Producing Independent Film, TV, and Video—A Real-World Guide

Producers are credited on every film, television, and media project made. They are crucial—even seminal—to each and every production, no matter how big or small. Yet, even as a pivotal position in the creative and practical process of making a film, TV show, or media project, the title “Producer” is perhaps the least understood of all the collaborators involved. What is a producer? This course answers that question, examining what a producer actually does in the creation of screen-based media and the many hats that one, or a small army of producers, may wear at any given time. Students will explore the role of the producer in the filmmaking, television, and video process from the moment of creative inspiration through project development to financing, physical production (indeed, down to the nuts-and-bolts aspects of budgeting, scheduling, and delivering a film, TV, or video project), marketing, navigating the film-festival gauntlet, as well as drilling down into the distribution process and strategies. A practical course in the ways and means of producing, the class will consider the history and current state of producing through case studies of projects, as well as through visiting producers, directors, and artisans from the film, television, and media-making community. Students will also gain hands-on experience in developing projects, breaking them down into production elements, as well as crafting schedules and budgets. Conference projects may include the producing of a film or media project by a student in another filmmaking production class at the College, a case study of several films from the producer’s perspective, the development and preproduction of a proposed future “virtual” film or video project, and the like. The course provides a practical skill set for students seeking work in the filmmaking and media-making world after Sarah Lawrence College. The course also provides filmmakers and screenwriters with a window on the importance of and mechanics pertaining to the producing discipline.