What does a singer's producer do? Your own business: producing

While there is no one specific path you must follow to become a film producer, the right education and a large number of professional experience will definitely help you enter the film industry faster. Your path may be difficult and long, but if filmmaking is your calling, then you will undoubtedly be able to stand out from the general competition.

Steps

Part 1

Learn about the profession. Before you do anything else, you will need to know what responsibilities and tasks a film producer must handle. Although this is not yet a formal education, it is a critical step so that you can prepare yourself for the path that lies before you.

Earn a bachelor's degree in film production. You can go to a university or specialized institute that has a major in filmmaking or cinematography. Either way, you'll need a bachelor's degree in film production, cinematography, or a similar major.

Consider getting a master's degree. Although not required, a master's degree in film production can further prepare you for successful career film producer.

• The master's degree covers both the creative and business sides of filmmaking.

1. Continue studying after completing your degree. Even after completing formal education, you should continue to receive informal education. Stay tuned for news and developments in film production. You can learn something new on your own or through additional courses.

   • Find universities that offer a degree in film production. Many of them can conduct advanced training courses. Although you will not receive another degree by taking these courses, you will be given a certificate of completion for each one.

   Part 2

   Experience

   1. Get early experience work. Start gaining professional experience as early as possible. If you're still in school or have recently graduated but haven't yet completed a university degree, look for ways to get involved in drama and film clubs at school and in your community. Even experience that is not directly related to filmmaking can help you in the future.

      • Many film producers begin their careers as writers or actors, so even if you can't get early experience in filmmaking, try to gain experience in related fields. Such professional experience can help you take your first steps in the film industry.
      • If opportunities in the film industry aren't available to you, turn to theatre. Play a role in school play or write a script for children's theater. Even if you are not a film producer, this experience will also give you a good start to your career.
      • If you are still a schoolboy, try taking elective courses in dramaturgy, theater arts, literature, cinema or business.

   2. Get an internship. Once you start university, you will need to seriously consider the possibility of a formal internship or internship. At this stage, you will need to find an opportunity that will provide you with professional experience in film production.

      • Most likely, you will not be able to get an internship at major film studio while you are still at university. However, you may be able to find an internship with a small independent film production company, your local television channel or on the radio.
      • Remember that most internships are “unpaid”, but at least you will be able to get extra credit for them at university. Work experience itself can be invaluable, and an internship (or several!) looks good on a resume. If you work hard, you can also make useful professional connections in the film industry.
      • If you can't get an internship at a film studio, try getting a job in the drama department at schools and universities in your city. Any work experience is better than no experience.

   3. Produce short videos yourself. If you are still a student, start creating short films and videos yourself. These first projects don't have to be anything special - a few minutes per project will be enough. The point here is to understand what it's like to be a producer while building a good portfolio.

   4. Acquire additional key skills. In addition to experience in drama and film, there are other basic life skills you'll want to develop.

      • Some of the additional skills you will need to learn include communication skills, leadership skills, ability to manage people and creative skills.
      • Consider taking a business course at university. A minor or concentration in business can be very beneficial to your career. Courses related to finance, marketing and management will bring you maximum benefit.
      • Leadership skills are also essential as a producer as you will have to manage a large number of people on your team. Communication skills are important if you want to effectively instruct and coordinate teamwork. Management skills are also essential as you will have to figure out how to keep the entire team running smoothly.
      • While you may be focusing only on the business aspects of production, you will also need to find interesting stories and script interpretation, which is why creative skills are also important in the profession of film producer.

      Part 3

      Entering the industry

      1. Know what you can expect from the job market. The job market is always changing, but there are a few factors that tend to remain fairly constant over time. When you graduate from university and are ready to join the labor, do some research about your job prospects, expected salary, and other aspects of your intended career.

