishes a director from a producer - producing involves a subtle calculation of the return on investment of the project, which is often beyond the reach of his creative flight of fancy.

In addition to organizing events, press conferences, parties, shows, the producer is busy controlling all processes leading to fame and success. Therefore, for budding talents creative producer- this is a person who forms the creative component and is capable of raising them to the top of Olympus.

Producer or charlatan

You also need to be able to choose a producer, because you shouldn’t give in to the first available hands. It is enough to evaluate his skills, connections and resources. Today on domestic spaces There are many who want to rise at the expense of others, receive fabulous fees and quickly recoup their investments. Fundamental documents are those that should be reviewed by an experienced lawyer before signing.

Srdjan Sarenac is a film and television director, producer and screenwriter with fourteen years of film production experience in Serbia, Bosnia, France and Croatia. He studied at film universities in Serbia, Spain and the Netherlands.

In November 2013, as part of the Listapad film festival, a master class was held by Serbian documentary director Srdjan Sarenac, who, using the example of his last successful project“A Village Without Women” spoke in detail about the strategy of independently searching for a producer and financing to realize his idea. FESTAGENT publishes the most important and interesting parts of the master class.

About the film “A Village Without Women”: search for financing - 2 years, shooting - 2.5 years, post-production - 6 months. The film was screened at 54 festivals and received 14 awards. Film distribution in Bosnia, Croatia and Mexico, showing on 17 TV channels. The film's budget is 200 thousand euros (from 3 producers and 6 television companies).

“If you want to follow my path, you need to speak good English,” the director noted at the very beginning of the master class.

Why does a director need a producer?

A filmmaker is just one person, but a producer often has a company that can help raise money. And this is the main reason why a director needs a producer. A director can receive money from the film fund only for writing a script.

What topics are interesting to producers?

Producers may be interested in any projects coming to international level, in universal human themes. For example, my film tells the story of three lonely men living on a hilltop. They are desperate because they are not married. And a person from any part of the world can watch the film and say: “Yes, we also have single men who need wives.”

How to find your producer and establish contact with him?

There are national registries with lists of producers. In addition, there are always producers at film festivals (they come with films), and at film markets - looking for distributors for their films. It is very important to know which producer is needed for your film. So before you contact anyone, it's worth finding out what films they've produced before and whether they're the right fit for you. For example, you wouldn't pitch a documentary to a producer who works in horror films. You also wouldn't pitch your low-budget documentary to someone who only works on big-budget projects.

Contact the producer: write a letter or arrange a meeting. Of course, if he doesn't respond to the e-mail, you should call and make sure that the letter was received. It is important that you can say in one or two sentences what kind of film you want to make (logline). Tell us a little about yourself and your previous works. It is also worth sending a synopsis (no more than one page). Some producers receive up to 200 emails a day (including from your competitors). Therefore, you need to be brief enough for the producer to understand whether he wants to pursue this project. If necessary Additional Information, he will ask for it.

When meeting with a producer, it is important to tell him about the essence of the project in 5-7 minutes. Even before the meeting, you should know the answers to 3 questions:

• Why did you want to make this film?
• What do you want to tell people with this film?
• Why should it be you?

What does a producer think about before meeting with a director?

• Is this story unique? Have you ever worked with this topic, is there something similar?
• How big is the budget and is it possible to finance the project? If the budget is too large or too small, then you have contacted the wrong person.
• Do I need to find co-producers for the project? If you can find funding from one source, don't complicate your life. “A Village Without Women” was financed by 3 producers and 6 television companies. In order to make any decision, I needed to get the approval of all the people involved in the project.
• Are your competitors working on a similar topic? For example, 2014 is the anniversary of the First World War. Accordingly, there will be at least 30 documentaries about this theme.
• Why would anyone invest in this film?
• Similar titles and the success of these projects: films on a similar topic with the same budget. Were they successful?
• Do I really want to spend the next 3 years with this director?
• What happens if I can't raise money for the film? Will this ruin my reputation?
• Who will reimburse me for all expenses if the project is not implemented for some reason?
• Isn't the director an ordinary egoist?
• Will the director be able to meet the deadlines and is he willing to compromise?

