The Different Crew Roles On An Indie Film
I recently spoke with an investor who is considering making the pivot from tech to indie film, and one of the questions she had was about the different roles on a film.
This will be a very high-level overview, but will ultimately help you understand what the hundreds of people credited at the end of a film are responsible for.
When you compare film to another industry like tech, it's easy to make some very broad comparisons from the start:
Executive Producer - Investor
CEO - Producer
CFO - Line Producer
COO - Unit Production Manager (UPM)
CCO (Chief Creative Officer) - Director
Most of these roles are credited before or as the movie begins to play, during the "opening credits"
A quick aside to highlight the differences between the different types of producers:
Producer - Responsible for everything until they hire someone else to do a part of their job.
Executive Producer - Finances the film / owns one of the companies associated with the film.
Co-Producer - Similar to producer, but works jointly with them.
Co-Executive Producer - Similar to Executive Producer, works jointly with them, often in a lesser capacity.
Associate Producer - Someone who helped the producers get the movie to a particulary milestone like financing, production, post, or distribution.
Consulting Producer - Fancy name for someone who consults on a film project.
Line Producer - manages the logistics and finances for the film.
Above The Line / Below The Line
You'll often hear these terms, and they come from the way a film's budget delineates from those who get paid a fee, versus those who get paid day or weekly rates.
So a Director would be paid a flat fee, say $50,000, which places them "above the line". A crew member paid a day rate would be "below the line".
Now you move into the "key creatives" on a film project, in no particular order, and in just a few sentences or less for sake of brevity.
Director - responsible for the creative aspects of the film, turning the written words in the screenplay into visuals that end up on screen. Handles casting, choosing key creative collaborators, and responsible for what ends up in the movie. Hires (or "casts") the actors and works with them to get the performances that end up in the movie.
Writer - responsible for writing the story that will become the movie, and creating the screenplay that acts as a blueprint for production.
Actors - the talent that performs the different character roles in the movie.
Cinematographer / Director of Photography - Responsible for capturing the visual elements of the film. They are the head of the camera department, and often are the ones "behind the camera", controlling its placement and movement. They also direct other departments to ensure what ends up on screen is what the director wants. Their crew is made up of Assistant Camera people, and the DIT who handles the transfer and storage of the captured footage.
Gaffer - Responsible for the lighting of the film and all things electrical. Members of their crew are called electricians.
Key Grip - Responsible for the support equipment on set - everything from camera dollies to light stands to controlling the lighting with different pieces of equipment. Members of their crew are called grips.
Production Designer - Responsible for the design and decoration of sets and locations on a film. They are the head of the art department, which is made up of an art director, set decorators, propmasters, construction, set designers.
Costume Designer - Responsible for the wardrobe and costumes the actors wear. On their crew they have costumers and seamstresses and others who help design and shop for the costumes, as well as dress the actors each day on set.
Hair and Makeup Designers - Responsible for the hair and makeup of the actors on set. Special Effects Makeup are the people responsible for blood and any special makeup like cuts and bruises.
Transportation Captain/Coordinator - Responsible for any vehicles used on set, either as props or for use by the crew or to transport the crew.
Sound Mixer and Boom Operator - The sound mixer is responsible for capturing the sound on set, everything from dialog to production sound - sound created by the actors or other elements in the film. The boom operator is the person holding the boom microphone and putting lavalier mics on the actors (in a way that you can't see them) so that the best possible sound is captured on set.
Set Photographer / Behind The Scenes - Captures images and video from set for use in the promotion of the film.
The Production Team
Unit Production Manager - Responsible for the Human Resources or HR of the film. Works with the Line Producer.
Production Coordinator - Responsible for the logistics of getting everyone and everything to set every day. Works with the UPM and the Line Producer.
Assistant Director(s) - Responsible for the schedule and making sure everything is captured every day that needs to be capture. Keeps the crew on schedule, calls action and cut (unless the director does it), and maintains the tone on set.
Production Assistants - The individuals responsible for anything and everything that comes up: getting actors to-and-from set, printing the "sides" - the script pages that will be captured on that shoot day, communicating the needs of the different crews, helping lend a hand when necessary, taking care of the crew and cast throughout the day by delivering waters and food. You name it.
Locations Manager - Responsible for finding and managing the locations used on the film. They interface with the owners of the locations, negotiate the fees, and make sure the crew leaves the place better than they found it.
Caterer / Craft Services - Responsible for feeding the cast and crew. The caterer typically provides the meals, Craft Services or "crafty" provides the snacks and drinks throughout the day.
Set Medic - Responsible for the health, safety, and medical treatment of the cast and crew on set.
Ok, that's a decent start. Indie film crews can range from a micro crew of 10-12 people, all the way up to 35-40 people. Most crews will be 3-5 people. Beyond that and you're into the multi-million dollar budget range, and require much more infrastructure to take care of a larger crew. The larger it grows, the more specific or redundant the roles on set.
Questions? Thoughts? Dissents? Let me know in the comments!
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Daren Smith
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