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WHAT MAKES A GOOD PRODUCER?
		published: dec 2004
Successful producing demands a variety of skills, both financial and creative. To find out more about what makes a good producer, Screenrights Member Services Officer Emma Rogers talked to some of Australia's leading educators in the field; Marian Macgowan, Head of Producing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Sydney; Jocelyn Quioc, Producing Course Coordinator at the Film and Television Institute (FTI) in Fremantle; and Ros Walker, Producer's Course Coordinator at the Victorian College of Arts (VCA) in Melbourne. Macgowan is the producer of TWO HANDS and THE RAGE IN PLACID LAKE. Quioc has worked on a variety of productions, including the features THE RED PLANET and RABBIT-PROOF FENCE. Walker is a former manager of Film Victoria and independent producer of the AFI award-winning short film MR ELECTRIC. According to all three, the first common misconception about producing is that it is a financially lucrative career. Macgowan points out that producing is not a wellpaid job and Walker agrees that there is a perception that "producers earn fabulous sums of money and play all the time - if only that were true!" Quioc notes that during the development stages of a project "a lot of time and effort is expended with no financial backing". The reality is that many producers take up day jobs in order to survive. Another misconception is that a producer is purely a business person who raises the finances for a project. Many are not aware that the "job is actually very creative and involves multiple skill bases," says Walker. The producer is usually involved with a project from the "conceptual stage - the crucial development period where scripts are reworked and rewritten many, many times," says Quioc. The consensus among all three is that producing is both a creative and commercial endeavour requiring a broad skills base. It is a "creative management job that requires its adherents to understand and manage the writers', directors', and cinematographers' jobs as well as the distributor, the broadcaster and the financier," says Macgowan. Macgowan likens the producer's ability to balance the needs of the creative and the commercial parties in a production with the ability to "speak a broad range of languages". She also highlights the importance of "strong story instincts, strong people skills, business instincts or at least good numeracy and a sense of the bigger picture". Walker empasises that a producer must have an understanding of development processes and keen script analysis skills to ensure good project selection. The nature of the industry also demands strong finance and business skills, an understanding of legal obligations, as well as leadership and management skills. In addition to this, Walker notes that a producer must have a practical understanding of how a production works, including post-production, in order to schedule and budget. In addition to this, he or she must understand distribution, marketing and exhibition in order to deliver the finished product to its audience. "Filmmaking is a mix of commerce and art," says Quioc and producers need to be aware that "every project is a business that needs to be run like a business enterprise, not just a creative endeavour." Of students who study producing, most want "to know how to earn a living making films," says Quioc. The age, experience and skill base of producing students vary, and Walker notes that the only common denominators are "a passion for film and television, leadership and an independent streak." Most institutions now emphasise hands on training for students of producing, with students consolidating their skills through the production of short films. The production of student films is supported and supplemented by a "mixture of theoretical lectures, inviting industry practitioners to teach from their experiences, visiting industry facilities, attending industry seminars and organising workplace attachments," says Walker. Quioc comments that the importance of story and the craft of scriptwriting are taught through the analysis and assessment of completed screenplays. In addition to the creative, practical and technical skills required to produce a project, Quioc notes that producers "also need to be aware of industry trends and the impact of government legislation on funding." "Producers in the current environment need to be more flexible in the types of projects they take on and how they finance them, as traditional financing pathways are changing very quickly," says Walker. Like all professions, producing is constantly evolving and producers "need to be technically savvy as new formats and possibilities for production and distribution emerge," says Walker. A current industry push is the development of long-term business sustainability. There is a greater focus on building businesses as opposed to "lurching from project to project," says Macgowan. "It's important for producing courses to keep abreast of new technologies and keep a steady flow of industry practitioners lecturing the students so the students learn current industry knowledge," says Walker. In Western Australia, the producing course at the Film and Television Institute aims to provide students with "the creative and business skills to run viable creative enterprises," says Quioc. Their long-term goal is to develop the local industry by giving the students the skills to run commercially viable businesses and remain in the state. At the AFTRS the focus of its first year course has shifted almost entirely to content - story and drama, while the second year now focuses on new areas of growth in the industry and emerging opportunities for its graduates. In the current climate, educators emphasise the importance of ensuring their producing graduates are not only wellinformed, but also equipped with the skills to create and maintain sustainable and successful businesses to anchor their filmmaking careers. As Walker says: "It's a changing landscape out there in film and TV land and emerging producers need to be better informed than ever before, with an international as well as local knowledge base. They need to run businesses rather than occasional enterprises, be flexible, ultra creative and, of course, completely passionate about their projects."


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