• Production managers control production expenses.accounts image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
  
  Production managers in the entertainment industry are sometimes called unit production managers, or UPMs. Their broad responsibilities involve ensuring that film, television or theater productions meet production schedule guidelines and do not go over over budget. They deal with business management, finance, and technical and human resource issues. Production managers are experienced professionals who understand all aspects of the production process. At a theater, production managers manage the activities for concert halls, theaters, arenas and nightclubs. Conversely, film and television production managers manage commercial, movie and television program productions.
  
  

Job Duties

• Production managers create shooting schedules, estimate costs and examine scripts or production ideas generated by producers and senior production staff. These managers may hire crew members and independent contractors, and they oversee assistant production managers, assistant directors and production coordinators. They report a project's progress to producers and line producers, and must also keep the production schedule and budget up to date. Production managers are often in charge of policy enforcement, ensuring that insurance, health and safety rules, copyright laws and union agreements are followed.
  
  

Skills

• A production manager needs strong communication, business management and administrative skills to perform his duties. These managers should have accounting and budget management experience, and may be required to have applied skills with budgeting software that is specific to their industry. Production managers interface with all levels of the production hierarchy and must have an in-depth understanding of the production process with multi-tasking, problem-solving and negotiation skills. Some production managers must also have technical skills with electrical elements, rigging, lighting, equipment transportation and sound.
  
  

Experience and Education

• Experience is usually required for production management jobs, and some production manager positions require a bachelor's degree. Relevant experience includes other television or film production positions such as production coordinating and assistant production management, assistant and accounting positions in production offices. Some production managers may start as runners, then progress to from third to first assistant director, floor manager or location manager. College coursework that is relevant for production management includes communications, film, television, business management and various technical elements of production such as photography, sound, camera operation, lighting and editing.
  
  

Salary

• Production manager salaries vary, as they are negotiated based on the project and experience. Some film and television production managers receive benefits packages from the Producer's Guild of America. The Producer's Guild awards benefits based on work hours that occur within a specified time frame. According to PayScale, as of July 2010, film and television production manager annual salaries range from $46,488 to $102,789, and theater production manager annual salaries range from $34,231 to $56,597 before bonuses. Education Portal states that the highest paid salaries for film and television production managers are found in Los Angeles, and the highest paid salaries for theater production managers are found in Las Vegas.