What does a director think about before meeting with a producer?

• Does the producer understand the story I want to tell?
• Will he be attentive to the project and devote enough time to it?
• Will he be able to finance this film?
• This producer in general fair man or not?
• Will he stick to the agreements?
• Does the company run by this producer have any problems?

The director and producer decide to work together: how to make a long-term marriage

• Be prepared for both good and bad bad times
• Relationships should be built on trust: honesty and openness
• The producer and director must understand that each party is doing everything possible to make the project happen
• If you are angry, it is better to wait and respond the next day

First important agreement: Option agreement
Option agreement is the first agreement concluded between the producer and the director. In it, the director agrees that the producer can use the film idea for a while. Typically, under the terms of the agreement, the producer has 12 months to find funds to finance the film and purchase the rights. If within 12 months he does not find money for the project, then all rights are returned to the director.

If the producer does not yet have the opportunity to buy the rights, but he still wants to work on your project, then you can give the project away for free. It all depends on your choice. For example, the producer of my next film couldn't buy the script. We agreed that we both work for free for 6 months, and if after the expiration of the period he can find money, then we continue cooperation.

Project development: script and trailer

Development - the process of writing and rewriting a script before delivery final version. During this time, the director needs to shoot a trailer. The producer calculates the budget and tries to finance the film.

How to find money to create a trailer? An important part of the budget is spent on the trailer at the initial stage. Neither television companies nor film funds believe in the script, they believe in the trailer. You can look for money through national or international film funds (see useful links).

After creating a trailer, you go to

D About 2003, there was nowhere in our country to study to become a film producer. And then the department of production was opened at the University of Film and Television. From the very beginning, the country's leading producers - Sergey Selyanov, Igor Kalenov, Ada Staviskaya - took courses here. Initially, the department was headed by Alexander Golutva, now the director of Lenfilm is Vyacheslav Telnov.
Natalia Gorina - CEO TWIN Media Agency, producer of such films as “1814” and “Sovereign”, TV series “Brezhnev”, “Dostoevsky” and “ White Guard", - teaches at the department together with Sergei Melkumov:

I have not been working at the production department from the very beginning. Before I came to the university, it had already existed for three years. I teach the course together with my partner Sergei Melkumov. It’s more convenient for us, since he is a Moscow resident, and besides, we are working producers. The department was organized so that the courses were taught by real producers, and not by professors unrelated to live film production. IN currently we teach fifth-year students. This year they have a diploma. New experience Both they and we received.

- What do applicants to your department take upon admission?
- Besides Unified State Exam results, we also take into account the results of the creative competition. For me, the most important part of the competition is the interview, which reveals intelligence, general development, erudition. To work in cinema, it is not enough to just be a good student. It is necessary for a person to be interested in the film process and think about it. This is the most important part. TO creative competition You also need to write a synopsis of the film that the applicant would like to make. But we don't pay attention to him special attention, because non-professionals, of course, write all sorts of nonsense. And it’s not as important for a producer to be able to do this as it is for a director. General knowledge, reaction speed, orientation in modern space, knowledge about economics, ideas about how the film process moves, what is shown in cinemas, what films are popular, and so on - are much more important. If all this is present, then a person can enter the profession.

- It seemed to me that producing was more closely related to exact sciences than with the humanities.
- Without a doubt. A film producer must have a good understanding of film production, as well as an understanding of economics. He needs to know the entire line of equipment, understand brands of cameras, sound recording devices, and Dolby systems. But in general, the producer must be capable of acquiring diverse knowledge.

- And who is more capable of this: yesterday’s schoolchildren or more experienced people?
- Having typed the course almost entirely from former schoolchildren and after spending five years with them, we came to the conclusion that this was wrong. Absence life experience prevents these people from further developing their profession. In addition, there cannot be too many producers. Just like directors. Despite this, more than 30 people were recruited for our course, now only 18 remain. But if three or four people really acquired initial knowledge in the specialty, then everyone else, I think, will still need to study somewhere and acquire some other skills. professions. It is unlikely that these people will continue to produce. In general, it would be ideal to give our specialty as a second higher education- after economic, for example. Or simply recruit a course from people who managed to work in cinema. It would be more productive.

