Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Producers and Directors
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. Responsible for creative decisions, such as interpretation of script, choice of actors or guests, set design, sound, special effects, and choreography.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Producers and Directors
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Producers and Directors. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$90,360USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$43.44USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $45,780 | $22.01 |
| 25th | $62,670 | $30.13 |
| 50th · Median | $90,360 | $43.44 |
| 75th | $134,800 | $64.81 |
| 90th | $198,540 | $95.45 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Animation DirectorAnimation ProducerArt Framing ManagerArtistic DirectorBroadcast News ProducerBroadcast ProducerCasting DirectorCommercial DirectorContent ProducerCreative DirectorCreative ProducerDigital Media Manager
Expand more title examples (48)
Digital Media ProducerDigital ProducerDirectorDramatic DirectorExecutive News ProducerExecutive ProducerFilm MakerFilm ProducerIndependent Film MakerIndependent Video ProducerLine ProducerMedia ManagerMedia ProducerMorning News ProducerMorning Show Newscast ProducerMotion Picture DirectorMovie ProducerMoving Picture ProducerMultimedia ProducerMusic Video DirectorMusic Video ProducerNews ProducerNews Production SupervisorNewscast DirectorNewscast ProducerOn-Air DirectorPodcast ProducerProducerProduction DirectorProduction ManagerProduction Stage ManagerProduction SupervisorProgram AssistantPromotions ProducerRadio ProducerRadio Services DirectorStage DirectorStage ManagerTelevision News Producer (TV News Producer)Television Newscast Director (TV Newscast Director)Television Producer (TV Producer)Television Program Director (TV Program Director)Television Technical Director (TV Technical Director)Theater Company ProducerTheater DirectorTV Director (Television Director)Video DirectorVideo Producer
Typical tasks
- Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
- Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
- Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
- 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.
Expand more tasks (24)
- Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
- Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
- Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.
- Consult with writers, producers, or actors about script changes or "workshop" scripts, through rehearsal with writers and actors to create final drafts.
- Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.
- Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.
- Conduct meetings with staff to discuss production progress and to ensure production objectives are attained.
- Compile scripts, program notes, and other material related to productions.
- Resolve personnel problems that arise during the production process by acting as liaisons between dissenting parties when necessary.
- Coordinate the activities of writers, directors, managers, and other personnel throughout the production process.
- Obtain rights to scripts or to such items as existing video footage.
- Write and submit proposals to bid on contracts for projects.
- Compose and edit scripts or provide screenwriters with story outlines from which scripts can be written.
- Cut and edit film or tape to integrate component parts into desired sequences.
- Write and edit news stories from information collected by reporters and other sources.
- Choose settings and locations for films and determine how scenes will be shot in these settings.
- Review film daily to check on work in progress and to plan for future filming.
- Negotiate with parties, including independent producers and the distributors and broadcasters who will be handling completed productions.
- Perform administrative duties, such as preparing operational reports, distributing rehearsal call sheets and script copies, and arranging for rehearsal quarters.
- Develop marketing plans for finished products, collaborating with sales associates to supervise product distribution.
- Arrange financing for productions.
- Hire principal cast members and crew members, such as art directors, cinematographers, and costume designers.
- Hold auditions for parts or negotiate contracts with actors determined suitable for specific roles.
- Select plays, scripts, books, news content, or ideas to be produced.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Expand more skills (29)
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
FIND YOUR MARKET
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