         • Overall, film production job opportunities are expected to grow by 3% from 2012 to 2022. It's slower than most other professions.
         • It is likely that you will face a lot of competition in your field.
         • As of May 2012, average annual salaries for Western producers in different industries look like this:
           • Film and video producers - $94,110 (RUB 3,192,800)
           • Cable TV - $83,220 (RUB 2,823,219)
           • Television broadcasting - $56,950 (RUB 1,932,370)
           • Performing arts companies - $49,690 (RUB 1,686,031)
           • Radio broadcasting - $48,110 (RUB 1,632,458)

      2. Start looking for an entry-level position. Every person has to start somewhere. Most entry-level film production positions don't pay big money and don't give you many responsibilities. However, these positions are important steps on your way to the top of your career.

         • You can find entry-level positions such as production assistant or writer's assistant. Although your responsibilities and influence will be extremely limited, you will be able to obtain useful experience and see the industry from the inside.
         • Look for work in television and film studios. You may find it easier to find work in a small studio than in a large company.
         • Assistant directors and other entry-level employees don't make a lot of money, especially in the nonprofit sector, so be prepared to live on a very tight budget for a year or more.
         • Your chances of finding a job in your specialty will increase if you live in a city where your profession is in demand, for example, Los Angeles or Moscow. Of course, many people understand this, so there will be more competition in these cities than in other places.
         • Typically it will take you several years initial experience before you can start moving up the career ladder.

Despite the fact that a film producer is a creative profession, a producer is first and foremost an entrepreneur who must have the talent to find original material that is interesting not only to himself, but also to the viewer, and the ability to make an investor believe in this material. A producer is a thoughtful listener, a person who understands everything better than others. He understands not only the economic side of the issue, but also technical details process. At every stage of his work, from searching for a script to organizing post-production, he faces a number of problems and takes full responsibility for solving them.

Look At Me has already written about who producers are and why their work is so important for the film industry, this time representatives of the profession share their experience and tell what qualities are important for a future film producer to have, where to study and what films to watch.

Georgy Malkov about the closed “get-together” of film critics
and why it is important to know what KinoPoisk is

Georgy Malkov

Curator of the “Producing” department of Moscow Film School, producer of the Enjoy Movies company

“Before you dedicate your life to film production, decide whether it is truly vital for you. First of all, study all the technological aspects of filmmaking: read books on the topic (ideally American), work on set, study the post-production process. Then there is the question of entrepreneurial talent - either it is there or it is not. You can understand whether you have such talent through projects in any field. Producing is the willingness to take responsibility for everything that happens and the ability to make timely decisions.

When setting up my course, I set a task for the people on the commission: take those who have done at least one before successful project in any field. This is a project in which the applicant did everything himself, from idea to implementation. Often great ideas go nowhere. A person who decides to engage in film production must be able to find opportunities to implement his ideas and get results, be it financial income, career or mass attraction of attention.

We make films not for ourselves, but for the viewer. I initially had a romantic idea of ​​cinema, but then, thanks to my experience in other industries, healthy pragmatism was added to this romanticism. I realized that any human-made product, be it food or film, must be consumer-oriented. This ideology is not very popular among our filmmakers - they prefer to do what interests them, but often this does not coincide with what is interesting to the majority of people in the country. They live in a closed “get-together”, communicate with each other and often think that their dialogues reflect what is happening in society, that topics that are interesting to them are interesting to everyone else. This is not always the case.

In cinema, it is important to understand that you always have time and financial limitations. The producer must sensibly assess his capabilities - whether he can realize his original idea in the planned quality with the resources that he has. You always have to calculate what can be achieved with a certain director and certain actors. To do this, a novice producer must analyze the market, study the statistics of recent years on released Russian films. Understand which genres attract the most viewers, which actors star in the most successful films, and what kind of posters and trailers these films have. Find the reasons why this or that Russian film became successful or, conversely, failed. It’s strange to start producing if you don’t even know what KinoPoisk is.