-Are young people smart now?
- All different. But out of the thirty people initially recruited for our course, I would take a maximum of three to work for me.

- You say that there shouldn’t be many producers. How many should there be?
- There can be as many of them as you like in a country. I meant that there cannot be many of them in one specifically recruited group. Because teaching thirty people the film process is a stupid task. It doesn't need to be installed. Training in such a specialty requires individual work. One person needs to pay more attention to numbers, another needs to develop creative thinking. And this needs to be identified, examples shown, and work with everyone. And when you work with thirty students, this is impossible. You average out the conversation you have with them. We don't have a lecture system. Of course we read something. But in most cases, our classes are some kind of conversation that cannot be non-personalized. You must understand who exactly you are talking to. That's why optimal quantity For me there are eight students, at most ten people. And all our masters think so. But the department doesn’t understand this yet.

When I watch movies, especially Hollywood ones, I am always surprised by the number of producers who worked on the film. And I rarely understand which of them is responsible for what. Are you immediately divided into narrow specializations?
- No, not right away. In general, a graduate of our department should be able to organize the entire process. From zero to result. But, of course, the Russian cinema system has formed its own hierarchy of producers. It's practically impossible for one person to make a movie. Usually the main producer is the one who conceived the project, assembled the main cast and takes care of the next thing. And the executive and line producer We are directly leading one film. Therefore, the main producer can have ten projects at the same time, while the linear producer can only have one. But he is still a producer, because he is the mouthpiece of the studio that organized the filming, directly on the set. His responsibilities include obtaining a high-quality result - that is, a film. Accordingly, the line, executive and main producers carry out all the work on the film. Only the lineman does operational work on site, the executive controls production, and the chief reaps the benefits and intervenes at the right time. At the same time, the responsibilities of the linear and executive producers include keeping the main producer informed of all matters. And how - by night calls, daily reports or something else - is a matter of their agreements.

- Producing is an unstable activity in terms of salaries. What qualities should a producer have in order for the film to go and make money?
- Cinema in general is perhaps the most unstable and risky area of ​​business. Suffice it to say that in the last ten years only two or three films have made a profit. All the rest, it’s good if they break even, but in general, they are all in the red. Yes, in our country as a whole, film production is in a deep disadvantage. And the worst thing is that successful films are mostly made by non-professionals.

- What are these?
- “What Men Talk About”, “The Best Film-2” and some others. About all the others, don’t believe that they are box office. Films in our country do not make money. Why is a subject for another discussion. There are objective and subjective reasons. There are still few cinemas, it is impossible to recoup rentals, and production costs do not bring the required return. And you can blame everything on the viewer, but the film “Avatar” collected so much money from us that no Russian film has ever collected. This means that cinema can pay for itself in our territory. You just need to understand what kind of films should be made. But so far the situation is depressing. Few people will want to make a movie of the quality that is still making a profit at the box office. Therefore, a person who becomes a film producer must clearly understand what he will encounter. This is why film production has some of the highest salaries. People shape the market in this way to save themselves from any risks.

- So the producer has a salary?
- Certainly. For example, a line producer earns from 80 to 120 thousand rubles per month. In this sense, the producer who owns the studio that launches the project is in the most difficult situation.

- Why? Does he spend his own money on the film?
- It is a myth that producers make films with their own money. As a matter of fact, in our country and anywhere else, the producer is the person who knows how to attract investment for filming. And they can be of very different kinds. State ones - from Goskino, you need to be able to get these grants. There is money from banks - sponsorship. There is investment money, when a company invests and wants to get the money back after some time. There is partner money, co-producer money, when several studios unite and then divide the rights. The producer must be able to properly raise money for the project and correctly estimate its budget. It only seems that more money, the better for the film. Nothing like this. It is important to understand what will happen in the end, how much this film can collect, and invest half as much. Because the final fees are always divided between the distributor and the producer. Accordingly, you need to recoup twice as much as you invested. It's a little more complicated, but this is roughly the scheme.

