The (film-)producer initiates, coordinates, supervises and controls all aspects of the production from estimating production costs, securing financing, organizing the entire production from materials to crew, to talent, script into pre-production, post-production, marketing and distribution. The film producer is the first person to initiate a film project and the last person to conclude the project whein its is in distribution. The producer must have economic as well as creative instincts and knowledge.

In a film production company the producer is the head. the structure of the company is like a normal corporation, with a CEO, board members, president, owner. In many cases the production company as an entity is named as the "producer," collectively. In smaller production companies -- which is more common in Germany today -- the Producer acts as both the head of the company and hands on producer of film projects, since the fewer films the firm is producing means less revenues to pay mulitple executives. In most German film production companies, the title of "Film Producer" is usually also film manager of every sort (including Distributor, and Production Manager). Film Produers are organized into a Film Producers Guild, FIAPF. In the US, this type of organization is the Producers Guild of America (PGA).