Everyone would have come across the terms Executive Producer and Producer displayed during movie credits.
Though the role of executive producer and producer may sound similar, both have different roles to play during the filming and production of a movie. They are part of a movie’s production team.
Key Takeaways
- A producer is responsible for overseeing the production of a film or television show.
- An executive producer is responsible for providing the funding and making key decisions about producing a film or television show.
- A producer has a more hands-on role, while an executive producer is more involved in production’s financial and business aspects.
Producer vs Executive Producer
A producer is responsible for overseeing the production of a film or TV show from the early stages of development to the final stages of post-production. An executive producer has a more senior role and oversees multiple productions at once. Their primary focus is on the business aspects.
A producer is a person who takes care of the everyday activities in a filming set. He supervises the work done by the director and the cast and crew members of the set.
He is considered the head of the filming set. Every department has a leader. For example, there is the leader for all the makeup artists working in the set. All these department heads report to the Producer about the work being done.
The executive producer is the person who funds the movie. They select the cast members and the crew, including the director. In some cases, the director approaches the executive to produce funds for their project.
The executive producer may be a single person or two to three partners. If a production company produces the movie. The CEO of the company is the executive producer.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Producer | Executive producer |
|---|---|---|
| Position | He is the head of the filming set but his superior authority is the executive producer. | Top at the production unit. |
| Role | Organize the entire film production. | Providing funding or finding a funding source. |
| Responsibility | Producers make sure that the budget is utilized for film production. | Gaining the trust of investors to invest in the film. |
| Hands-on role | The producer is always present on set and he supervises the creative, physical, and technical aspects of the film. | Executive producers rarely visit the movie set and act as the advisor for the creative and marketing of the film. |
| Eligibility for awards | The producer is eligible for movie awards. | Executive producer is not eligible for industry awards. But, the best movie award is received by the producing company. |
| Salary | Producers get paid by the Executive producer. | The executive producer gets a percentage of the profit obtained by the movie. |
What is a Producer?
A producer organizes the daily events that are planned to happen on set. The producer makes sure everything needed on the set is available. He maintains the circulation of the budget in the process of film production.
Unlike the other crew members, the producer works throughout the entire project. He must work from the beginning of the selection of the script till the release of the movie.
The producer must complete the task within the given time and report it to the executive producer. He should also make sure that the production adheres to the estimated budget and does not exceed it.
Producers normally seem to have a close association with the director. There should be a mutual understanding between the producer and director. A lack of understanding between them may jeopardize the entire project.
Executive producers commonly hire producers. However, the producer sometimes seeks an executive producer to fund his project.
In this case, the producer has the right to pick the director, script, actors, and others. Director needs the producer’s approval to implement his creative ideas.
The producer is also responsible for finding sponsors and advertisers for the film. He has to work on the marketing plans for the film and release it. Producers must have the ability to take charge of complicated situations and lead the crew properly.
What is an Executive Producer?
The executive producer may be a single person funding a movie or a big production company. Executive producers provide financial support throughout the process of production.
The executive producer will predict the outcomes of a project, and only then will he invest in it. The executive producer hires everyone for the project. He will also estimate the budget for a script.
Some executive producers do not fund the movies themselves but find another source to fund the movie. These sources may be one or many investors.
An executive producer has more than one project going on at the same time, so they don’t visit the set on a daily basis.
The major role of the executive producer is to find a stable funding source for the film. They estimate the projected profit of the film and submit it along with the budget they framed to the producing studio.
They try to get their funding approved by the producing company. Their role also includes deciding the salary of every cast and crew member. They also negotiate contracts with the stars. They also hire producers.
The executive producer does not get involved in the day-to-day activities of the filming. But, the involvement level of the executive producer depends on their personal interests in the movie.
They get all the necessary pieces of information about the filming through the producer.
Main Differences Between Producer and Executive Producer
- Executive producers may find a script impressive and profitable, so they decide to invest in it and hire the producer. On the other hand, the producer approaches the executive producer to fund the script he made with the writer.
- The producer updates the Executive producer on the progress of filming while the executive producer does not get involved in the daily schedule of the production process.
- The producer organizes the filming, but the executive producer only funds the movie.
- The producer is in close association with the director and cast, while the executive producer keeps in touch with the sponsors and funding organization of the movie.
- The producer gets hands-on in the movie production, while the executive producer manages the financial aspects of the movie.
- The producer is considered as the manager of a film, while the executive producer is the top executive of the entire project.
- https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315132488/hollywood-tv-producer-muriel-cantor
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pW8xEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&dq=producer+and+executive+producer+&ots=-9MVlu9Yne&sig=QARnXAJe80VU6THEPN0iWzkWdUw
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You mean being bossed around and asked for funding. The real deal is definitely being a producer.
After reading the article, I think I’ll pass being any of it.
I can’t agree, it could be really hard to keep track of everything that’s going on during a movie production. Being an executive producer is also a big responsibility.
I think I might want to be an executive producer, sitting back and watching the cash flow sounds amazing!
This topic is very interesting and the fact that you mentioned the sources that you used to write this article is great. I’m gonna check those out too.
The insight on this topic is enlightening, to say the least. Very educational.
Completely agree. It demystified a lot of questions I had on the topic.
I believe that the executive producer is who gets the most cut of the film’s earnings, no wonder it’s a more desired position. Very interesting to find out more about this topic.
Very interesting and well explained article, and educational. I always had the doubt of what was the difference between these two positions. I have a better understanding now.