What Does an Associate Producer Do?

What does an associate producer do?  Basically, an associate producer will do whatever the producer or executive producers wants him to do.  The associate producer needs a variety of skills and the willingness to take on a variety of responsibilities.

An associate producer works on the set of a television show or a movie.  An associate producer will handle many of the day-to-day duties as assigned to him.  To answer this question of what an associate producer does, here is a list of some of the main duties of an associate producer:

• Develop proposals and budgets and assist with financing duties
• Participate in creative team meetings including story development meetings
• Schedule and oversee production activities
• Direct the production crew and ensure qualitative shooting
• Be involved in the packaging process
• Supervise the production design team that handles sets, costumes, etc.
• Contribute to the writing process by suggesting improvements or revisions to the script
• Handle editing and encoding
• Hire cast members
• Research, gather, and organize information for the production, making sure it is accurate and thorough
• Be able to effectively troubleshoot problems and come up with effective solutions, sometimes very quickly
• Ensure that schedules are followed and deliveries are made
• Coordinate the work of visual effects companies
• Supervise post-production

Associate Producer Skills

One important skill needed by an associate producer is the ability to multitask.  He needs to be able to help out wherever needed, so he needs to know about everything that is involved in putting together a TV show or movie.  He needs to know about script editing, financing, post-production, special effects, etc.  He needs to be able to work under pressure.

In order to oversee many phases of production, an associate producer needs to be very organized and know what is going on all the time.  He needs to be able to communicate well with different personality types and be able to work through problems with respect and flexibility.  He needs to be able to inspire, delegate, and lead.  An associate producer needs to be able to step wherever he is needed to assist the producers with tasks they may be too busy to do.            

Types of Television Producers

A look at the various producers who are involved with the production of a television show will help you to better understand what an associate producer does in light of his role among the staff.

• Executive producer:  There is usually one who is in charge of the whole production.  He is called the showrunner and may also be the head writer.
• Co-executive producer: He is second in command and it often a writer who has been with the show a long time.
• Supervising producer: He supervises writing and re-writes and is called the story editor.
• Coordinating producer: He manages the schedule and arranges the staff into teams.
• Producer: The producer will manage the budget and may be a writer.
• Co-producer: A writer who contributes in a large way to the script.
• Consulting producer: He assists the writers.
• Associate producer: He is involved with the daily operations.
• Segment producer: This is a person who writes one part of a program.
• Line producer: He manages staff and finds staff to hire.
• Production assistant: He will do the things delegated to him in various areas of the production.

Types of Movie Producers

There are also different types of producers of a movie, and understanding these will help to see what an associate producer does as well.

• Main producer: This is someone who selects a screenplay and initiates the process of making it into a movie.
• Executive producer: He usually has a financial interest in the movie and oversees other producers, fundraising, and hiring.
• Associate producer: He handles jobs assigned to him by the producers.
• Assistant producer: Works on jobs given to him by the associate producer.
• Co-producer: His job can be anything from creative duties to business matters.
• Supervising producer: He will oversee other producers.
• Coordinating producer: He coordinates the work of several producers to make sure their work is unified.  He is responsible for cohesion between sequels. 
• Line producer: He is in charge of the physical aspects of the production, including the budget and daily activities.

The associate producer can have many different types of responsibilities. In summary, he must know about every aspect of process of film production, from the financing to the post-production.