Producing : How did you become a producer? by Tucker Teague

My fun project began in 2014 when my wife Elizaeth created a travelling companion for me – a stuffed rabbit we named Reggie. I took Reggie with me on all my travels and was amazed at how irresistible he was. Strangers all over the world would ask about him, want to hold him and get their photo taken with him. Reggie was hugely popular.

In 2022 I decided to bring Reggie to a wider audience as the main character in a tv series, Reggie Rabbit and the Search for the Golden Carrot. As a new producer, I wanted to demonstrate the viability of the project, so I wrote a script, assembled a cast and crew, and produced a 28-minute pilot episode. To gauge popularity, we held a red-carpet premiere of the pilot and handed out survey cards. 95% of the feedback was very positive with most of the audience wanting to see the next episode. I'm now seeking the right partner to bring the series to the kids.

William Baker That's a great story. I love how it's personal and comes from your own experience. If you don't mind my asking, how did you raise the money and put together the crew to get the pilot done?

Nepotism.

I have a Co-Producer credit on a television pilot called Hood. I got involved because I was close to the person that created it at the time. If you can get as involved as you can on projects it helps you find out what you enjoy doing and what you are good at.

I live in an area where a lot of great, talented artists/musicians/entertainment people live and through some contacts I was able to find all the actors and crew I needed. I really lucked out to find a talented award winning puppeteer to bring our characters to life. Key crew members brought their own equipment and were able to edit on their own computers. As for funding, it was a low budget pilot which I paid for personally. Pilot is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keK3MRrMB74

Jason Raymaker I have a friend who has made several low-budget films over the past twenty years or more. I recently reconnected with him and offered to help him with his next film. He needs some producing help and first AD. I'm excited about it. We'll see how it goes.

E Langley a classic route

William Baker thanks for sharing the link. I hope you can continue making more.

Hi Tucker Teague. My wife and I began the journey to become screenwriters. We formed a small group locally to do no-budget and low-budget films. Slowly we were drawn into filling hats for the productions as small indie projects often require. Over the years we branched out to YouTube, a podcast, and ultimately decided to form our own production company to make the stories we wrote. Just launched a campaign for a short film last night, so how serendipitous your post is for me.

James Hoey Thanks for sharing. I'm curious, how did you form the small local group? Were these people you already knew?

Tucker Teague it was a Facebook post looking for local enthusiasts. Nothing fancy. We did a meetup and decided to form a group. My wife and I wrote the script for a short, we had a director who had contacts for camera operators, but the rest kind of fell apart before it began. We should have taken that as a sign. We ended up doing practical effects, props, location scouting, casting, you name it. I did the VFX, and after a while the director bailed so I took the files to finish editing. The files were mostly trashed, so it has been in purgatory for years. Still, a growth/learning experience.

James Hoey sounds like purgatory but still a great learning experience. Thanks for sharing.

I started as a screenwriter and evolved from a technical writing background. As I met more Indy filmmakers, I realized that my background in Project Management translated smoothly to film production. I worked on several projects and people were amazed by my organization, scheduling, and ability to get the right people for the project (which is essentially what Project Management does). I took over a passion project that was going nowhere at the time as a favor for an actor friend and successfully moved that project from the "maybe one day we'll get this done" list, to a completed SAG-AFTRA project within a few months. My background is non-traditional, but it works.

Stephanie Harrison that's a great story and it makes a lot of sense. I don't know much about being a producer but I do know about project management and from what I can tell it's a lot of the same. Basically, get the the thing done!

Necessity really. Sometimes you can only get something made by doing it yourself, wearing all the hats, and grinding it to the finish line. It's not always pretty, but if you have the engine inside you, it's a good way to get involved. Even as just an associate producer who can get basic tasks done and handle small details.

Pat Alexander I've been thinking along the same lines. I look at my screenplays and think maybe I should just pick my favorite one and produce it. The amount of work looks crazy to me but it might be the only way to get it done. Many years ago I did some producing and directing in a different context (local television and student videos) but I feel I know just enough to maybe do it.

Pat, I can relate. Interestingly when I told my friends and associates what I wanted to do, there was a lot of support for the idea and as I tried to fill the critical jobs, the universe supplied me with lots of talent right in my own home area. The point being if you ask you may get what you need - your acres of diamonds are right there in your own back yard. Like you, however, I do have a large hat collection!

Cool about the "large hat collection", William. // I became a producer fresh out of film school at UT Austin when my partner and I formed a Casting & Talent Agency and Production Company...back when it was okay to do all of that simultaneously. Like many of our film school colleagues who also formed production companies we did local shoots and also worked on Hollywood shoots that came to Texas. As many of you have noted, organizational skills are essential. It's being able to see BOTH the Forest and the Trees and to keep it all in motion from moment to moment. Most of us moved out to Hollywood together and are still in touch. // I also had a great mentor at Universal Studios, one of the first female Associate Producers back then who taught me the particulars of "big time" production. Working as a Production Secretary for the kind and generous director Joel Schumacher was also a fabulous learning experience. // Then going freelance into commercials, docs, music videos, corporate and military films...each one offered valuable insights. // Point being -- absolutely get as much experience as you can in as many arenas as you can. It can all be valuable and make you more valuable to others looking to realize their dreams. // Wishing you all much success with all your creative projects.