Why Producers Need to be Good Teachers
If you’re a producer in motion or post-production, you might not have signed up to be a teacher. But here’s the truth: about a third of your job is teaching.
That realization hit both of us Deducers like a ton of bricks at the start of our company. For Rebecca, that was after two decades of producing for major studios, consulting with teams around the country, and for Kacey, two decades worth of teaching in traditional classroom settings. It became crystal clear that the producers who thrive aren’t just skilled project managers or great communicators. By necessity, they’re also effective educators.
Whether you’re a producer looking to make your life easier, or a studio owner trying to support your producers and protect your bottom line, this skill is non-negotiable. Let’s break down why.
What is a teacher?
First, let’s define a teacher. We aren’t talking about someone who drones on and on in front of a classroom. That’s not a teacher; it’s a lecturer and an ineffective one at that. A teacher is an expert who shares what they know so others can understand, perform, or think differently. That should sound familiar to any producer. You are an expert in process, in communication, and in creative workflows. A key part of your role is translating that expertise to others so they can work more effectively. We say translating here because your role isn’t just a matter of passing information along. It’s a matter of packaging it right for uptake. That’s teaching at its core.
Who do producers teach?
Everyone. No really, they do. But let’s think about clients first. Clients don’t always understand what they’re asking for. That’s not a dig. It’s just not their job to understand production timelines, file formats, or the implications of a creative revision. However, it is your job to help them understand enough to make informed decisions.
For example, if you’re mid-way through character animation and a client suddenly wants to change the design, that’s not a “quick fix.” You’ll need to revise the design, re-rig the character, and essentially start over on the animation for that section. Or, perhaps the client requests a social media animation and later decides to scale it up for a billboard. You’ll need to explain why "upressing" the resolution isn’t automatic and why it costs time and money.
Who else do producers teach? Artists. No, they aren’t teaching artists how to use Cinema 4D, Unreal, or Blender. But yes, by necessity, producers need to teach artists about the creative needs. Anyone who has produced for a while knows that producers are the bridge between what the client wants and what the artists are supposed to create. To do this well, producers need to know what’s technically possible, what the creative vision demands, and what the client actually meant in their 3-paragraph email about "making it pop." They have to translate that information back to the creative team, helping artists understand the “why” behind the brief, not just the “what.”
And we cannot forget the production team. While producers might start out assisting or coordinating on projects, as they grow into leading other producers or managing larger teams, teaching becomes even more critical. Let’s say you’ve got a junior producer. You can’t just hand them a project brief and hope for the best. You have to show them how to think like a producer, someone who can anticipate delays and who can recognize and flag scope creep, before it takes a toll on the budget or the sanity of the team, and who can take cues from clients and creative directors and turn them into clear, actionable insights for their production team.
Why think like a teacher?
So what’s the takeaway?
If you start thinking like a teacher by asking, “What does this person need to know? And how can I make it clear and easy to act on?” you’ll become a more effective producer. You’ll build stronger teams. You’ll avoid misunderstandings with clients. You’ll protect your timelines and sanity, and the people around you will appreciate it.
When producers don’t teach clients how production works, they set themselves up for scope creep, budget overruns, and frustrated teams.
