Creative & Media

Film/Video Producer

Organize a film or video from idea to finished cut by finding money, hiring crew, and keeping it on budget

Open interactive guide

What does a Film/Video Producer do?

Producers work on movies, TV shows, ads, and online videos for studios or small companies. They raise money, hire the director and crew, build the schedule, and solve problems on set. It fits people who are organized, good at talking with others, and calm when plans fall apart.

A day in the life

6:00 AMArrive on set and check that crew, actors, and gear are all there
8:00 AMTalk with the director about running behind on the first scene
11:00 AMCall a location owner to add an hour for tomorrow's shoot
1:00 PMApprove the camera rental payment after checking the budget
4:00 PMWatch the day's footage and note shots that must be redone
7:00 PMSend tomorrow's call sheet to the cast and crew

What's great

  • You bring big group projects to life
  • Every production means new people and places
  • Uses business and creative skills together
  • Can lead to directing or writing

The hard parts

  • Jobs are often short-term and freelance
  • Days on set can run 12 hours or more
  • Money worries fall on you when funds run short
  • Hard to land first jobs without contacts

What is a Film/Video Producer's salary and outlook?

$36k – $90k
Salary Range
Bachelor's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $36,000 to $90,000 a year, with a midpoint around $60,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become a Film/Video Producer?

A common path is Bachelor's degree in film, media, or business, plus set experience. The ladder often runs from Production Assistant to Associate Producer, then Producer, and Executive Producer. Other routes: Two-year film or media program; Start as a production assistant and work up; Make short films or videos for local groups; Take business classes to learn budgets and contracts.

  • Two-year film or media program
  • Start as a production assistant and work up
  • Make short films or videos for local groups
  • Take business classes to learn budgets and contracts

Career path

Entry level
Production Assistant
Mid career
Associate Producer
Senior
Producer
Executive
Executive Producer

Will AI replace a Film/Video Producer?

How much will AI change this job?

A lot

AI will change many everyday tasks in this job. The work shifts toward judgment, checking, and people.

AI is reshaping how producers plan, edit, and manage films.

AI tools now help with scheduling, budgeting, and even editing rough cuts of video. This frees producers to focus more on creative choices, storytelling, and leading their teams. The job shifts toward guiding people and making big decisions instead of doing every small task by hand.

AI can help with

  • Organizing shooting schedules and budgets
  • Sorting through raw footage to find good clips
  • Generating early drafts of scripts or storyboards

What stays human

  • Making creative decisions about the story
  • Leading and inspiring the cast and crew
  • Building relationships with investors and studios

Skills to build now

  • Practice writing stories and scripts for fun
  • Join drama, film, or video clubs at school
  • Learn basic video editing software through small projects

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.