Annual Salary
variable
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Production managers take care of the business, financial and recruitment side of film and television productions.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: freelance / self-employed; away from home
There will be
2.2% more TV or film production manager jobs in 2027.
During the planning stages of a production, you may:
During filming, you could:
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.
You can get into this job through:
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.
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:
You'll usually need:
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.
To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:
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.
You'll need to:
You may find it helpful to have accounting skills and qualifications because of the budget management work involved with this job.
You could join The Production Guild for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.
You can find out more about working in production management from ScreenSkills and Discover Creative Careers.
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.
You can find out more about working in production management from ScreenSkills and ProductionBase.
You'll need: