Education · 1 of 4

The path

Producing is learned in production offices. School helps you get into one.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   English, business, drama, media arts. Produce something small: a short, a school show, a web series.

2. 2

   Training

   2 to 4 years

   A 2-year college production diploma, a film degree, or a business degree with film work on the side. None of these is required.

3. 3

   Production office jobs

   2 to 5 years

   Production assistant, then coordinator, then production manager. You learn budgets, schedules, contracts and unions from the inside.

4. 4

   Produce your own shorts

   Alongside the day job

   Prove you can finish something and account for the money. Funders look for exactly this.

5. 5

   First financed project

   Year 5 to 8

   A documentary, a low-budget feature or a series with a broadcaster attached, usually with a public funder involved.