Bridging the Communication Gap between Producers and Crew

From a producers prospective, communicating with your crew requiers a little more then ordering tasks and providing there resource needs.  There are two different types of crew, the unpaid/lowpay crew and the profesional crew.  Both crews have benefits and draw backs as far as personality and cost.  The unpaid/lowpay crew works with the intention that there work will bring them experience and creditability.  Most of the time I find that inexperienced crews need more direction and there is a tendency for egos to start showing in the mix.  Egos are a sign of fear and weakness.  A fear that says "I don't want any one to see me as weak and incompetent."  A Professional crew is the opposite of that.  A profesional crew tends to be in sync with one another because threw their experience they figured out the lingo and procedure, almost like factory workers on an assembly line.  Typically its not good to mix professionals with green crew members.  If you do mix them then they should ether be all green and one profesional or all profesional and one green.  With a mix of all professionals and one green, you will find that it is easer and better for for the green person because he or she can look up to and learn from the professionals.  With the mix of all green and one profesional then you have the entire crew looking up to the profesional and the profesional can share there wisdom and knowledge as the production moves on.



No matter what production you are producing, no one crew member's ego should influence or disrupt the normal chan of command.  It takes only one person to cause resistance in a production.  Wether its badmouthing the producers credibility amongst the crew or down right resisting command from you or other crew members.  I can tell you from experience there is a huge world of a diference from an experienced crew and an inexperienced crew.  I am fine with working with both, but both crew types require very different communication tactics.

With a profesional crew you have to think of them as an automatic transmission as aposed to a manual a manual transmission.  During production just simply state the objective with minimal direction and let them have at it.  Avoid any long speeches or special request.  A wise person once told me that a good producer who makes all the preparation for the day of the shoot should not have to say or do anything during production unless something goes wrong.  In essence a good producer can judge his or her success based on how little on sight direction they project and how little resources they need add to the production during the day of the shoot.  Meaning do they need to send out a runner for something that was not planed for.  It has been said that a profesional producer only comes on sight if there is something wrong with the production.  Depending on the producers role in production, there role will dictates what he or she does.

A Producer's role changes depending on what is being produced.  For instance a TV producer vs a film producer vs a commercial producer.  For example, Show producers are generally concerned with cranking out the product under a budget and moving on to the next show.  Depending on the size of production and budget allocated to that production dictates how many hats that producer will wear.  A producer has to pick up the slack where needed.  So wether that means picking up the shovel  or telling some one to pick up the shovel.  Producing is all about getting the content made.  Producing is not a power complex or a positional role.  Someone once told me that movies are not made they are forced in to existence.   The success of the end product is determined by what actions the producer needs to take in order to force the content into existence.  And by success I mean actually making the content a tangible medium, in hand, that can be distributed or aired.

I know I started this blog about how a producer should comunicate to his or her crew, but the reality all that good communication starts with action and preparation.  Every time you produce content you should plan for the end of the world.  Whatever can go wrong will go wrong and the last thing you need is a crew that has an ego or a crew that has little respect for you.  You prevent these early communication problems by filtering out your crew during hiring and plan and prepare your productions down to the "T." There should be no questions or changing plans during the production unless there is an act of god.  Such as rain or unforeseen incidences far out of your controle.

Leading by example and having your act together is a sure way to gain respect from your crew.  No respect equals poor communication and execution.  So if you see something that needs to be done and you know that you can't sacrifice a crew member away form there task, then do it your self.  Don't be afraid to get in to the trenches.  I know I said a producer who comes on set only means there is something wrong, but a good producer can show moral suport.  Just by being there and listening to issues that need to be addressed will solve worlds of problems.  Good producing really starts with serving the needs of your crew that is the key to good crew/producer communication and relationship.

The other thing that will establish good communication and respect early on is by being open and upfront about what you plan to do and how much you able to pay your crew.  Both parties must understand each others needs and wants.  So if you have it in your budget to only pay someone $200 vs $500 don't try to make false clames or false promesses of grater riches.  Just say it like it is and let them make the decision of wether the benefits are adequate.  Also If you are a producer with a budget and you are looking to shave money for other things don't do it with the crew.  It just makes you look bad and your name will be distributed as a bad shark.  Every time I produce I always tell my crew this is the budget I have to work with can you except this pay.  Don't go on long speeches just say it like it is and move on.  Just keep all your communication cut and dry with no apologies.  Those are the producers that a good crew wants.  Just be open honest and up front all the time.

A good producer needs to know when to cut there losses.  So if you'r production is running late in the day and the crew says I need this or that and you know you can't give them there request because of time, money or resources then state that you can't do it and a short reason and leave it at that.  A good crew can always improvise.

The other biggest problem that gives producers a bad name is overworking a crew without proper brakes.  I know there are union rules and such, but I am talking about the producers that are indi and are trying to produce a content under constrictions.  I know what the 19 hr days feels like and I know what its like to do every thing and it sucks. Long hr days only makes you sick, health wise and mentally.  No one should ever force there crew to work more then 12 hrs a day unless its absolutely necessary.  Meaning is it life threatening to the the crew or to the production to get the job done.

Some times a director or cinematographer will request a particular shot that could cause budgetary or time concerns.  You as the producer have to really think hard about wether or not to say yes or no.  Because you have to take in to account the money, the resource  and the artistic viability.  So when you come to that point and your crew says I need this money shot.  The question you have to ask your self is at what cost.  These split second decisions can make or break a film.  Don't ever make a decision based on emotion.  Your job is not to make friends, your job is to have an impartial view of the end product.  The producers job is to bridge the artistic world with the business world and still keep every one happy.  If your crew argues with you about your decision then tell them "how am I going to explane this to the money people that they lost all there money because we could not finish the movie on time and within budget."  The reality is, its yours and there lively hood.  At the end of the day every one including the investors must answer to the audience paying for the movie ticket or flipping to your tv show or whatever.

As a producer you have to be prepared for the worse and you always have to have magic tricks in your hat.  One of the things a producer must do is keep 10-15 % of the budget tucked away and not let any one know you have that in the budget.  That 10-15 % is your insurance policy incase something goes terribly wrong.  A successful producer does not need to use that 10-15 %.  because if the production is planed right then non of that money is needed.  And that means the investors will be happy.

Good producing is all about filling the gap and serving the people who work for you.  A producer once told me "a producer is someone who ads value to the production."  So ask yourself, as a producer how are you adding value to your productions.  This mindset will help you gain respect from your crew mates and open doors for better communication.

By
Robert Sawin