Roles Of A Production Team

I have been in the media industry for about a year now, and in only a short year, I've experienced 3 productions- 2 of which has wrapped, and one in the making. I thought it'll be good to share some of the stuff that I've learnt, and seriously, school does not prepare enough for real life hardcore productions.

Well, for now, I'll share about the roles of a production team.

The Executive Producers
This is where it starts. They are the ones who pumps in the money, who negotiate with the network to get stuff made. They can be very involved in the pre-production as well as post, and their decisions can overwrite the director. They are the first to jump-start a project and the last to scrutinise and wrap the final product.

The Producer
This person makes it happen. She hooks up with actors, directors, crew and draws up the budget. She is everybody's link during pre-production.

The 1st Assistant Director/ Conti Person
Nope, this person do not replace the director if he/she falls sick during production. Rather, this person is the one with the power, and the walkie-talkie, to push everyone from scene to scene. This person ensures that the director is happy in his bubble by ensuring that props show up on time, crew is ready on time, and also deals with whatever Murphy's law gives on the day itself without alarming the director. This is also the person that has the authority to announce "It's a wrap" at the end of the a production day. This person also watches out for continuity in different shots in a scene.

The Director
Many people think of the director as the eye of the entire production, that he or she does everything. In terms of content, he IS everything, as he comes up with the necessary shots, and determines if there is enough footage shot to cover all bases. Also the closest person to the monitor, they yell "Action" and "Cut" and is kept oblivious to production panics by the 1st AD.

The 2nd/3rd Assistant Director (aka Art Department and Wardrobe)
They work in small teams, preparing props/ wardrobe for the next scene as each scene is being filmed. They have to be alert in ensuring continuity of the props/ wardrobe. The Art Department earn their keep by being resourceful. When you need something, they know where to get them or they make something which is close enough. Nothing is obscure enough for them.

The Logger/ Data Wrangler
The logger stands by the monitor and record all takes shot for the day, with remarks on whether takes are good or bad. This same person also has the unspoken responsibility to check that each actor follow closely to his or her lines, and that each scene is covered. They are the first ones to shout out the lines when actors forget them. Being close to the monitor, they also check for continuity, and sometimes performance for the director when there are a lot of talents in shot. Especially kids who smile and look into the camera in narrative flicks. I've had my fair share of those.

The logger may also become the data wrangler, who hands over the footage to the editor in the desired format. The data wrangler may get raw files, and have to digitise/ ingest footage to make them suitable for editing. They also ensure that the aspect ratio and format of the clips are correct.

The Director of Photography/ Cinematographer
This person press the record button on the camera, and does whatever the director wants while ensuring the picture is beautiful. Often, this person has to have steady hands and strong body to carry a camera around, especially when hand-held shots are needed.

Lights
Without them, everything will look like crap. 70% of beautiful pictures depends on lighting. They are the guys who take the longest, but we have no choice. Smart planning of shots cuts down lighting time.

Soundman
Often forgotten, the soundman's job is very crucial to a production. You won't notice good sound in the cinema when you watch a film, because it's close to what you hear in real life. However, you can easily get distracted or irritated by bad sound. Usually there is only one soundman on set with their mixer in a huge pouch, and having the boom mike in shot is one of the most important thing to avoid while filming.

I might have missed out on a few roles, eg. the scriptwriter... but believe me, any production worthy of any value have a good and responsible team working behind it. It is like dominoes, if one falls, the whole production crashes.

That said, let's face that no one is indispensible too, so everyone has to work their asses off to give a good show. It's really exciting, so if you're interested, give it a shot. But know what you want to do, and do your job well. And then you'll see the fun in the crazy schedules.