- What money is the most popular?
- Television. When a TV channel decides to sponsor a movie in order to later obtain broadcast rights.

But now there is an obvious crisis in this area. If "Watches" and even "Irony of Fate-2" were successful, then "The Edge", for example, was no longer so interesting to the public.
- “The Edge,” I would say, was a complete failure at the box office. Channels are still investing in film production. But in Lately they are more interested in strong serial films. Sometimes they turn these series into full-length films.

- There is an opinion - of course, the director's - that a producer can be allowed into a film only at the stages of preparation and post-production. Do you agree with this?
- Only a very bad producer can allow himself and the film to be treated this way. I don’t even know what doesn’t depend on the producer in filmmaking. If he doesn’t interfere with the process at every stage, the films that come out are non-grossing, non-commercial, and uninteresting.

- Can directors themselves act as producers?
- Can not. This is always unsuccessful. Most of them, of course, are convinced that they are capable of being producers. But the director cannot see his work from the outside. And he cannot be blamed for this - this is the fruit of his creativity. A different eye is needed to appreciate success. The creator himself will never see in his life whether the film is well edited or not, whether this or that scene is necessary or not. For this you need a producer with a good instinct. There are many good, professional, knowledgeable and understanding producers in our country. And all successful films were, in one way or another, created by producers, not directors. It is clear that we cannot work without each other. But ultimately, it is the producer who brings the film to fruition.

- The Russian film process has its own own way, or are we copying Hollywood?
- We can’t trace anything, because there’s no money for it. We're not even one iota close to Hollywood. Where they have ten people, we have one. Where they have eight preparatory stages, we have half. We can't afford their film process. We are trying. But this is not yet achievable.

- So what is special about our path?
- Involved in our films less people than in any Western film. Our people are more synthetic. One person can play the role of assistant director on set, do media planning, and also help everyone. It's called "second director". They do everything I mentioned different people. In those rare moments when we unite with Western group for some filming, they are always surprised that we can do more. Both hands and head. In Hollywood production, in general, every spit is regulated, and there are different specialists for a separate manipulation. From this comes fundamentality, thoroughness, and professionalism, of course. Our films are all a little amateur, all a little crafty. We cannot achieve some immutable things, we cannot organize a normal preparatory work- We don’t have money for this and we don’t have specialists. We cannot afford to storyboard the entire film, much less draw an animated picture. This is unrealistic, no one does this. That's why Hollywood and I are different planets.

Where do your students go after graduation? There are few studios now. Lenfilm actually stopped working altogether.
- Some of those who have already finished studying work for their own masters. Four of my students work with me. But on permanent job I'll probably leave two. As for the rest, I don’t even know what they will do. They are unlikely to find a place for themselves in our profession.

- So we can assume that for them learning is entertainment?
- I think yes.

- What do they want? Money? Or are there romantics who dream of radically changing the entire film process?
- Young people now generally only want money. Of these, only two or three people are ready to work in cinema. This means that they are able to do everything for free day and night - even serve tea. Capable of sitting for years without money, just to be inside film crew. So they stayed with me for two months, and I started paying them. Because they really work. I don’t understand what the others want. Before the summer, I conducted an experiment: there was a lot of work, and I invited students to come to me for an internship. Five people came. All. So what is there to talk about?
One girl came to the set - she really wanted to work. I will, he says, do whatever I want. A couple of times the director swore in front of her, she burst into tears and said “this is not mine.” I ask - what is not yours? I can’t, he says, be on the set. But you want to be a producer. How do you imagine your work outside of filming? Gone.

- In general, do producers need to be trained? The majority somehow manage without special education.
- And everyone suffers from this. Of course, you can become a producer without studying anywhere. But on this moment We have a shortage of qualified personnel. There are no good line producers or executive producers. Selyanov comes to the department meeting and never tires of repeating: “There are at least two of you and Melkumov, but I have no one.” He has a director, an economist, an accountant, but there are no good linear and executive producers. We don't have enough managers high class who understand what they manage and how. And for them to appear, they must be taught .

