TV or film production manager

Production managers take care of the business, financial and recruitment side of film and television productions.

In this guide

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

During the planning stages of a production, you may:

  • work with the producer and senior production staff
  • draw up a production schedule and budget
  • negotiate costs with suppliers
  • hire crew and contractors
  • approve bookings of resources, locations, equipment and supplies
  • arrange permissions and risk assessments
  • manage a production office team

During filming, you could:

  • make sure the production runs to schedule
  • control and monitor production spending
  • report on progress to the producers
  • deal with any problems during filming
  • make changes to the schedule or budget, like rescheduling filming in bad weather
  • make sure that health and safety rules, insurance terms, copyright laws and union agreements are followed

Working environment

You could work at a film studio, on a film set, in an office or at a TV studio.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.

Career path and progression

You could work on freelance contracts for television broadcasters or independent production companies and negotiate better fees based on your experience and reputation.

You could open your own studio or move into working as an executive producer, where you'll be responsible for several productions at once.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of media production and communication
  • the ability to organise your time and workload
  • excellent written communication skills
  • leadership skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

  • have a first aid certificate

Most relevant

  • Business - TV or film production managers handle budgets, negotiate costs with suppliers, hire crew and contractors, and manage production office teams. Understanding business operations, financial planning, and people management is central to keeping a production running smoothly.
  • Accounting - TV or film production managers draw up and monitor production budgets, control spending, and report on finances to producers. Many start out as trainee production accountants, and strong accounting skills are essential for tracking costs across complex, fast-moving projects.
  • Mathematics - TV or film production managers work with budgets, cost estimates, and financial reports on a daily basis. They need to calculate crew rates, equipment hire costs, and contingency funds, and quickly adjust figures when schedules change during filming.
  • English Language - TV or film production managers write contracts, schedules, risk assessments, and progress reports that need to be clear and precise. They also negotiate with suppliers, communicate with large teams, and handle correspondence – strong written and spoken communication is essential.

Also relevant

  • Film Studies - TV or film production managers oversee the logistics of screen productions. Film Studies helps them understand how films move from pre-production through shooting to post-production, so they can create realistic schedules, anticipate what each department needs, and solve problems on set.
  • Media Studies - TV or film production managers need to understand how media products are commissioned, produced, and distributed. Media Studies covers how the industry is structured – including broadcasters, independent production companies, and regulatory frameworks – helping them navigate contracts and the business side of production.
  • Law - TV or film production managers ensure that copyright laws, insurance terms, union agreements, and health and safety regulations are followed throughout a production. Understanding legal principles helps them manage contracts, permissions, and liability.
  • Economics - TV or film production managers make decisions about how to allocate limited resources – money, time, equipment, and people – across a production. Understanding supply and demand, cost management, and market conditions helps when negotiating deals and managing budgets under pressure.
  • Design and Technology - TV or film production managers coordinate the booking of equipment, sets, and technical resources, and need to understand what different departments require. Familiarity with how things are built and how production processes work helps them plan logistics and solve practical problems on set.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • a broadcaster's training scheme

You could do a degree in media production before joining a production company.

You'll find it helpful to take a course that includes the technical side of production, work placements and the chance to make industry contacts.

You'll also need a strong knowledge of business and finance management.

Entry requirements

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

More Information

You could do a college course which may help you to get a job with a media company. With experience, you could then move on to work in production management. Courses include:

  • Level 3 Diploma in Creative Media Production
  • Level 3 Diploma in Film and Television Production
  • T Level in Media, Broadcast and Production

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

More Information

You may be able to do a media production coordinator higher apprenticeship, or a creative industries production management degree apprenticeship. You'll usually need experience in production management or production accounting to do the degree apprenticeship.

You could also start out by doing a broadcast production assistant advanced apprenticeship and then work your way up to management level as your experience grows.

Entry requirements

To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

You could start as a runner or an assistant in the production office, then move on to become a production co-ordinator or assistant production manager. You could also start as a trainee production accountant.

Another option is to go from a job as a runner to 3rd, 2nd and 1st assistant director, or from assistant TV floor manager, then to floor manager or location manager.

You'll need a lot of experience in TV or film, and an in-depth understanding of the production process to get into this job. Your experience and track record will often be more important than formal qualifications.

You can search for film and TV companies to approach for experience through media business listing services like PACT and The Knowledge.

Having a network of contacts in the industry will help you to find work.

You may be able to get training through one of the new entrant training schemes that broadcasters and film bodies offer. For example:

You could also take short courses in production skills run by film schools, regional screen agencies and private training providers.

Career tips

You may find it helpful to have accounting skills and qualifications because of the budget management work involved with this job.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join The Production Guild for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about working in TV and film from:

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