A Course in Production Lesson One: The Role and Purpose of Production
Production is a Service Department
When it comes to the animation industry, you might hear the distinction between ‘Service’ and ‘Creative’ departments.
Production is definitely a Service department first and foremost.
Examples of other (generally) service departments within animation include Pipeline, Rigging, IT, Technical Animation/Shot Finaling, and Facilities. Creative departments include Storyboards, Design, Modelling, Animation, FX, Lighting, and Compositing, etc.
Of course all roles can be a little bit of everything, just in different amounts depending on the task at hand.
Did you miss the intro video? You can read the series overview (including a preview of all topics that I'll be covering!) here.
A production team specifically can range: production assistant or runner (which is a role often in tandem with the Facilities department), Production Coordinator, Production Manager, Producer, and Supervising Producer. All of these roles generally answer to the Head of Production at a given studio.
Within each role you might have the distinction between “associate”, example, Associate Producer, which I think of personally as a “junior” distinction. An Associate Producer is Junior or subordinate to the Producer. Similarly, “Senior” generally indicates above Associate titles and explicit (i.e. Producer) titles. This will vary studio to studio, and you will know what it means by your job description.
Depending on your studio, the Producer may have that title or they may be known as Line Producer.
I’m increasingly seeing more of Supervising Producers in Vancouver, which generally means an experienced Producer who oversees several shows and their respective Producer/Line Producer.
Coordinators are often tasked with the day-to-day demands of the department including taking notes, running dailies sessions, and disseminating client notes and reference. The amount of departments a Coordinator is responsible for depends on the structure of the studio and the type of show you are working on.
In my first role as a Production Coordinator, I was responsible for what was effectively the design, modelling, texturing, and rigging teams. I assisted just barely with Layout and Lighting at the time. In my second role as Production Coordinator at a different studio, I was a coordinator for the FX department, and two of the three lighting/comp teams.
In my first Production Manager role, I was responsible for modelling, rigging, lighting, FX, and comp. My partner at the time was responsible for Layout, Animation (always the biggest department), and Shot Finaling.
At the Production Manager stage, you start getting more exposure to direct access to and control of the schedule, budget, and are increasingly responsible for general personnel management.
Generally speaking, the further you advance in the Production role, the less active you are on the floor. Your role becomes more focused on staff management including contracts, performance, and of course client interactions. With these distinctions, it would generally be inappropriate to see a Coordinator conducting performance reviews, just as it would be odd for a Producer to be entering notes on Shotgun.
Primary Responsibilities of Production
So what do you actually DO all day when you are in Production? I would say the role of Production is focused on four main areas:
- Facilitate strong and effective communication
- Deliver the show at the standard of the studio and via the means approved by the studio
- Make sure teams have what they need to get the job done
- Includes everything from actual equipment and software, to proper mentorship
- These are done in tandem or communication with other departments, such as IT and your supervisors
- Provide an example of the studio/company’s values in achieving the goal
Note that studio culture varies greatly, which very much informs the scope of Production staff.
On the ground, Production is a lot of meetings and reviews, scheduling, budgeting, emails, providing solutions to problems and offering ideas to make things smoother and more comfortable for our teams. Production does a lot of data entry - taking notes, sorting and storing them, getting them out to your teams. Production is also the department responsible for actually sending and receiving deliveries and reference.
If you are ever unsure if you are crossing a line or not picking up the slack, ask your team. Production itself is a team and should be consider one of your greatest resources for your professional growth.
Production is a position of power
A special note on this. I think that being in Production is very much a position of power (to varying degrees of course). This is because we often have access to more information, and it is often more sensitive in one way or another.
I would advise those who are currently in or aspiring to a Production role to consider a couple things.
First is being aware of your motivations and goals in Production. Those looking for a power trip will fail and quickly gain themselves a poor reputation in the industry. Set aside your ego - as I mentioned, Production is a service department. This does not mean we are doormats, far from it, it does mean that we can’t just terrorize our crew and artists as a means to stroke our egos.
The second thing to consider with Production as a position of power is of course boundaries with your crew. This can be one of the most difficult things to learn—how much information is too much, how close should you be with your crew before things go from comfortable to overly involved? Errors in judgment happen, and if they have to do with an abuse of the power afforded to you by your position, they are extremely hard to walk back from.
Remember, as Production, your duty (i.e. what you are being paid for) is to the show and studio. Your integrity as a Coordinator, PM, Producer is invaluable to the success of the show.
Lastly, to be perfectly blunt, don’t get romantically involved with your direct reports. I’m specifically talking about superior-inferior relationships. Animation is long hours in close quarters with people who are very often your age. You might see peers date (ex, two modellers on the same show, or a designer and an animator), and that’s okay as long as they don’t professionally answer to one another.
If you are a supervisor or Coordinator with an eye on someone one your team (i.e. someone who reports directly to you) --yikes. The heart wants what it wants, and if this is you, be responsible and request a transfer to another show, move studios, anything to distance yourself professionally from your partner.
There is something to learn from all management styles
In my time in this industry, I have answered to seven different producers, and they have all had different management styles. I have learned something valuable from all of them!
We have our own management style, and our supervisors and other production staff will have another. Remember, our management style is closely tied to our learning and communication style and just because someone is doing something differently, doesn’t mean they are doing it wrong.
Within Production also, we might end up specializing in certain aspects of Production. You might end up on the dev team, which is producing a lot of cutting edge footage in a very short amount of time, with cobbled-together teams. You might be brought on to a show that is steady and predictable, but is the backbone of the studio. You might find that you’re a finisher- you can get a show out the door no matter what happens. You might be good at setting up new series for your studio.
For your own growth, I would encourage you to observe the management styles of not only your Producer, but your supervisors as well. You can also try and find yourself a mentor to give you a different perspective from what your current boss offers.
Within reason, we in Production have to allow people to the space to flex their management muscles. If things become abusive, or in line with harassment, then of course that is a different conversation to be had.
Lesson One Resources
- Words to Live By: Misc. Career Advice Edition
- Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu
- My review of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think by Dr. Tasha Eurich
- Season 2, Episode 47: Play Nice with Others on Don't Be a Jerk at Work
A Course in Production is a series of blog posts and videos intended for those who are either in or want to learn more about the role of Production teams in the 3D animation industry. You can learn more about the course here.
