Because of those responsibilities, most producers don't start out as producers. They've got to learn their craft before they can practice it. Most people who want to be a producer start out as a production assistant, or a P.A., as it's known in the trade.
A P.A., whether he works for an advertising agency or a production company, does virtually everything that needs doing. And if that means typing, running errands, or getting coffee, then so be it.
In an advertising agency, a production assistant works for and assists a producer. He only makes about $7,000 to $11,000 a year, depending on the size of the agency he works for. He does a producer's legwork, handles the details, deals with production companies and talent agencies, and generally does everything he possibly can to help out. He learns the business thoroughly, from the bottom up.
Working as a production assistant in an advertising agency is one of the best ways there is to start a career as a producer. If the opportunity to get a job as a P.A. presents itself to you, don't pass it by. Do whatever tasks they assign you, for whatever they're willing to pay. You've got plenty of time to get rich after you know what you're doing.
Another good way to get into the production department of an agency is to get a job as a P.A. for a production company. Some people feel that this is an even better start than beginning with an agency because you learn more working for the people who do the actual productions. There's nothing glamorous about a job as a P.A. with a production company. You work your tail off doing the jobs no one else wants to do, and the only time you're noticed is when you make a mistake. You'll buy props, get releases signed, and drive a pickup truck if that's what needs to be done.
Working as a P.A. for a production company will give you an invaluable education, as well as some contacts with production companies, agencies, and advertisers, which could also prove to be invaluable before your career is over.
After you have a little experience as a P.A., you can do the same job on a free-lance basis. You'd be hired by a production company to work on a project. That way, you'd end up working for several different directors, production companies, and advertising agencies.
Another possible starting point would be a job with a television station. True, most local television stations are not havens for geniuses in production, but there's a lot you can learn even in the most local of local television stations.
Another good way to get the experience you need to I recommend agency producer is to get a job with a company that does work for an agency or production company; an editor, for instance. Both agencies and production companies depend on an editor as much as anyone they deal with.
If you can get a job with an editing house doing anything at all, take it.
You might get a job with a film lab where they process film. Granted, you wouldn't learn as much as you would if you would be working with a production company or an editor, but what you would learn would certainly be valuable to any producer.
Perhaps you could get a job with a video tape facility, where they edit video tape, transfer film, and make video tape dubs. Those are all things you'll have to know about as a producer, so working for a VTR facility early in your career is a good idea.
You could also try working for a sound mixer. Sound mixing is the process of making sure the things in a commercial that you want to be heard, are heard. For example, if you have music and/or sound effects in the background, you certainly don't want either of them to be so prominent in the sound track that they fight the announcer for the viewer's attention. Sound mixing is involved in every television commercial.
