Producing : Production Fees by Jacqueline Smith

Jacqueline Smith

Production Fees

What's a Facilitation Fee? Is it usual/acceptable to be asked to pay something like this for a producer to work on a project?

Warren Eig

No. It's just a money grab.

Jacqueline Smith

Thanks, Warren

Pat Alexander

Yeah, that's not normal. Anyone who asks for that is potentially a scammer but for sure they do not have your best interests at heart. However, if you're looking for a Line Producer to get a budget made for your film, yes you should definitely pay them a fee up front. Don't think this is that though

Jacqueline Smith

I'm a newbie at this, Pat, so what's the difference with a line Producer?

Christopher Phillips

Jacqueline Smith Line producers make sure the budget is being followed. They also do hiring for the sub departments and set safety. They get paid a fee for their services.

Jacqueline Smith

Thanks Christopher. Would a line producer ever approach a writer or would it be the other way round?

Christopher Phillips

Jacqueline Smith Line producers are like CPAs for the production. They work on budgeting and logistics and make sure the production stays on budget. The exec producer would hire a line producer to develop a budget in the pre-production stage. If you were looking to producer your own movie, then you might want to consultant with a line producer to put together a detailed budget as part of a pitch to raise financing.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg

"facilitation fee" would be absolutely a sign of sleeze. Even some "legitimate" producing companies want to charge you for the honor of having them insinuate themselves into your project just in case it goes anywhere.

Jacqueline Smith

Well, both approaches I've had have been discovered IMO to be 'Scams'. Unfortunate that both were made on this platform, leaving me apprehensive about using it regularly. No idea what Stage32 do (if anything) to prevent this kind of attempted exploitation? It is possible others have been 'scammed' already!

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Jacqueline Smith. If you ever run into a scam on here, email Technical Support (support@stage32.com) with the person’s name, their Stage 32 profile link, and screenshots of their messages. If you aren’t able to take screenshots, copy and paste their messages when you email Technical Support.

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