PreProduction Unit- Researching the art of being a Producer.

In my pursuit of learning as much as possible as I can about the art of being a film producer, I have been checking out some interviews online with film producers that have worked with major companies, on mainstream movies. One in particular I felt was especially useful in summing up exactly what a producer's job is, was this interview with Tim Bevan. In it, Tim states that the producer's job is to essentially provide the tools needed for the film's director to do their job; "Ultimately, films are a director’s medium. They have control. It is my job or Eric (Fellner’s) to create the right environment for them to do the best job they can."

This is particularly important to consider when it comes to re-evaluating my own importance as a producer, When working as a team, it is sometimes easy to rely on others, which sometimes leads to slacking- expecting other members to make up the workload. When it comes to my job as a producer however, I have to be spot on with what I do, and always at work to provide the assets necessary for all the other members of the team to do their own respective jobs- otherwise nothing gets done.

I also found this interview with Philippa Boyens, the co-producer of such films as The Hobbit and District 9. In it, she is asked about what kind of challenges she faced as a producer for The Hobbit as opposed to when she acted as a producer for The Lord of The Rings, and whether or not The Hobbit was a more challenging film to produce for. The issues of the producer's job in adapting the writer's screenplay, and how hard the job is are also brought up.

Something I learned from this interview with Phillipa is once again- how important the producer's job is, and how they play a major role in convincing actors to become contributors for the project, as well as having to keep improving and delivering new assets with each film that is made. The importance of working closely with the Director is also stressed- something that I will take into careful consideration during the production of Inoculum.