What is a producer?

[New_Zealand]

I have a question what is a producer? I thought it was someone that help get funding for your film? I have a person that is my producer on my project but every time I need something done it cost me. They want me to pay them to fund raise for the project which is funds to help pay for the film and them. I wanted the person to do a short video about 3 minutes to use for fund raising and I have to pay them a day rate to do so. Also they need to read the script and I'm guessing I will have to pay them a day rate to read the script. Any feedback would be helpful. By the way not sure if I'm on the right thread for this.

 

[Pookie]

• An Executive Producer is at the top of the food chain. He or she is usually incharge of finding financing for the picture and making the top-level managementdecisions, such as which director or lead actor to hire. The executive produceroften ends up with an ownership position in the film property.
• ● A Producer supervises and controls the film project. He or she manages the filmproject from the early stages of development and stays with the project until it isin the can. His or her duties range from hiring the cast and crew to overseeingthe technical, logistical, and financial aspects of the production. If the executiveproducer is like a chairman of the board, the producer is like the CEO.
• ● A Line Producer is the day-to-day logistical manager on the film. He or she willhire the crew, organize and coordinate between the production office and the set,and handle the purse strings during production. Because line producers generallydo not share in any ownership of the film property, filmmakers may be better offnegotiating a deal with them that more closely resembles a crew services agree-ment. (See Crew Services Agreement, p. 141.)
• ● An Associate Producer can mean anything, and in fact is often a “giveawaytitle” handed out to entice name actors and financiers to sweeten the deal. Like aline producer, an associate producer usually does not own part of the film prop-erty, so a crew services agreement might be a better template to start the negoti-ation process with. (See Crew Services Agreement, p. 141.)
  Furthermore, to get the project off the ground, a filmmaker may want to partnerwith other producers, such as a production company with studio facilities, a groupof financiers, or a more experienced film producer. Accordingly, even on anindependent film, a filmmaker may need to negotiate a Producer’s ServicesAgreement with a third party.

 

[New_Zealand]

Thanks

 

[Charli]

There's a book title, "What a Producer Does." First book I ever read in filmmaking. With small budget films producer will wear many hats from raising money, to logistics to buying costumes to whatever. It's not the same as in big funded movies.