It’s not difficult to find people willing to invest in cinema. The question is different - to convince these people to give money to you

The main problem with newbies is that they think that they will immediately start doing everything right, and do not try to understand what mistakes their colleagues made before achieving success. If films that, without the support of Channel One or the Rossiya channel, collect 8–10 million are considered successful, you shouldn’t think that your film will collect more. Be realistic - set a conservative rental forecast of 5–6 million (these results are also not easy to achieve). Based on these numbers, you need to ask yourself the question: “do I know how to make a movie that will collect this amount of money and at the same time be inexpensive to produce.” Having answered it positively, you can go to investors. If you have a project in your hands that you are confident in, the money will be found. Today, all film companies on the Russian market are interested in well-prepared, including economically, projects. It’s not difficult to find people willing to invest in cinema. The question is different - to convince these people to give money to you. To do this, you need not only to believe in your project, but also to have arguments proving that the project will “take off.”

You should go to meetings with “industry sharks” only after you have gone part of the way on your own, gained experience and gained confidence in what you are doing, otherwise some professionals will simply crush you with their authority and will not give you the opportunity to have your own opinion.

Of course, in addition to all of the above, it is also important life position future film producer, and his energy and charisma.”

Dmitry Rudovsky about extroverts and why film producers are given alcoholic drinks

Dmitry Rudovsky

CEO"Art Pictures Studios"

“To begin with, buy textbooks on cinema, any, the first ones you come across. Buy it and start reading. Books will help you form an idea of ​​the film industry, and then you just take it and do it. Having received theoretical experience, go and test it in practice - this way you will quickly accumulate experience. The main thing is not to sit still with your knowledge. Only through constant training can you gain skills.

A person who decides to get into producing must have a broad outlook, curiosity, a thirst for new things, efficiency, and the ability to lead a team - this is the main thing. The producer faces a lot of problems: a shortage of ideas, free funds, and distributors on the market. There are problems at every stage of work, so you need to be able to deal with them. Of course, many necessary qualities You can develop it in yourself, but you can’t do it without innate talent. You can’t tell me how to learn how to find investors and how to convince them to invest money in your film. Some people are given this, but others are not. Some people have entrepreneurial talent and some don't.

It is important for a producer to be a bright individual, preferably with experience behind him. I haven’t seen many young producers who succeed; success comes with time. In my life I have been a mechanic, student, military translator, journalist, editor, director, screenwriter, development director corporate culture in an oil company. This experience played a huge role in my career as a producer.

It’s good to be communicative - producing is easier for extroverts, although, of course, there are examples when more introverted people also achieve success. Most shining example- Sergey Selyanov. He is an outstanding producer, but at the same time it cannot be said that he is very talkative and “with his arms around everyone.”

There is one more important aspect for beginners - they should meet the professionals. Relationships with directors of the film industry need to be built - this will provide additional knowledge, the opportunity to learn from other people’s experience, and in general this is an important part of the work. To establish relationships with already successful film producers, you need to praise them and treat them alcoholic drinks, invite you to happenings and events organized by you, surprise interesting scenarios, offer to be their interns without salary for six to seven months. You can gain trust in all possible ways.”

Sabina Eremeeva about the benefits of youth
and mad love for cinema

Sabina Eremeeva

General Director of the studio "Elephant"

“The profession of a producer does not promise a financially stable and cloudless life. The only reason The reason why you should start getting involved in film production is a crazy love for cinema. You have to watch all the films, of all genres and directions, and try to understand each one. You don’t have to choose only art films or only commercial films; you shouldn’t shun TV series either. Diversity will help you find your style and your personality, and understand what is close to you. Such “observation” develops taste - without good taste there is nothing to do in cinema. Good taste makes good cinema.

Education is also important: you need to know not only the history of cinema, but also literature, theater, music, art in general, and even fashion. The producer must be a person with cultural baggage.

If we talk about personal qualities, then a good producer has intuition, the ability to hear the interlocutor and accumulate talented people around you, get out of them everything that is possible. You can’t do it without the ability to charm and convince someone to give you the first money for a film. Although sometimes it is enough to have rich parents - this is also an option for starting, and I do not think that it is the worst.

