Unit Production Manager

Unit Production Manager Career

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A Unit Production Manager is the head administrator for a film project. Unit Production Managers logistically make a film happen by taking care of all business and administrative matters, which places their primary focus on budget and scheduling issues.

As a Unit Production Manager, you have self confidence, an assistant, and so much responsibility that you delegate it to various department heads. In other words, you are a Big Film Executive and will spend lots of time on the phone looking (and being) important.

Because you oversee the film project at large, your tasks are incredibly diverse. You prepare the budget, draft the shooting schedule, and make sure everything runs smoothly from the business standpoint. This last point involves dabbling in all sorts of areas, from negotiating contracts for equipment costs, to meeting with investors.

On the whole, you are the organizing force behind the zoo that is a film set. Your job involves one-off projects such as hiring the filming crew, as well as ongoing tasks like keeping all the departments in line. And as pretty much all of your tasks involve dealing with the egos and mindgames of Hollywood, you need to be on your game at all times.

On a side note, a somewhat interesting fact is that only union members can be called Unit Production Managers. If a non-union member performs this job, they are referred to as a Line Producer.

How do I become an Unit Production Manager?

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You will need contacts and industry knowledge to do well in this position, so be prepared to put in many years of work to make it here. Most jobs that combine business knowledge with film set experience are great qualifiers, for instance Location Manager. A degree in something along the lines of entertainment management is an easy way to get your foot in the door.