Andrea Calderwood - What It Takes To Be A Producer

Describe the role of the producer
One of the things that is interesting about producing is that it's so many different jobs. It involves:

1) Either coming up with the ideas or finding the ideas.
2) Putting together the talent to make the idea happen; so finding the writer, finding the director, being involved in finding the actors.
3) Doing all the legal negotiations, so you get to play at being a lawyer, which I particularly enjoy.
4) Raising the finance.
5) Being responsible for controlling the budget while the film's in production.
6) Being very involved in editing the film once it's finished.
7) Delivering the film to financiers and - always a bone of contention with producers - getting involved in the release and publicity plans for the film.

What sort of skills do you need?
Different producers have different strengths: some are more creative and are better at working on ideas, in script development, with directors; some are better at raising finance, good sales people; some are good wheeler-dealers.

I think one of the key skills is being able to work with people. You have to convince financiers to get behind you and keep them happy; you have to convince talent to work with you and keep them happy; and you have to mediate between the two.

You need a certain amount of understanding of how deals work and financing. But the interesting thing about producing is that almost any part of the job you can get someone else to do for you. So your job is to recognise what needs to be done; to establish what you can do yourself and where you need somebody else to fill in the gaps.

What sort of producer are you?
I think my strength is more on the creative and developmental side, and in putting the right team together. My background involved some production management, but that was on a smaller scale than my involvement in development. In terms of doing deals, I tend to handle the broad headlines of the deal rather than the nitty-gritty.