Summary
As the producer you:
• Are at the core of a project
• Encourage collaboration
• Provide strong and balanced leadership
• Know when to step back and let people do their job
• Model patience, humor, and a clear vision of the project, supplying creative direction
while balancing the pressures of the budget
• Are generous with your flexibility and encouragement, while staying connected to the
realities of the budget and time constraints
Are focused and relaxed
A good producer:
• Knows about the elements of producing
• Might also be talented as a writer, director, or editor
• Is a storyteller, an entrepreneur, or a risk taker
• Has strong leadership skills and works well with a team
Understands the larger context of television and its offshoots, including its past history,
current status, and future potential
Review Questions
1. How do producers in TV and new media differ from film producers?
2. List three important skills and traits of a good producer. Explain why each is helpful.
3. List one role the producer plays in each of the five stages of a project’s development.
4. Define “clout” in producers’ terms.
5. What does the line producer do? How is this job different from other producing titles?
6. List two reasons why “owning” your emotions can help in managing conflicts.
7. What areas of production might be impacted by a failure of leadership? A failure of
ethics?
8. Define three learning styles outlined in the Learning Styles section that best describe
your own, and give examples.
9. How can delegation skills contribute to the execution of a project?
10. What have you learned so far about being a producer? Has it affected your interest in
producing?
