Production Management for Television

Leslie Mitchell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781134096077
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Media & Communications Industry
• Index: Business

Completely up to date with relevant information on digital technology and HD TV, this is the only title to focus specifically on television production management, and presents an easily accessible and authoritative guide to the area.

Production Management for Television provides a reliable, factual and theoretical framework for an understanding of production management. It includes a reference directory of agencies and organizations, and addresses and contacts for training.

Subjects covered include:

• the main responsibilities of the production manager
• key skills needed by the production manager
• routine procedures
• appropriate paperwork and record keeping
• health and safety issues
• rights management
• career structure and development for production managers
• useful references and further information.

The book is supported by a companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415424813.

Part I
Production managers

There is no normal day!

… there’s a lot of ignorance – when they’re looking for work experience, folk always look to producing or directing, never to production management. The pivotal role of the Production Manager is not understood.

1
What is production management?

Quick start definition

Production management: the diligent oversight and direction of all the processes and procedures which are required in order to safely and legally accomplish a finished programme on time and on budget

While the above definition might be a reasonably neat and fairly comprehensive summary, its brevity is in danger of seriously under-estimating the breadth, importance and seriousness of the work it involves. Discussions about the comparative importance of various roles on the production team are largely fatuous, each member and every skill having a unique part to play in the completion of a project. Despite (or possibly because of) this acknowledgement of the collective effort and teamwork required in television production, I make no excuse for emphasising the singular nature of the role of production management, if only because of the largely unregarded, and it has to be said, undervalued, work it represents. It is this crucial contribution that production management makes to the ultimate success (or failure) of the project that should lead us to acknowledge that the accomplishment of the set of tasks it represents is one of the most important in the production process.

Because television production requires creativity and artistry, it is understandable why the so-called creative roles receive such attention and are accorded such deference. The director must be allowed to compose the best shots he or she can achieve; in a drama the relationship between cast and director is at the very heart of the creative process. In similar ways it is easy to see how the work of the sound recordist, and later on the editor, are vital. The producer has, among many other responsibilities, the significant task of assembling the talent and the crew. In so many ways it is easy to see how each of these skills makes a vital contribution to every programme. Production management may seem to be a much greyer area. If, however, we return to our original definition and begin to examine it in greater detail we may be surprised at just how important production management is in achieving programme aims and how far-reaching the consequences of failure in this area might be.

Oversight

With the possible exception of the producer, the Production Manager has a unique overview of the programme or series of programmes. This oversight includes a clear appreciation of the creative work of the whole team, but carries with it the added responsibilities brought by an awareness of the parameters of time and budget, and all the other constraints of programme production.

Diligence

Thomas Edison’s often repeated definition of genius that it is ‘one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration’ is an apt description of the diligence that is required of those engaged in production management. Edison’s saying might have become clichéd by repetition, but it is so often repeated because like most clichés it contains an important grain of truth. Much of the work of the Production Manager is detailed and painstaking and requires great accuracy. Paperwork which might seem boring and irritating to some will be seen in proper perspective by the Production Manager; thus risk assessments, properly carried out and duly recorded and filed may well prevent accidents and will certainly assist in the investigation of any incidents which do occur. Edison provides us with a welcome reminder that discipline, organisation and attention to detail may well be essential to provide a framework within which creativity can thrive – which come to think of it, is not a bad alternative description of the work of the Production Manager!

Processes

An understanding of the processes by which television programmes come to be made is an essential part of the stock-in-trade of production management. Without this inside knowledge a Production Manager will be ill-equipped to make decisions quickly and wisely. Should, for instance, a director be allowed an extra day’s shooting, despite the strains that this might place on the budget? The answer to this question will, of course, depend on the circumstances – which is precisely the point. A well-informed understanding of the difficulties of this particular shoot is essential. The location, the cast, the vagaries of the weather and indeed the history and track-record of the particular director in keeping to the agreed shooting schedule are simply some of the myriad factors to be taken into account by the Production Manager when making the decision. Such a decision may be required quickly, the result of an anxious telephone conversation from a distant location. It is clearly important that in such circumstances the decision is soundly based. In summary, a knowledge of industry processes provides those involved in production management with the ability to understand and therefore to be sympathetic to the requirements of each member of the team. The answer may not always be to the liking of the individual making the request but usually it will be respected if it is treated with the sympathy which comes from an understanding of the skills, needs and contributions of every team member.

