Education / Production management
Make the production plan work in practice.
Progression roleThe overview
The production manager organises the practical resources needed to deliver a production, working with the schedule, budget and people available.
They look across departments rather than only at the next shot. Preparation, staffing and resource decisions need to fit together. When a plan changes, they help assess the knock-on effects and manage the practical response alongside production colleagues and department heads.
Planning meetings, resource checks and resolving operational problems can happen alongside schedule and budget work.
Your route in
Build a strong foundation in production office work and the practical delivery of shoots.
Follow a small project from preparation to delivery. Record which decisions have consequences later in the process.
Match a sample shooting schedule to people, locations and equipment. Highlight assumptions that need confirmation.
Progress through coordination or related production roles and seek feedback on planning, delegation and communication.
Production management can lead to larger productions or line producing as experience and responsibility grow.
Try it yourself
A shoot adds an extra day. Prepare a one-page impact summary covering crew, equipment, locations, travel and post-production.
Check that you have named assumptions, separated confirmed costs from estimates and identified the decisions needing approval.
This is an introduction to UK film and scripted TV, rather than a complete job specification. Grades and responsibilities vary by production.
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