How to Move From Production Manager to Producer with Film Producer B.D. Gunnell

Posted on: May 01, 2025

Photo Credit: BD Gunell

By Jessica Mathis

The journey to being a film producer is as varied as the people pursuing it. Some gradually climb the ladder from production assistant, while others jump right in. B.D. Gunnell began her journey as a makeup artist, and moved from production management and line producing to producing films. She’s one of the producers of this year’s biopic film Queen of the Ring, about a female wrestler in the early days of wrestling.

There can be a fair amount of confusion in the independent film world about what the role of producer means, so I thought it would be interesting to discuss film leadership, and making the jump from production manager to producer.

Key Takeaways:

Building a strong understanding of both the creative and business sides of filmmaking—including finance and legal basics—is essential for anyone moving into producing.
Learning to delegate responsibilities and trusting your team is crucial when transitioning from hands-on roles like line producer to the broader leadership role of producer.
Successful producers maintain a high-level view of the entire production, allowing them to anticipate problems early and guide the project strategically to completion.

Learning and Adapting

Working as a makeup artist in California, Gunnell eventually found herself working on a film where the same person was the writer, director, star and editor, but no one was taking care of the business side. She stepped in and took on HR and expense tracking, which led to developing her skill set. She continued to do makeup for years, and developed the ability to solve problems and look out for cast and crew. When the strike of 2007 happened, she took a break for pregnancy, but continued working on budgets. Speaking with a producer made her realize she already did a lot of what he talked about, and was producing in some ways without realizing it.

Writers or directors who didn’t have anyone who understood the business side put together the first few projects her worked on. She essentially handled the entire production office—all the producers, all the legal, all the financial. She only made between $300 and $500 per film, but it gave her more experience and opportunities to learn. She was then hired to line produce for her third film—a film with a $240,000 budget.

Production Manager vs. Line Producer

According to Gunnell, there are a lot of expectations for cross over between line producer and production manager, but they are two different roles. A production manager manages the crew and the vendors, and makes sure everything operates smoothly and safely on set. If there are issues on set, the production manager should be the first line of defense, but then they can roll it up to the line producer or up to the producers. The line producer should be overseeing payroll, cost reports and hot costs. They should be closing calls with financiers and talking to bond companies.

A large part of line producing and production management is the advocacy for the crew, and developing relationships with them. Being the line producer can also strain relationships, because you become the one saying no to their requests. About 5 years ago, Gunnell made the decision to step out of line producing and really focus on producing, and that meant finding scripts, finding directors and shifting into building relationships with talent.

Making the Leap to Producing

Gunnell said the two biggest obstacles for putting a film together are talent and money. With many producers coming out of film school being focused on the creative side, she said learning about the business side, or making sure that’s in place, will be the most solid thing a producer can do for their career.

When she wanted to start producing, she returned to classes—this time focusing on finance. She realized money people weren’t taking her seriously because she didn’t know how to speak their language. Most producers she’s met fail to understand securities, investments, equity and how it all breaks down. Many sign agreements without fully understanding them, and get locked into agreements that put them personally at risk of losing their own assets, or being financially responsible for supplying any gaps in funding. Producers should be sure to have a great attorney to read agreements for them. If a producer is purely creative and just doesn’t get the business side of things, they need to look for a producing partner who has strengths in that area.

As a favor to a friend who had a $100,000 budget, Gunnell took on the role of producer for a small film. She was so used to being the person in the middle of it all, and one day the production manager sat down with her and said, “Hey, I love that you’re in this, and I love that you want to help and you want to help push it forward. But if you’re always there and you’re right up front with everybody, I have nobody to escalate to because you’re the end of the line, like you’re the producer. You’re literally the end of the line. There’s always those people—the “I want to talk to a manager” people, who who think that by going up the chain, they’re going to get better treatment, or a better discount, or just be heard.

Gunnell realized she needed to be able to let her department heads, and production manager in particular, do their job. That was important, because as films got bigger, she became too busy to be involved in every detail.

Gunnell is currently producing a film where she is the business producer and her partner is the creative lead. Her partner knows the story inside and out—she knows how that side of the production all holds together, but knows nothing about the business side that Gunnell handles. The line producer will likely report to her and she’ll be involved in the budget meetings, but Gunnell said one of the biggest changes from line producer/production manager to producer was learning to let go of all the responsibilities.

Learning the Difference

To outline the difference between production managers, line producers and producers, Gunnell offered an analogy from the class for line producers that she teaches:

“If you think about a production like a ship, the producer is the owner of the ship. They found the money, got the rights, procured it. Sometimes the executive producer might bring the money, but the producer has the papers and owns the ship. They then bring in the line producer as captain of the ship. That’s the person everybody reports to. People are running to the captain, asking them the ins and outs of the ship. So there’s a lot of times that the producer can sit by while the line producer is getting everything done and is only really there if if you need the support or the backup. The production manager is then like the first mate, because it really goes down like the hierarchy into unit production managers on a large enough film.

The crew should filter through the UPM first, then the production manager, who can take it to the line producer if necessary. The UPM can take care of the catering, if locations didn’t put down cones, etc. But if they need to be escalated, like the police on set or a fire, a line producer and producers are likely to get involved. With a 30,000-foot elevated view, the producer can look at the production like an ant farm. They can see when there’s a line of ants that are going to go off a hill or into a body of water long before it happens, because they can watch the direction everyone is going and redirect if necessary instead of being down in the trenches where they can’t see the big picture.”

Jessica Mathis (AKA Divinity Rose) is an award winning screenwriter/performer/producer from Louisville, Kentucky. She is the CEO of She Dreams Content Development and Production, which focuses on female forward projects in comedy, docustyle and genre entertainment.

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