Producers and Directors
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-2012.00United States
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. Responsible for creative decisions, such as interpretation of script, choice of actors or guests, set design, sound, special effects, and choreography.
- Median annual earnings
- $85,168
- Projected change
- +9.4%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 178.94K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
56.7% of the workforce
Growing to 195.79K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What producers and directors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
- Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
- Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
- Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
- Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
- Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
- Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
- Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
- Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.
- Consult with writers, producers, or actors about script changes or "workshop" scripts, through rehearsal with writers and actors to create final drafts.
- Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.
- Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.
- Conduct meetings with staff to discuss production progress and to ensure production objectives are attained.
- Compile scripts, program notes, and other material related to productions.
- Resolve personnel problems that arise during the production process by acting as liaisons between dissenting parties when necessary.
- Coordinate the activities of writers, directors, managers, and other personnel throughout the production process.
- Obtain rights to scripts or to such items as existing video footage.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $39,558
- 25th percentile
- $56,946
- 50th percentile
- $85,168
- 75th percentile
- $129,016
- 90th percentile
- $203,863
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $85,168 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.4%faster than average
2025178,939 jobs
2035 projected195,786 jobs
16,847 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 56.7%
- High school diploma or less
- 15.2%
- Associate degree
- 12.9%
- Certificate
- 10.6%
- Some college
- 4.6%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 0%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Production Managers1,909 postings
- 02Producers1,299 postings
- 03News Producers834 postings
- 04Associate Producers611 postings
- 05Video Producers610 postings
- 06Executive Producers478 postings
- 07Stage Managers414 postings
- 08Creative Producers381 postings
- 09News Interns373 postings
- 10Multimedia Producers215 postings
- 11Production Planning Managers179 postings
- 12Live Event Producers178 postings
- 13Podcast Producers165 postings
- 14Content Producers147 postings
- 15Experiential Producers145 postings
- 16Production Operations Managers144 postings
- 17Video Production Interns144 postings
- 18Newscast Producers137 postings
- 19Production Account Managers134 postings
- 20Production Control Managers112 postings
Top employers
- 01Fox News Network432 postings
- 02Nexstar Media Group362 postings
- 03NBC318 postings
- 04Graymedia292 postings
- 05Sinclair Broadcast Group204 postings
- 06Walt Disney199 postings
- 07Spectrum186 postings
- 08Usi Holdings Corporation171 postings
- 09Paramount Pictures145 postings
- 10System One143 postings
- 11TEGNA138 postings
- 12Thermo Fisher Scientific133 postings
- 13Tribune Publishing130 postings
- 14Amazon125 postings
- 15Gray Television120 postings
- 16Spectrum Networks110 postings
- 17Warner Bros. Discovery108 postings
- 18Hearst99 postings
- 19Fox Entertainment Group95 postings
- 20iHeartMedia84 postings
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