What a Producer Does

He has an idea and pursues it; or he learns of someone else’s idea and seeks the means to realize upon it … indeed, to be sure that it is improved upon. A good producer, as an inspirer of creativity, must, himself, be creative. He is a creative administrator … a judge of creativity. He guides and helps hundreds of people toward an objective that becomes increasingly clear-cut as the work proceeds from an idea, through its script and budget preparation, then to shooting (very tense and money hazardous), then to post-production (cost manageable and leisurely if you don’t have a pressing air date or release deadline). It’s like herding bees with a switch. He administers everything, but it is not necessary that he be able to write, direct, act, nor compose music in order to help writers, directors, actors, or composers do their best. He knows what good people can do in the important production areas, and presses them to do their best, knowing full well when they are doing less than their best. You don’t have to be a chicken to judge the quality of an egg, just a lover of eggs. He co-ordinates the work of many who may never meet one another until the day when their work comes together, making sure that all hands, however far apart in time or place, serve a common purpose. He is a majority force in the hiring of every artist who works the picture, being guided by the dictionary definition of that party as “one who professes and practices an art in which conception and execution are governed by imagination and taste.” This demands selective creativity from the producer. He is the center to whom everyone turns with their complaints, their questions, their grievances. Diplomacy! He is the quietest man in the operation because, if he has performed his role well, there’s nothing to shout about. Story, management, performance, money … all under well-thought-out control. Heaven! His agenda, or syllabus, is the budget. Therein, awaiting dollar entries, are dozens of items that also define a separate creative function that must be manned, administered, and brought off to the greatest possible perfection. Story, direction, cast, etc., etc., etc.,

What a Producer Does: The Art of Moviemaking (Not the Business)
Buck Houghton