Why pay for a first class plane ticket if your intention was to get there by bus? That’s what happens when you bypass the Line Producer – you end up sitting in the back of the bus with no air-conditioning on a very long journey to an extremely uncomfortable place.
As a Line Producer, it’s my job to make sure that everything runs smoothly –in short, on time, on budget, with the creative vision intact and everybody happy. That only happens when you don’t decide you can do the job of the producer better. If you’re thinking, “Hey I have a friend in the catering business, let me give her a call and make all the arrangements,” you may end up serving the crew baloney sandwiches with a caviar price tag. If you’re going to make deals with the wardrobe stylist and tell them what and where to shop, but never pass the information to the Line Producer until after the fact, you may find you’ve going over budget on a line item or two.
Clients, creatives and directors all have a vision, and they want to see that vision on the screen. It’s my job to make certain that vision is realized. I can get that job done, if you let me do my job and don’t try and do it for me – even with the kindest of intentions. Don’t bypass, it saves time, it saves money, and it saves disappointment in the final product.
If you feel your time is better spent elsewhere than on the creative – like negotiating with agents, hiring crews, and deciding what prop house we should use – be prepared for a long uncomfortable journey to a destination that wasn’t your first choice.
