Why Your First Video Hire Should be a Producer
Producers make sure everything happens on time, within budget, and to spec.
We manage thousands of projects a year with a small, nimble team - often producing tens of thousands of deliverables in the process. That didn’t happen overnight.
Over the past 14 years, we’ve made structural mistakes, hired the wrong people, relied on tools that couldn’t scale, and learned a lot the hard way. But here’s one thing we’d do the same every time: If we were starting an internal video team from scratch, we’d hire a producer first.
Always.
What a producer isn't
A lot of people hear “producer” and assume that’s the person behind the camera, or the one running the edit, or someone on set calling the shots, or Robert Evans. In reality, a good producer is more like a project manager, fixer, logistics master, and translator rolled into one. They’re the person who makes sure the creative vision doesn’t collapse under the weight of a hundred tiny decisions.
A producer is like a great event planner. They don’t bake the cake, arrange the flowers, or MC the event - but they do make sure all of those things happen, on time, within budget, and to spec.
You wouldn’t ask your wedding planner to DJ the reception so you shouldn’t expect your producer to handle every camera and editing task themselves.
What a Producer Does
Here’s what a good producer actually does:
Project Management: They oversee every step from kickoff to final delivery. They manage timelines, set expectations, track feedback rounds, and make sure projects stay on course.
Team Coordination: They vet and assemble the right crew for every project. Whether it’s a single shooter or a multi-city, multi-editor operation, they’re the glue holding it all together.
Budgeting: They know what things should cost, where you can save, and when you shouldn’t. They prevent budget creep and catch issues before they turn into invoices.
Scheduling: Producers are time architects. They coordinate crew, talent, locations, stakeholders, and review cycles - sometimes across time zones.
Quality Control: Before anything gets delivered, they do the final gut check. They know what the work is supposed to do, and make sure it hits the mark.
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The Pitfalls of the Videographer/Editor Combo
All too often we see teams hire a single person to do it all, often called a "preditor" (producer + editor), or they hire a videographer and expect them to - script, plan, hire, shoot, edit, review, etc.
We do not recommend this. Don’t do it.
It leads to burnout and bottlenecks - you get half-finished concepts, inconsistent creative, a massive editing backlog, and an overworked, under-supported teammate.
We recommend waiting until you're confident you can keep a role busy full time with a specific task before hiring for that role, until then, hire a producer.
Creatives who can specialize do their best work. A writer writes, a DP films, an editor edits, and a producer produces.
Producing means managing multiple projects, picking the right specialists for the job, and ensuring each progresses smoothly.
5 Reasons a Producer Should Be Your First Hire
If you need it broken down in simpler terms, or are trying to make the case to a higher up that a producer is the right hire - here are 5 easy reasons.
1. Enhanced Project Capacity: A producer can manage multiple projects simultaneously, increasing output.
(Videographers/Editors typically manage 1-3 projects per month. A good producer can manage 10+)
2. Geographical Flexibility: They can coordinate shoots across various locations, tapping into local talent and resources.
If you’re flying a videographer around the country they can manage even fewer projects than if they were always at home base.
3. Quality Assurance: By overseeing each production phase, they ensure consistency and adherence to brand guidelines.
If you’ve read our other content, you know we love standardization. A good producer puts procedures in place to manage brand and quality consistently.
4. Managing Expectations: Producers manage timelines more consistently and provide realistic expectations to stakeholders - helping internal teams avoid last-minute scrambles, vague deadlines, or overpromised turnarounds.
Nobody’s perfect, but a producer is more perfect than nobody at all.
5. Network Building: They cultivate relationships with specialists, ensuring access to top-tier talent when needed.
Good creative comes from good creatives. A good producer knows a lot of them.
For internal agencies and marketing teams aiming to establish a strong video production pipeline, hiring a producer as the first team member is the only move. They lay the foundation for scalable, high-quality content creation, ensuring that as demands grow, your team is well-equipped to deliver. If you hire the right person and make sure they know they're valued, they'll be the backbone of your studio for years to come.
