How to hire producers and directors

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
• Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
• Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
• Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
• Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
• Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
• Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong active listening, speaking, critical thinking, reading comprehension, monitoring and active learning skills
• Working knowledge of communications and media, computers and electronics, English Language and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $43.44 an hour ($90,360 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for producers and directors

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What producers and directors do

• Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
• Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
• Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
• Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
• Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
• Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
• Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionMonitoringActive LearningCommunications and MediaComputers and ElectronicsEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for producers and directors

• Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 2 to 4 years (O*NET)
• Experience usually needed to start: Less than 5 years (BLS)
• Job outlook: +4% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 12,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay producers and directors

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See producers and directors pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Film and Video Editors
• Art Directors
• Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys
• Writers and Authors
• Music Directors and Composers
• News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
• Editors
• Special Effects Artists and Animators
• Audio and Video Technicians
• Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.