Cinema is a rational thing, but success often comes at the expense of mistakes and irrationality

Fortunately, today, in order to produce and shoot a film, you can spend a minimal amount of money at the start. On the first film, you can persuade everyone to work for free, borrow a camera from friends, ask someone to do the sound. Here, studying at a specialized university gives you an advantage. Any film school, no matter what it is, offers not so much narrow professional skills as immersion in the environment. The moment of getting into the environment and finding comrades and associates with whom you start making your first film is almost the most important. My first film was the debut for both me and director Alexander Veledinsky - the short film was called “You, me and you.” Sasha studied at the higher directing courses, and I studied at the Faculty of Economics of VGIK, we lived in the same dormitory and somehow met. One day he gave me his script, and three years later I suddenly called him and said “let’s shoot, an opportunity has arisen!” Dmitry Piorunsky really liked the script, he believed in us and financed the film. Then the Ministry of Culture allocated money for post-production. We went to Cannes and received many prizes at various festivals. I was 24 years old at that time.

It seems to me that success in cinema is not related to age. Experience undoubtedly gives a great advantage, but on the other hand, the energy of the first film gives unexpected result. You don’t know how to do it yet, so you do what you think is right. Cinema is a rational thing, but success often comes at the expense of mistakes and irrationality. It’s better to start young - more enthusiasm, energy and faith in life.”

Why is there a producer in the studio? Inspire or manage? Play or perform? How to talk about your project? Answers to these and other questions in the master class program by Oleg Nesterov.

The Academy invites musicians, composers, producers and everyone involved in the creative industry to a master class.

"Oleg Nesterov - amazing person“, musician, composer, a rare phenomenon for the Russian musical landscape,” says Academy Rector Eduard Boyakov, “in Russian rock, from which we all came, too often one can see a dependence on literature, on the bardic beginning. This is detrimental to musical taste and musical style. We had our own bards from Vysotsky to Shevchuk, and it’s easy to draw an analogy between these phenomena and Joan Boez and Bob Dylan, for example. But in American musical culture In parallel, there were other phenomena that dealt with musical energies themselves at the subtlest level. The meeting of words with music was not organized at the level of “music illustrates the word” or “music serves the word.” Word and music were equal participants creative process. And now this has become more relevant than ever, because not a single musical phenomenon can do without being surrounded by video and text. And if you don’t pay attention to how the music is mixed and arranged, then you will never become a great artist. And it is Nesterov who for me personifies this feeling of universal style and unity. This was revealed in all his projects, be it “Grishkovets and Curlers” or “Masha and the Bears”. I can call it a unique phenomenon of Russian music scene, one of the few producers in our country.

His latest project appeared on the network or as a synthetic new genre, no longer musical, but media, or even as a hoax. Because he works with the scripts of unborn films, while doing not reconstruction, but an absolutely independent understanding of this topic. There is nothing more interesting, nothing more relevant. There are artists who think not in two dimensions, but in three dimensions, for example. New project Oleg Nesterov is 4D. There's a lot of soul there."

Oleg Nesterov - leader of the Moscow group “Megapolis”, head of the label “Snegiri”, in different years produced by Nike Borzov, Peter Nalich, the groups “Masha and the Bears”, “Underwood”, “ Christmas decorations", "2H Company", "Grishkovets and Curlers". Music producer films “Down House”, “Tumbler”, “One Love in a Million”.

Oleg Nesterov’s new project - “From the Life of the Planets” - is music for four unproduced films, equally resonating with both today and the era of the 60s, music on which Megapolis worked for three last year. The project goes beyond the usual music release. In addition to the double album with a total running time of 104 minutes, consisting of instrumental themes and title songs, special role its multimedia component plays.

Oleg Nesterov teaches the course “Producing music project" V State University management and at Moscow State University.

The master class starts at 18:00, admission is free.

