Three weeks before the shoot, the director wants an extra night in the harbour. The line producer is the one who knows what that night costs, which crew are on overtime by then, and which other scene can lose half a day to pay for it. That is the job in one sentence. The line producer turns creative wishes into days, people and money, and keeps the three in balance.
What a line producer does
The producer finds the project and the money. The line producer makes the money go far enough. It starts in late development, when the line producer reads the script and breaks it down into scenes, locations, cast days and crew. From that comes the first budget and a draft schedule, built together with the first assistant director. Financiers use that budget to decide whether to invest, so it has to be realistic.
In pre-production the line producer hires the heads of department and most of the crew below the line, negotiates rates with suppliers, and signs the deals for equipment, studios and locations. During the shoot they watch the daily progress report and the weekly cost report, and decide where money moves when one department needs more than planned.
Responsibilities
- Break down the script and build the first budget and schedule
- Hire the heads of department and agree crew rates and deals
- Negotiate with equipment houses, studios and other suppliers
- Approve purchase orders and spending above an agreed limit
- Track actual costs against the budget every week with the production accountant
- Solve problems that cost time or money, from weather days to a sick actor
- Hand over a finished production on budget, with the paperwork for financiers and funds
How the role touches the budget
More than any other role. The line producer writes the budget, defends it to financiers, and is accountable when it moves. A good line producer knows the estimate for completion at any moment of the shoot. That is what has been spent, plus what is committed, plus what is still to come. When the contingency has to be touched, the line producer makes the case to the producer.
How people become line producers
Most line producers worked their way up through the production office, as production assistant, production coordinator and production manager. That route teaches what every department needs and what things really cost. Some come from production accounting.
In TV and commercials
On a TV series the line producer often works across all episodes, so the budget is split per episode or per block of episodes. In commercials the title is rarely used. There the commercials producer and the production manager share the work.