Procedures

An appreciation of the processes by which programmes are made is complemented by an intimate knowledge of the procedures required to complete these processes successfully. By this I mean the tasks (often defined by completing a form or producing a report) which are required by others. At times these others will be colleagues in the same company or organisation. For example, monthly financial reports may be required by the head of finance in an independent production company. If such reports are not completed and submitted on time, then the financial stability of the company itself and the ability to forecast cash flow might be jeopardised, let alone the consequences to the programme in production. An example of a procedure that is required by an organisation external to the company might be that of music logging and reporting. While the completion of the actual task may well not be the responsibility of the Production Manager, making sure that it is done and that logs are sent to the appropriate body certainly is.

Safely

Television crews inhabit a dangerous world; the risks they face on a daily basis are generally far greater than those encountered by the general public. And I am not thinking here of foreign shoots in dangerous war zones or the obvious risks to life and limb when you doorstep a shoddy or fraudulent craftsman at his own home! Production teams need to be constantly reminded of the risks of using their own equipment on location or in a studio for that matter. Cables, heavy objects, camera rigs (and sometimes other members of the crew simply doing their job) pose threats to personal safety. It usually falls to the Production Manager to provide these reminders to each team and to ensure that each member has received the appropriate Health and Safety training, so that the risks can be evaluated and minimised. Chapter 6 goes on to deal with this important subject in greater detail.

Legally

The public nature of television production, whether or not it results in a broadcast, involves publication of some sort – as a corporate video, a podcast or a DVD, for example. So in addition to the legal framework to which every individual and corporate body is subject, there are areas of regulation which are specific to the media and are contained in legislation such as the various Broadcasting Acts (for example, Broadcasting Act 1990, 1996, Communications Act, 2003) and other measures. It is clearly not the responsibility of the Production Manager to be an expert in the law, but an awareness of the areas which are subject to rules and regulation is essential – even if only to remain alert to issues where professional advice is essential. There are many legal issues from child protection to decency, product placement, copyright and many others. Again these areas, generally grouped under the heading of compliance, will be discussed in greater detail in later chapters; it is enough for now to make the point that production management requires a good pair of legal antennae to anticipate potential problems and to avoid disasters!

On time

Time management is probably one of the greatest responsibilities within production management. Another cliché claims that time is money; it is a cliché that is certainly true for television. Time seems to be of the essence of everything to do with production, from the weeks budgeted for every member of a crew, the days the presenter is booked for, the hours in the edit suite, and of course the running time in minutes and seconds of the final production. Everything is timed to the hour, minute or second and ensuring the observance of the agreed timing is often the role of the Production Manager.

On budget

The programme budget may ‘belong’ to the producer; it will no doubt have been negotiated by the producer or the executive producer, but responsibility for remaining within budget, for ensuring that the limits of individual cost centres are observed and that reports are accurately compiled and maintained, remains with production management. It is a huge responsibility; often, as we shall see, it means saying ‘no’ even when you would rather say ‘yes’. The cost of television production continues to rise, while at the same time budgets are pared back; so there is real pressure to make every penny count, and in the day-to-day life of the production office, this pressure falls largely on the Production Manager.

In summary

This brief analysis of the definition at the beginning of this chapter, demonstrates if nothing else that production management is a central, vital and rather undervalued part of the process of making television programmes.

