Wikidata:Property proposal/production manager
production manager[edit]
Originally proposed at Wikidata:Property proposal/Creative work
| Description | manager that is responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production; oversees production plans, controls resources, initiates production, ensures ongoing operations, monitors schedules and expenditures, and creates a detailed production schedule and budget |
|---|---|
| Represents | production manager (Q21292974) |
| Data type | Item |
| Template parameter | "директор" in ru:Шаблон:Телепередача "директор" in ru:Шаблон:Мультфильм |
| Domain | work (Q386724) |
| Allowed values | instances of human (Q5) |
| Example 1 | Whose Are the Cones in the Wood? (Q15271114)→Natan Bitman (Q15205177)[1] |
| Example 2 | The Matrix Resurrections (Q80322391)→Grant Hill (Q1543176) |
| Example 3 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Q54274)→Eric McLeod (Q24809569) |
| Example 4 | True Blood (Q186219)→Gregg Fienberg (Q5606526) |
| See also | executive producer (P1431), producer (P162) |
| Wikidata project | WikiProject Film (Q8485793) |
Motivation[edit]
A widely used position in USSR film and TV production. There is a slight nuance with the titles, because in the USSR the position was called "директор" (literally "director", means manager, sometimes specified as "director of the picture", "director of production" or "director of the film crew"), which is unrelated to director (P57), being responsible for production and finance aspects, and nothing to do with the creative side. In my estimation it was one of the main positions in USSR animation, and was listed in 95% credits of the works. I highlight this specifically, as animated works usually only specified from 5 to 10 positions in the whole credits, and the production manager was always among them.
In today's film, television, and animation, this position is also present in every professional production.
The duties of this position are identical to unit production manager (Q7247822) (DGA specific title) and I guess it's also almost identical to line producer (Q1826375) (so both of these could be aliases for this). Russian "Dictionary of modern animation terms" literally says: "...in its functions and job responsibilities, it may be similar to line producer", while enwiki states that Japan has the same practice of tying the profession to line producer: en:Line producer#Japanese media, and there it is referred to as "animation producer" or "production producer".
And regarding existing properties. director / manager (P1037) - I assume this should not be used for films or creative works, and generally a leading manager of an organization with broad responsibilities vs. a hired financial/administrative director with specific responsibilities of a particular time-limited production are not so identical positions. And there are no other property analogues for such on WD now (all producer properties are not really specific and suitable either and are already used by other infobox parameters). Solidest (talk) 04:24, 24 December 2023 (UTC)
- In addition there are analogous positions in other areas:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_manager_(theatre) probably can also be covered by this position as it is responsible for technical production and finances
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_manager_(music) not quite sure as the article describes it as rather a "live performance technical production manager" and not a generalized administrative position for musical recordings. But it may also be suitable in individual cases I guess (if it is, for example, a recording of a live concert). Solidest (talk) 16:31, 24 December 2023 (UTC)
Discussion[edit]
Support --Trade (talk) 01:22, 30 December 2023 (UTC)- Support, an important property for cinematography.--Arbnos (talk) 13:19, 11 January 2024 (UTC)
- So are we sure it is neither producer (P162) nor executive producer (P1431)? Андрей Романенко (talk) 16:19, 21 January 2024 (UTC)
- Executive Producer is a huge supervisory position that even between TV and film production has differences. Basically it has to do with full control over the project, from funding or finding the budget for the project to hiring all staff and overseeing the launch and implementation of all processes, including promotion/marketing. They are also directly related to the creative process, as they are responsible for recruiting the relevant staff, including discussion of ideas and the general direction of the show. Usually they also delegate their separate duties to producers and production managers, i.e. they have them all under their control. On TV the role of executive producer is close to creator of the show with full control over the show, while in film it is a bit freer and more often related to budget and cursory control (in some cases it was reported that people in this position had a formal presence in some projects). In Soviet productions, "директор" (production manager) did not have such extensive credentials - they were only responsible for the production and are therefore most often listed last in the credits.
- Producer - this is roughly speaking the executive's duties in certain aspects that are delegated below (which is why there are so many types of producers). It is important that producers often deal with creative staff and are directly involved in hiring them - writers, directors, etc.
- Production manager - we can conventionally say that this is also a separate type of producer, related only to the technical aspects and finances. But still, such a direct correlation probably needs to be consolidated with reliable sources. As already said the producer has control over the creative aspects (scripts, ideas), while the production manager does not. The closest position to production manager is a line producer, for which there is no separate property. Line producers have control over production managers. They are equally responsible for the finances, but the difference is that the line producer mainly does managerial work from the production office, while the production manager is closer to the shoot as they also control and organise the technical production crew and related aspects, besides the finances. The difference between them is also specified here: 1, 2 and a variety of similar articles. Line producer is a slightly more recent position, and as far as I know it did not exist in Soviet production, whereas production manager did. In modern Russian production also the line producer (линейный продюсер) is not always specified, but the production manager (директор) is listed quite often in the credits, also with a "producer".
- So I think in this context a line producer is still more correctly categorised as producer (P162) with the needed qualifier, rather than making a unified property with production manager. And it also doesn't seem right to me to specify "production manager" as a qualifier in producer (P162). Solidest (talk) 17:57, 21 January 2024 (UTC)
- @Solidest, Trade, Arbnos:
Done --Tinker Bell ★ ♥ 00:56, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