My college belonged to those European universities where you could choose your career right during your studies. In my third year, when it was time to choose a specialization, I chose cinema, completely by accident and intuitively. At some point, each group was asked to make a film, and we almost began voting on who would be who. film set. For some reason, no one wanted to take the position of producer. Probably everyone was afraid of responsibility, and they couldn’t say exactly what it meant. There were only girls in the group, so I was the last to choose and had to take the only remaining position.

Our film was called "Love Noir" - it was Detective story with elements of noir. We filmed it according to the script, which won a competition at a parallel faculty. As a producer, I really had to deal with the entire organization of the filming process: organizing logistics, communication between departments and finding funding. We actually managed to attract some funds, but we also chipped in for the filming. It was a very useful experience - we encountered the same problem in real production.

We're caught up in the hipster wave
and became a kind of hipster production

About searching for investors

We ourselves, as investors, are aware of the risks and try to convey them to all our partners. And it doesn’t matter what kind of film we make - festival or commercial, there is always a risk. It can be minimized, but it cannot be completely eliminated. Of course, people want to get into filmmaking for a variety of reasons. Some pursue purely commercial goals, others want to get closer to art and support the artist, and others act as patrons of the arts. Required here individual approach- it is important to understand the interest and then present the film.

About the ideology of Hype Production

We ourselves choose our boss, the director. Producing is the only profession where you hire your boss. This phrase expresses our approach to creativity, because to make right choice, choosing a specific combination of talents is a creative process.

The office is a place of power.
We want to be perceived as a boutique company where all employees are friends and like-minded people. I will not be afraid even of the word “family” and the pathos associated with it. The production of any film takes two to three years, so the feeling of closeness with film crew and the feeling of family arises by itself.

Lack of specialized education is not a hindrance.
Of course, the difference between a director with and without a foundation is obvious, but for us this has never been a fundamental point. We practice the so-called proof of concept - we give the opportunity to the young director show yourself on the set. This is not really a short film, but rather a test of the pen - proof that the idea works.

About education

I am a producer without a specialized education, which, in my opinion, is not important. The richer the background of the future producer, the more creative he will be in solving problems. In this regard, my partner Murad is very interesting: he received an engineering education, then became a photographer and finally came to producing. This will now sound like a Hollywood cliche, but I came across producers who spent their whole lives selling cars, and then went into cinema and achieved incredible success in it.

Whether a director needs education is an open question. I have already said that this is not a critical point, but it is important. The lack of film school can be made up for by experience on set and reading books. A producer is one of the few professions where experience is a hundred times more important than education.

In Hollywood, the types of producers are very clearly differentiated - executive, associate, co-producer. Some kind of general definition Simply no, it's too complicated a term. For me, a producer is the one who goes through the process of a project from zero to the last day.

Producer is one of the few professions where experience is a hundred times more important than education

How to start

To become a producer, you just need to endlessly love cinema. You don’t need to have a huge fortune behind you, you don’t need to have an education, the main thing is to be ready to kill for the idea and the result.

To begin with, you can go to work for a production company. For example, we have a lot of young guys who came from VGIK, and now they have grown to become serious producers. Another option is to establish own company. No matter how trivial it may sound, but now anyone can make a movie. There are a lot of people, a lot of ideas - everyone is capable of putting together a team and producing a film. And you don’t have to be a Universal studio for this.

The surest way to produce is to study other people's examples, namely crisis management. In fact, the entire profession consists of it. We like to say that we don’t get involved in creativity on set, because we agree on everything on the shore and work on the film already at the stage of editing and promotion. However, in reality we are actually managing the crisis on site. There is an American stereotype - a successful producer should do his job in such a way that he can just sit and smoke a cigar while filming. I'm sure it's simply impossible: making a film involves too many things that can go wrong. Nevertheless, we try to make every project so that you can “smoke a cigar” on the site.

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, a creative producer is a person who forms the creative component and is capable of elevating 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.