by Hannah Drobir -

Production Management and Documentary Filmmaking

For my research topic I have chosen the field of production management in movies and films. I am especially interested in the field of documentaries (short ones as well as feature-length docs).

Who of you knows any production manager of any movie that came out this year? Exactly, me neither! That is because the position of production manager is often overlooked by outsiders. However, they have an immense influence on whether a movie shoot will be successful or not (whatever that means will be explained in a following post).

A production manager […] is responsible for budgets, shooting schedules, and managing the day-to-day business side of a production.

Aaron Sorkin

This is how the website MasterClass describes the responsibilities of a production manager. Anyone who has ever worked on a movie before (or has seen some behind the scenes footage) will now understand why this position is one of the most important at a film set. They are involved in a lot of different but crutial processes.

Film sets however can differ depending on which kind of movie you are trying to make. Personally I am more interested in documentary filmmaking rather that feature films. The differences regarding the film set are huge between these two.

Therefore I hope to answer the following questions during my upcoming research:

  • What does the job of production manager look like for documentary filmmaking?   
  • How does the job description change when there are not always fixed shooting times? (Additionally: Are there fixed shooting times?)   
  • What has to be considered during the planning of the shoot so that there is enough room for spontaneous changes and flexibility? (Additionally: Can one “plan” flexibility? To what extent?)  
  • Can shoots for films with a claim to authenticity be planned at all? If yes, what areas does the production manager focus on?
  • How does production management work in small film crews?
  • Does the position of production manager even exist in documentary filmmaking? If not, who is responsible for planning the shoot and talking to sponsors and producers (aka the ones who have the money)?
  • Is the production manager also responsible for what happens after the movie is finished? (Key words: Festivals, Distribution, …)

For my following posts I hope to uncover a lot of exciting knowledge on the topic of production management. And who knows, maybe I will even manage (lol) to talk to one or two people who already have experience in this field.

However, I am stoked to know more!

.

.

.

Sources