In the sections and chapters which follow we will be looking at production management in three distinct but interrelated ways. By doing so, I hope that the needs of the reader will be met in the most helpful manner. So in the next chapter, Production management as a career, we will be thinking of production management as a distinct and defined role within a company or organisation, in other words we will be looking at the job of being a Production Manager and benefiting from the experience of some of those who have been doing it for quite a while. At the same time we need to recognise that the work of production management may well be done by a member of the production team who is not officially designated as a Production Manager. Indeed the work may be divided in a formal or informal way between different members of a production unit. The recognition of the fact that the work of production management might well be spread over a number of different members of a production team means that Part II of this book is focused on skills and techniques rather than on a particular individual called a Production Manager. Many, if not most, student productions do not have a designated Production Manager (I often wonder if the resulting productions might have been better had they done so!). I have had close contact with BBC productions where various management tasks are shared by all members of the team with a relatively light-touch administrative coordinating role undertaken by a producer, senior producer or executive producer. The precise detail of the organisation of how this is to be achieved is less important than the crucial point that the tasks need to be completed as and when required in as transparent a manner as possible and to the satisfaction of the relevant company or commissioner.

Production management – the personal perspective

In order to gain an insight into their daily lives, I asked a number of those engaged in production management if they could describe a typical working day. This is an almost impossible question to answer especially when, as we shall see, the work varies so enormously from day to day. Their answers do, however, provide a colourful, subjective and valuable glimpse of what life can be like when you are a Production Manager.

There is no normal day!

If I am working on a documentary or a magazine [programme], I am at the computer most of the day.

On a big budget production I keep the figures up to date every day. On Big Brother I might be off buying their posh meal; literally carrying food into the Big Brother House … being responsible for noise limits [re: neighbours] in the BB house, liaising with the local council about late night filming with lights.

No day is ever the same, depending on the production cycle and the genre. You wake up wondering what’s likely to go wrong today! It can feel like you’re constantly treading on egg shells. You may feel it is all under control … then bang! A crisis comes along and takes your time and energy. [You might get] … a call from an edit suite – the tapes have been [accidentally] left back in the office. A problem that takes a minute to arise can take an hour at least to solve. So there is no typical day, you just have to respond to what’s happening, it is about multitasking and understanding the basic principles of TV.

[I may have a] meeting about schedules, plans for filming – [working out] how much time in filming days, fees for location.

Maybe phone calls from another team in ‘post’ [production] in the London office – an example might be issues over credits, (we would have to liaise with Broadcaster when the credits need to be on four cards [screens] and not on the agreed three.

There could be phone calls because of a personality clash between a freelance editor and company production staff …

… meanwhile I am liaising with a commissioning editor about co-production, about the proportion of money to be put up by each party because there’s production company-broadcaster and a charity organisation involved.

… and what I was actually trying to do was my cost reports for the financial controller.

Despite the obviously stressful situations described in these fragmentary conversations (or possibly because of them) every Production Manager I spoke to, without exception, thoroughly enjoyed the work they did and appeared to thrive on the trouble-shooting and enabling role they so clearly occupied.

2
Production management as a career

One of the big problems in the sector is that too many young people who are coming into the industry know nothing about the coordination role – and remember ‘coordination’ is the crucial word.

Quick start definitions

Indie: Industry shorthand for Independent Production Company, as distinct from a Broadcasting organisation such as the BBC or ITV

Production Coordinator: A responsible but junior production management role often involved in booking equipment and facilities, book-keeping, etc. A possible career step before becoming a Production Manager

P.M.: Industry shorthand for the Production Manager

P.A.: In the media industries usually production assistant, though it can refer to the more generic ‘personal assistant’

O.B.: Outside Broadcast

The responsibilities outlined in the preceding chapter may seem somewhat daunting. The accurate completion of the tasks involved can have an enormous impact on the success of a programme or series and indeed on the viability and financial health of the company, especially if it is a small one. In such circumstances the inevitable question arises as to why anyone would volunteer for the job, let alone actively seek it! I have to say at this point that in meeting a number of Production Managers, in connection with this book, I was enormously struck by the enthusiasm that so many of them expressed. Clearly ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• List of illustrations
• Introduction
• Part I Production Managers
• Part II Skills and techniques
• Part III Production management in action
• Directory of agencies and organisations
• Glossary
• Further reading