7 Different roles in Filmmaking

In film making we hear about producers and directors, however there are so many more jobs within filmmaking.

The producer is essentially the group leader and is responsible for managing the production from start to finish. This person develops the project from the initial idea, makes sure the script is finalised, arranges the financing and manages the production team that actually makes the film. The producer also coordinates the filmmaking process to ensure that everyone involved in the project is working in schedule and on a budget. Without the producer the film wouldn’t get made.

The director is mostly responsible for overseeing the shooting and order of a film. While the director might be compared to a novel’s author as a film’s primary visionary, they would not be able to make the film without the help of many artists and technicians. A director works at the middle of the film production, but is linked with dozens of other people who get the job done together.

A screenwriter provides the dialogue for actors and also shapes the sequence of events in a film to ensure that the scenes transition with change smoothly and will unfold the story in a logical and interesting way. Like the producer, the screenwriter’s role is generally overlooked by the movie-going public, yet it is the essential part of a movie as if there is no script then there is no movie.

A production designer is the first artist to translate a script into a story board. They create a series of storyboards that will serve as the film’s first draft. Creating these sketches of the film on a storyboard will ensure that the visuals of the film from start to finish. Storyboards serve as the director’s visual guide throughout the production and will be a template to follow during the editing process.

The art director is responsible for the film’s settings: the buildings, landscapes and interiors that provide the physical context for the characters. They are also responsible for finding props, decorating sets and making the setting believable.

The editor organises the footage and arranges individual shots into one continuous sequence. Even in a single scene dozens of different shots have to be chosen and assembled from hundreds of feet of film. The editor’s choices about which shots to use, and the order in which to place them, have a profound effect on the appearance of the film.

Finally, the music supervisor. Music has been a big part of movies since cinema’s earliest days in the 1890s. A piano or organ player accompanied even the simplest silent films. Today selecting just the right music for the film will intensify the story for the audience.