”Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater.”
- Roman Polanski

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It’s a common belief that a thorough knowledge of movie making and the entertainment industry is enough to make you a successful movie producer. Nope.

Of course, it may certainly help you to know the nuts and bolts of film production, and even the details of financing and marketing a full length feature film. But that knowledge is not enough to create a successful producer. And to be frank, it might make you for a good studio executive, or other job out of the fray, but you need to develop particular skills, to help you make an independent film.

Here are the 5 important skills one needs to develop to become a successful film producer:

The first and fore most important skill you need is organization. If you were the kid who kept the minutes of the club meetings, edited the yearbook, or organized the prop-closet by era, you already have this skill. It is something that is very difficult and hard to teach, but you can certainly learn it, to become more organized.

If you are the person who can’t find his or her keys and has no idea how much is in your checking account, you need help. Get organized. There is simply no proxy for it.

Read books like “How to Get Organized When You Don’t Have The Time,” by Stephanie Culp and many more books available on Amazon. You get, at least, some idea about it. Or do whatever you have to do, but just get organized.

The second important skill you need is ability to make decisions quickly. Despite the best planning, things change moment-to-moment during film production. You will have to decide right on the spot whether to set up the next shot despite the looming storm clouds, or to move on to another location, completely distracting the schedule. Whatever but you will have to take right decision at right time.

One of the best ways to develop this skill is to completely bury your doubt. Know that you are the boss, and any mistakes to be made are yours to make and you will suffer the consequences of wrong decisions. If you act decisively, and accept responsibility when necessary, your team will accept your decisions unquestioningly.

Be a good negotiator. This is the third important skill you need to develop. You will have to make deals for every single thing on the set or on location - the equipment, the set properties, the crew, the film stock, everything. Everything will have to be negotiated. When negotiating rates, you can easily save 15 percent or so off what you expected to pay for almost anything in any branch of filmmaking.

There is one important thing you need to know when negotiating: You can always say no. If you can’t get the deal you want, simply say no. Practice it. No. Just make it clear that you will take your offer elsewhere.

A successful producer also needs diplomacy. This is the fourth skill you need to develop. It’s really astounding how often a film shoot evolves into a third-grade playground. In just a few days, rumors start and friendships are formed and ruined.

Believe it or not, your own crew members and actors will come to tattle you. Sometimes you will have to intervene in petty squabbles and personality conflicts. The trick is to smooth messy feathers while not making one combatant feel like you’ve taken another’s side. Look un-biased. That will only set factions against you, and that’s the best and last thing you want on your set.

The fifth skill, of course, you will need is energy. Yes, you need lots and lots of energy. One of the important things you must do during pre-production is get yourself in shape for the painstaking weeks of shooting. You’re there, not for a sprint, but for a mega marathon.

Working on lower budgets, independent movies often have a much tighter schedule. You will have to take it seriously before hand, and train like a champion. Exercise, eat healthy, and take vitamins and other supplements to build your energy stores, so you can get through it successfully.

After you have these five fundamental producer skills down, you will be ready to develop your knowledge of the movie making process and the entertainment industry, by producing a successful independent film. And that way you, naturally, will become a successful film producer.

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