From l-r: Panelists Irene Burns, Lori Keith Douglas, Jeff Gomez, Monty Ross, and
Rachel Watanabe–Batton join Commissioner Katherine Oliver
at Careers by Definition: What Is a Producer? Photo courtesy of the MOFTB.

May 5, 2009 - Prospective producers interested in being a part of New York City’s entertainment industry gathered at the Museum of the City of New York on Monday night for an enlightening discussion focused on the world of producers. The panel, entitled Careers by Definition: What Is a Producer? and hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting and the Producers Guild of America, assembled a diverse group of NYC-based producers who shared their insights into their careers.

Introductory remarks were delivered by John Schwally, currently the co-chair of the PGA East Documentary Committee and former first chair of PGA East, who welcomed the audience and spoke about the PGA’s emphasis on networking for its members.

Commissioner Katherine Oliver kicked off the conversation by asking the question on everyone’s mind – what does a producer do? Rachel Wantanabe-Batton, an experienced line and associate producer, ventured that a producer “is responsible for all the creative and logistical aspects of the production.”

She went on to say that depending on the position, a producer could be doing everything from hiring the crew and working with the budget to overseeing post-production and marketing.

A typical day for Irene Burns, a co-producer on “30 Rock,” consists of juggling. Five or six episodes can be in play at one time. One episode is in dailies, another in the director’s cut, two are in the producer’s cut, and two others in post-production. “I laugh for a living,” she said. “The hardest part of my job is in post choosing what part of the funny gets left [in the episode].”

“My job is to handle the day-to-day,” said Monty Ross, an accomplished producer who’s collaborated with Spike Lee on numerous projects in the past. Ross emphasized the need for a producer to know his or her audience. “Audiences are diverse. You have to know who the audience is you want to produce for.”

The panelists agreed that an important part of the job for any producer is be a multitasker. They went on to list additional job titles that come with the producer credit: creative contributor, lawyer, financial analyst, and cheerleader-in-chief. “A lot of filmmaking is conflict management,” said Lori Keith Douglas, whose credits include “The Sopranos” and The Rebound. “You’ll never make a film without conflict.”

“I changed careers at 45,” noted Burns, who took an internship in executive producer Tom Fontana’s office when she wanted to learn about the entertainment business. “Get the lunch order right and it can make your career,” she joked.

“Find the people you have careers that you can only dream of,” advised Jeff Gomez, an expert at transmedia storytelling and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, an animation and live-action feature film production company. “Study them; learn what their lives are like.” With the advent of social networking sites, “you can start a dialogue [with them]. As producers, we don’t get fan mail.”

All of the panelists emphasized the importance of internships. “One job can be all it takes to make your career,” said Douglas. “Make yourself indispensable.”

To learn more about the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting's Career Panel Series, including video, audio slideshows, and podcasts, click here.