It's up to the producer to catch all those mistakes before they turn into disasters.
Besides money, a company's interest in the particular job and their production ability are also taken into consideration. The last two factors often carry more weight than the first, because once a TV spot is shot, the production quality is much more visible than the bill.
Nonetheless, I repeat, cost is a very important factor. Most agencies look for value-how much production quality they get per production dollar spent.
When a director or production company has been decided upon, the agency producer presents an estimate to the client, so he knows about how much the commercial will cost. When the client signs that estimate, the production begins.
The producer assigns the job to the chosen director or production company, then he notifies the others that have presented bids that the assignment went elsewhere.
Now a phase known as pre-production begins. Pre-pro is the work that is done to prepare the commercial for shooting. An agency broadcast producer is totally involved in the pre-production of a commercial.
Only a smattering of the very largest agencies have music directors, so if a commercial involves music, it's generally up to the producer to handle that, too. He usually begins the music production when he begins the commercial production. The producer hires a music production company to get it done on schedule, for a budget agreed to ahead of time by the advertiser.
The producer handles the production of that music the same way he handles the production of film or tape. He chooses the two or three music companies which he thinks would do the most appropriate score for the commercial(s) in question, then sends them the storyboard(s). They call him to discuss the commercial and to find out what kind of sound the producer has in mind for the spot. The music companies submit their bids, the producer makes a recommendation to the client, and a music company is chosen.
Back to the pre-production. The producer supervises the casting session. Sometimes he is assisted by a casting director if his agency has one.
He oversees the selection of a location on which to shoot the spot, along with the construction of the set. He makes sure that all the props will be on the set or at the location the day of the shoot, and that everything that could possibly be needed the day of the shoot will be there.
Television commercials do not happen the day of the shoot. They happen in pre-production. If a good job is not done in pre-production, you will never get a good commercial. It is up to the producer to see to it that pre-production is done well. He must see to it that every problem gets solved before it ever happens, whether that means making sure the right camera lenses are close at hand, or being confident that the proper lights will be available, or getting a trained elephant or a shovel to clean up after it. He doesn't necessarily have to do the shoveling, but he must make sure that somebody will be around to do the job should the need arise.
After pre-production comes production, known in the trade as "the shoot."
The shoot is what everybody talks about. It's the part of production that everyone tells you is so glamorous. (Ha ha) The shoot is when the commercial is actually filmed or taped, and the producer supervises the whole shebang. He makes sure the lighting is good, checks and approves each shot, and makes certain that the copy spoken by the actors and actresses is the same copy that was approved by the advertiser.
When the film has been shot, or the tape recorded, the producer supervises the next and last step: post production.
Post production includes the editing, sound mixing, and printing of the commercial. Accordingly, the producer approves the selection of the editor, the facility in which the sound mixing will take place, the lab which will process the film and make the film prints of the final commercial, and the studio which will make the video tape dubs of the commercial.
As much care is taken in the selection of the editor as in the selection of a director or production company. Even if a production company has its own staff editor (which you find only on rare occasions nowadays), the producer must get very familiar with that editor's abilities and taste. An editor can make or break a commercial. In the final analysis, it is the editor who is responsible for what the viewer sees because he is the one who puts the pictures together. The editor is responsible for the pacing and the overall emotion of a commercial. An agency producer will bid with two or three editors for a job, just as he bids with two or three directors or production companies.
The agency producer has awesome responsibilities in the production of any television spot. He's got to deliver a finished commercial to the advertiser that contains everything the client expects to see in that commercial. He's got to do the job within the confines of the budget agreed to by the advertiser, and he's got to make sure that everything goes smoothly without arousing concern or worry in anyone.
A producer has to be an organizer par excellence, and when he does his job well, when no problems arise, no one ever even notices he's around.
In radio, his job can be somewhat easier. But only because there are fewer responsibilities, not less demanding ones.
If music is involved in a radio spot, then it's the producer's job to get it done.
It's up to the producer to cast the talent for the commercial, and to hire a radio commercial production company or a facility in which to record the spot.
Just as in the case of television, it's up to the producer to deliver the commercial that was approved by the advertiser, for a price that was agreed to.
