I started to have a look at the producer role in animation.
Producers overlook and manage the whole animation production, making sure it stays within a fixed budget and delivers a production on time. Those working in smaller studios (which I think would be the majority of studios in the UK), would also take on creative responsibilities.
Although most would have a contract with a studio, there is a possibility for the role to be on a freelance base.
Part of their job is also to find ways to fund certain projects by attending and networking at events, film and art festivals.
The producer is in contact with every department to ensure they have everything they need.
The essential skills to be a producers are:
- Leadership: a producer needs to be able to communicate, manage and motivate an entire team. People skills are necessary for this role, particularly during a tough production or a closeby deadline.
- Organisation: they are in charge of organising different people, and depending on the size of a company, that could mean the entire studio! They are the one planning the production according to the client’s deadline, so attention to details is fundamental.
- Business: they need to be able to budget the cost of a production correctly and to constantly seek funding for future projects.
- Animation Production Knowledge: in order to be able to correctly put a schedule in place, they need to have a thorough knowledge of the animation pipeline to calculate how long a production is going to take and hire people accordingly (if the studio is lacking the artists required).
- Problem Solving: there will inevitably be problems rising during a production. Whether these are small or big a producer is often the person a lot of artists in the studio would turn to to solve them.
The Producer role is often obtained after a few years working in the industry: one could move on from a director or production coordinator role. From the perspective of someone starting out after graduation, a runner role could be the start to a future career.
A runner is a good opportunity for any sort of progression into the industry, but to an extent, the role is slightly more in line with a producer’s. They would take care of the basic needs of a studio, such as stationary or food for employees. As a runner you are expected to learn as much as you can while performing your duties. After a while, they start to gain a good knowledge of how a studio is run.
I think I wouldn’t mind starting my career as a runner, as I’ve always been curious about the behind the scenes of animation production. I would still like to move onto something that would allow me to use my drawing skills, as I love the practical aspect of it. However, I have worked in roles where people skills were essential, so I think I would be able to transfer those into a studio environment.
Upon a class visit to Nexus Studio, we were told that animation producers are hard to come across, so it could potentially be easier to start as a runner/ studio assistant, and potentially change career afterwards.
I noticed that sometimes these kind of position are advertised under the name of “studio assistants’. I have previously tried to apply for this kind of role, but it was for MPC, which made the application very competitive. The studio was also aking candidate to have an interest in VFX and 3D animation, which I couldn’t prove at the time as my portfolio was prevalently 2D.
Dispite considering the runner position as a valid gateway into the industry, I don’t think I would consider the producer as a career goal though. The financial aspect wouldn’t be suitable for me and I still find networking quite a daunting experience and I wouldn’t want the responsibility to secure fundings that way.