How Do I Hire a Production Coordinator?

A great production starts with hiring a professional production coordinator that can keep the records and tasks involved with the project in order so that essential duties are appropriately assigned and completed throughout the production.

The production coordinator is tasked with the role of keeping the cast and the film crew informed of their jobs and the expectations for each role on set. This individual is a multi-tasking genius that is prepared to meet the changing demands of the project while working directly under the project manager. Hiring a production coordinator is your first real chance to limit stress for the production crew and set organizational efficiencies.

Production Coordinator Qualities

Production coordinators are often tasked with multiple jobs and essential roles that can literally make or break the sanity of the rest of the production crew, therefore it’s important that they can multitask like pros, work well under pressure, and are prepared to handle changing demands that arise each day within the set.

These professionals are proficient in various areas of production and project management including:

• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Basic accounting
• Basic computer operation

Additionally, the production coordinator must be able to effectively understand and efficiently coordinate each area of the production including various roles and allocation of resources needed to get the job done.

A day in the life of the production coordinator will almost certainly include juggling multiple assignments and tasks at a given time with changing production needs consistently throwing a loop in the plan. A good production coordinator will be able to actively overcome challenges and changes on the set and continue moving forward with fast, efficient coordination of the project as it needs change.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Production Coordinator Prospect

Prior to hiring any production coordinator, you’ll want to make sure that a thorough assessment and interview is conducted. This is your time to figure out if the candidate is someone that can truly juggle all the different hats and needs of the job while maintaining composure, sanity, and sense.

Consider asking the following questions to get an understanding of how the individual may perform if hired for the role:

• What is your management style and why? You’re looking for an answer that involves teams and working together as well as leadership. You don’t want someone coming on board to “manage” or to “run” you want someone that is going to lead the way, possibly by example, and help people grow.
• What do you do when you experience conflict on the set or behind the scenes? You’re looking for an answer that involves problem-solving and strategic thinking to help the teamwork as a whole. You certainly don’t want someone answering that they get frustrated easily, can’t deal well with pressure, or otherwise find it difficult to work in areas of conflict or challenge.
• Tell me about a problem you’ve experienced in the past with your supervisor. If they say they’ve never had a problem with a supervisor and that they work together as a team to solve the conflict, you’ve found yourself a winner!
• What’s more important, the details or the overall picture? Here you’re looking for an answer that involves both, as a great production coordinator will be able to effectively handle the fine details of a project while focusing also on the overall bigger picture.

Overall, you want to know that you’re hiring a production coordinator that can deal with changing tasks, ongoing expectations, and the fine-tuning of the tiniest details without overlooking the big picture and overall expectations of the project. Of course, finding someone that can multitask like a pro, and handle the stress of a film crew and all of the varied responsibilities of a production coordinator can be tough, but not impossible!

Give Beverly Boy Productions a call for help hiring a production coordinator near you. Our team works worldwide and represents most major cities and towns nationally. We look forward to working with you!