Production Management: a checklist before you hire a producer

The first question on my own list is simple: who has the final say on the running order once rehearsals begin? In production management, a producer and a technical manager coordinate crews, schedules and rehearsals, but they can only do that well if the show has one decision-maker on each side, editorial and technical. When two people both believe they own the order, the gallery hears conflicting instructions on talkback, and calm disappears quickly.

Before you decide, ask each candidate to describe a show where the running order changed late. Listen for how the change reached the vision mixer, the graphics operator and the camera operators, and who confirmed it. A clear answer names a person and a channel, not a general promise to keep everyone informed.

• Name one editorial owner and one technical owner
• Agree how late changes are confirmed on talkback
• Decide who can stop a rehearsal and why

A crew list that looks long is not the same as a crew list that fits. Go through every position the show needs: camera operators, vision mixer, video operator, sound, engineer, runner and a floor manager if there is a studio floor. Then ask which of these the management team supplies and which you bring yourself. Gaps usually appear at the edges, such as nobody being responsible for tea, parking or the radio licence for the day.

I would rather see a modest crew with every role named than a larger one with two people assuming the other has the replay cues. Ask for the crew sheet in writing, with arrival times, so you can compare it against the schedule you already hold.

• Request a written crew sheet with call times
• Check who covers breaks without leaving a position empty
• Confirm who supplies headsets, radios and cabling

Most overruns I have seen began with a schedule that treated rehearsal as a buffer. Set it out properly: load-in, technical line-up, camera rehearsal, a full run and a gap before doors or going live. If any of these is squeezed, ask what is being traded away. A producer worth hiring will tell you plainly that a shortened run means fewer cue checks, not the same quality in less time.

Look also at what happens when the schedule slips. Is there a point at which the team decides to drop an item rather than rush it? That decision is far easier to make in advance, in a quiet planning call, than at ten minutes to live.

• Separate line-up time from rehearsal time
• Agree a cut-off point for dropping an item
• Keep a gap between the last run and going live

Ask how talkback will be organised. A show with a presenter, a stage manager, a gallery and a streaming desk needs more than one channel, and someone has to decide who speaks on which. Agree phrasing too: short, consistent calls such as stand by, cue and go keep the gallery steady, while chatty instructions create confusion at the worst moment.

Outside the gallery, clarify how you will receive updates in the days before the show. A single daily message from the producer, covering what is confirmed and what is still open, is worth more than a stream of small emails. It also gives you a record to refer back to if something changes.

• Define talkback channels and who may speak
• Agree standard calls for cues
• Set one daily update from the producer

Production management and engineering overlap more than people expect. The producer decides what the show needs, while the technical side decides how signals, comms and monitoring deliver it. Ask how the two talk to each other before the day. A short written specification of camera count, sources, graphics, return feeds and outputs prevents the surprise of discovering on site that a feed was never routed.

I also check who signs off the system before rehearsal. Someone should walk the signal path from source to output, test comms with every position and confirm that monitoring shows what the director believes it shows. If the answer is that it will be fine on the day, keep asking.

• Write down sources, outputs and return feeds
• Ask who signs off the signal path
• Test comms with every position before rehearsal

Finally, ask what happens when something fails. A decent management plan names the likely weak points, such as a lost camera feed, a late presenter or a network drop on a stream, and says in advance what the response will be. You do not need a thick document, only a few lines everyone has read.

Then ask about afterwards. Will there be a short debrief, and will you receive notes on what went well and what to change? A team that wants to improve the next show will say yes without hesitation, and that willingness tells you a good deal about how they run the current one.

• Request a short list of likely failure points and responses
• Ask for a debrief and written notes
• Confirm who is reachable on the show day