Tv Or Film Production Manager

Typical Salary

To

Typical Hours

38 to 40 variable

freelance / self-employed away from home

How To Become a Tv Or Film Production Manager

You can get into this job through:

a university course
a college course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role
a broadcaster's training scheme

College / University

You could do a degree in media production before joining a production company.

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

You could do a college course which may help you to get a job with a media company. With experience, you could then move on to work in production management. Courses include:

Level 3 Diploma in Creative Media Production
Level 3 Diploma in Film and Television Production

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You may be able to do a media production coordinator higher apprenticeship, or a creative industries production management degree apprenticeship. You'll usually need experience in production management or production accounting to do the degree apprenticeship.

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

You could start as a runner or an assistant in the production office, then move on to become a production co-ordinator or assistant production manager. You could also start as a trainee production accountant.

Another option is to go from a job as a runner to 3rd, 2nd and 1st assistant director, or from assistant TV floor manager, then to floor manager or location manager.

Other Routes

You may be able to get training through one of the new entrant training schemes that broadcasters and film bodies offer. For example:

You could also take short courses in production skills run by film schools, regional screen agencies and private training providers.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

knowledge of media production and communication
the ability to organise your time and workload
excellent written communication skills
leadership skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
the ability to use your initiative
to be flexible and open to change
patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

During the planning stages of a production, you may:

work with the producer and senior production staff
draw up a production schedule and budget
negotiate costs with suppliers
hire crew and contractors
approve bookings of resources, locations, equipment and supplies
arrange permissions and risk assessments
manage a production office team

During filming, you could:

make sure the production runs to schedule
control and monitor production spending
report on progress to the producers
deal with any problems during filming
make any necessary changes to the schedule or budget, like rescheduling filming in bad weather
make sure that health and safety rules, insurance terms, copyright laws and union agreements are followed

Working Environment

You could work at a film studio, on a film set, in an office or at a TV studio.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.

Career Path & Progression

You could work on freelance contracts for television broadcasters or independent production companies and negotiate better fees based on your experience and reputation.

You could open your own studio or move into working as an executive producer, where you'll be responsible for several productions at once.

Volunteering Opportunities

You'll need a lot of experience in TV or film, and an in-depth understanding of the production process to get into this job. Your experience and track record will often be more important than formal qualifications.

You can search for film and TV companies to approach for experience through media business listing services like PACT and The Knowledge.

Having a network of contacts in the industry will help you to find work.

Tips & Information

Career tips

You may find it helpful to have accounting skills and qualifications because of the budget management work involved with this job.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join The Production Guild for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about working in production management from ScreenSkills and ProductionBase.

You can find out more about creative careers from Discover Creative Careers.

Restrictions & Requirements

You'll need to:

have a first aid certificate