# Line Producer Source: https://storiara.com/roles/line-producer Last updated: 2026-09-14 Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara > A line producer is responsible for the budget and logistics of a film or series from pre-production through the end of shooting. They build the budget from the script and schedule, set crew deals, choose where and how the show shoots, and supervise the UPM and all below-the-line department heads. They report to the producers and are accountable for delivering the approved plan on budget. The Producers Guild's feature code of credits describes the line producer as "the single individual who has the primary responsibility for the budget and logistics" of the production, with all below-the-line department heads reporting to them. That word "single" matters. When a scene is cut for money or a location moves to a cheaper state, it's the line producer who made the call or put it in front of the producers. ## The budget comes first Most line producing jobs start with a script and a question from the producers: what does this cost? The line producer (or their scheduler) breaks down the script, builds a stripboard, and estimates the shoot days. A 98 page indie drama might board at 24 days, averaging a bit over four pages a day. The budget is built off that day count, because almost every below-the-line line is days times rate. From there the line producer makes the decisions that move the total. Union or non-union, and which low budget tiers apply. Shooting in a state with a production incentive versus the city where the cast lives. A 5-day or 6-day week. Whether the show needs a stage or can shoot practical locations. The finished budget goes out with a [top sheet](https://storiara.com/glossary/top-sheet), a list of assumptions, and a [contingency](https://storiara.com/glossary/contingency) line, usually to financiers who will hold the line producer to it. A simple example of how one decision flows through: dropping from 24 to 22 shoot days on a show whose crew, equipment, and location costs run about $38,000 a day saves roughly $76,000 ($38,000 x 2). It also means about 4.45 pages a day instead of 4.08 (98 / 22 and 98 / 24), and the line producer has to decide with the director and 1st AD whether that pace is realistic. ## Prep: hiring the team and locking the plan Once the show is financed, the line producer hires the [UPM](https://storiara.com/roles/unit-production-manager), production accountant, production coordinator, and department heads, or approves the UPM's picks. They set the deal structure for the crew: weekly or daily rates, kit rentals, overtime rules, travel and per diem. They sign off on the location plan, the equipment and vehicle packages, insurance, and the payroll company. Prep ends with a locked schedule, a locked budget, and a first cost report that shows those two agree. The line producer runs the production meeting, where every department walks the schedule scene by scene and raises what it needs. That meeting is where a missing picture car or an unbudgeted crane on Scene 57 gets caught. ## During the shoot A line producer's day during principal photography is mostly office and phone. A typical rhythm: 1. Morning: read yesterday's production report and hot costs. Check overtime, meal penalties, and whether the day made its pages. 2. Midday: deal with whatever is breaking. A location owner raising the fee, a cast availability change, weather on an exterior week. 3. Afternoon: visit set, especially on expensive days (stunts, big background calls, night work) or when the director and 1st AD need a decision on cutting a scene. 4. Weekly: review the [cost report](https://storiara.com/glossary/cost-report) with the accountant and send it to the producers and financiers with notes on every meaningful variance. The line producer doesn't need to be on set all day. The UPM and 1st AD run the floor. But the line producer should be the first person the producers call when the cost report projects an overage, and should already have a plan for covering it: using contingency, trimming a later day, or moving money between accounts. ## Wrap After the last shoot day the line producer oversees wrap. Equipment returns, loss and damage claims, final location payments and restoration, closing out POs and deposits, and final crew payroll. They also sign off on the final cost report for the shoot, which on many shows becomes the basis for the incentive application and the completion guarantor's close. ## Line producer versus UPM versus production supervisor The PGA code sets the chain: the line producer reports to the primary producer, the production manager reports to the line producer, and the production supervisor reports to the line producer and UPM. When a show employs a separate line producer and UPM, the PGA guidelines say the co-producer credit may go to the UPM. On a $2 million indie the line producer often also serves as UPM, and a [production supervisor](https://storiara.com/roles/production-supervisor) handles the office and daily logistics. ## How line producers get there There is no qualification list for line producers. Most come from one of two tracks. Some are DGA UPMs who took on budgets and deals, which is the easier route on union shows because the line producer often also holds the UPM job. Others came up through the production office, from coordinator to production supervisor to production manager on non-union films, then line producing small features, commercials, or unscripted shows. Pay is a negotiated flat fee or weekly rate, with the prep period and wrap weeks written into the deal. If the line producer is also the DGA UPM, the DGA minimums for that UPM job apply to that part of the deal. ## Tools and paperwork The line producer lives in the budget software, the stripboard, and the cost report. They also sign or approve crew deal memos, location agreements, vendor contracts, the insurance package, and the payroll company agreement. In Storiara, the breakdown comes from the uploaded script, the schedule is built on a drag-and-drop stripboard with a cast day out of days, and the budget is split into above the line, below the line, post, and other, which suits the early "what does this cost" pass. The [line producers page](https://storiara.com/solutions/line-producers) and [Storiara for line producers](https://storiara.com/blog/storiara-for-line-producers) go into more detail. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between a producer and a line producer? The producer finds the material, the money, and the key creative team, and stays with the film through release. The line producer is hired once the project is heading into prep and is responsible for turning the script into a budget and a physical production plan, then running that plan. ### Is a line producer the same as a UPM? No. The PGA code of credits has the UPM reporting to the line producer. The line producer owns the budget and the big logistics decisions, and the UPM runs physical production day to day. On lower budget shows the same person often holds both titles. ### Is there a union for line producers? There is no union minimum for the line producer title itself. Line producers negotiate their own deals. Many are also DGA members through UPM work, and the Producers Guild of America is a trade association that publishes credit guidelines. ### When does a line producer get hired? Often before the film is fully financed. Producers hire a line producer to prepare a budget and schedule for financiers, sometimes on a flat fee, then bring them on for prep, shooting, and wrap once the money closes. ### Can a line producer get a producer credit? Yes. The PGA guidelines say a line producer may receive co-producer, producer, or executive producer credit under certain circumstances, usually negotiated in the deal. ## Sources - [Producers Guild of America: Producing Credits for Feature Films](https://producersguild.org/code-of-credits-feature-films/) - [DGA Rate Cards 2026-2027](https://www.dga.org/Contracts/Rates-2026-to-2027)