Minimum budgets, drunken actors, capricious directors - what do Russian executive producers face every day and what skills should they have?

It is more or less clear to everyone what the director, cameraman, screenwriter, actors, production designers, costume designers and make-up artists do, but the diverse production staff, which can be seen in the credits of the film, remains a mystery to many. The most important producer, of course, is looking for money for the project and ideally brings the film to big screen. Then what does he do? executive producer and what role does he play in the making of the film? It's not that obvious. To dot the i’s in this matter, KinoPoisk went to round table to the Moscow Film School, where representatives of Russian film companies revealed the realities of “the most hellish profession on earth” - the domestic executive producer.

A village for Gogol and a dress for Brezhneva: What are the responsibilities of an executive producer

“Executive producer is the most hellish profession on earth. These are the people who are responsible for everything that happens on the set. They didn’t bring the tiger, they didn’t allow the actor to film in Ukraine - this is all a headache for the executive producer. Money is spent on everything, but the executive producer operates within the budget that is set and cannot get out of it. He needs to solve problems on the spot,” explains general producer Prior company Rodion Pavlyuchik.

Calculating the number of shooting days, acceptable acting fees, issues of housing, food and bringing the group to the filming location - these are all the responsibilities of the executive producer. Even if he is not personally involved in purchasing tickets, he must always be in touch and control the process of spending funds allocated for production. And as efficiently as possible.

“Usually everything falls on the shoulders of the executive producer. It’s good if he only needs to bring a tiger - this is the most basic task,” enters the leading producer of Alexander Tsekalo’s company “Sreda” Alexandra Remizova, who for many years worked as an executive producer at STV of Sergei Selyanov and Bazelevse of Timur Bekmambetov. - Usually the executive producer is told: “You have 100 rubles, you also have a director who costs 99 and is used to filming for 99, but you need to fit all this into 100. And then there is a script that generally costs 500, but Unfortunately, we only have 100. We need to combine all this, figure out how to make it cool. So that it would be interesting. So that the director would not be capricious, but would get everything he wants, the cameraman would shoot with the equipment he needs, and the artists would build a set, because no one wants to shoot in a cramped apartment. And you have to decide all this alone with them all.”

An executive producer on a project usually appears at the application stage, supported by the film company. Already during the development of the script, a good specialist sees the scenes or plot twists, which you can completely get rid of in order to save your budget. For example, when heroes fly from one city to another or when they constantly change means of transportation. Unless, of course, it carries a real semantic load and is not important for the plot of the future film.

“They often come to me and say: here they wrote races, trains, cars, but we don’t have money, we don’t film it. I say: “Okay, you’re not filming this, offer another option.” Is it expensive by train? Let them go by bus. Always offer a replacement, always be in dialogue with the director. This is generally the most important thing. It happens that the operator insists, for example, on using a crane, and the director tells him: “Stop it, we’ll figure out how to do it differently,” says Remizova.

“The condition and content of the film depend on his decisions and discussions with the director. A smart executive producer understands the dramaturgy of the future film and the filming process,” Shutko believes.

“If an actor drinks, you should immediately keep this in mind”: What qualities should an executive producer have?

In addition to the fact that the executive producer must understand the filming process and the basics of working on the script, he must also be excellently self-organized.

“The executive producer has such a volume of organizational work on his shoulders that he simply must be self-organized and remember everything,” explains Rodion Pavlyuchik. - He must know very well what he must do at this moment and what the other must do at this time. And remember that if the other person hasn’t done something, then you need to kick him harder so that it’s done when it’s needed.”

The executive producer must also have analytical thinking and the ability to predict potential problems.

“If an actor drinks, then you should immediately keep this in mind. And it is advisable to place someone else with this actor who can control him or at least open the door so that he can be taken out into a cold shower in the morning. We had situations on sites when it was impossible to wake up a person. It was necessary to break the door to put it in order,” explains Pavlyuchik.

The executive producer must also have the skills of a psychologist. Remember the scene from the series where the hero Mikhail Efremov persuades the hero Pavel Derevyanko