I had a conversation a while back with a cost consultant who strong-ly suggested that agency producers will soon be a thing of the past. He believes that we are unnecessary because we are generally uneducated about the production process. He also thinks that this "phase out" will take place within the next 10 years, and that agency producers will be dinosaurs. Have I spent the last 18 years being "unnecessary?" Am I truly that uneducated? I think not.
These comments made by the cost consultant are self-serving, but there also seems to be an attitude among our suppliers that we are not as knowledgeable as we should be.
In order to fight this perception, we need to be as educated as possible. The problem is the dearth of educational opportunities specifically for producers. The primary way we all learn now is on the job, which is a disservice to the agency and the client. There must be a better way. As it stands now, however, we have few alternatives to self-education. This means that we need to seek out every opportunity to educate ourselves in order to remain a vital part of the production process.
So what can we do? We can talk with producers in other agencies and befriend people more talented and creative than we are; take a seminar in negotiation skills; work in the production or postproduction side of the business for awhile; read the trade magazines; talk with composers, musicians, directors, entertainment attorneys, actors. We can read the SAG contract; take a course in film production; do our homework when bidding out jobs by finding out the real costs as opposed to the "best guess" scenario that many bids are based on; read advertising court cases in order to learn what not to do; learn how to play a musical instrument; take a creative writing course.
I did most of the above, but still felt I couldn’t keep up. This is why I started the Producers Conference three years ago. I wanted to create a conference that not only provides hard information about new technologies, but is also inspirational—a place where we can learn more about both the creative process and the business of film production. I wanted a place where junior- and senior-level producers could go for two days, network with peers, and be a part of a larger community. Many producers share this vision and have played pivotal roles in the growth of the conference, which continues to grow year by year.
Remember, we agency producers oversee millions upon millions of advertising dollars every year, and are held responsible for the creative. We are judged by our reels. We owe it to our clients and ourselves to stay educated.
If we want to gain more respect and make more money, the key is knowledge. Knowledge is power, and that will never change.
