A good Production Manager will always surround him/herself with Experts. I remember once trying to order some film stock for a Training film. We had Studio Interiors, Exterior locations, both day and night scenes. I wanted to impress the Producer so i obtained the Kodak Stock Guide and studiously pored over all the confusing numbers. I phoned Hugh Whittaker, convinced I had all the correct facts. “Hello, Mr Whittaker, Sir. I’d like to order some Super 16mm Film stock for our Rank Training Film please. I reeled off a load of quite meaningless numbers that i had learned parrot fashion.

There was a long, long pause. “Terence, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Why don’t you wait until the Director of Photography starts and let him tell you the stock he wants to use. You can then ring me back to negotiate as good a deal as possible to suit your budget.”

There is no such thing as a stupid question. If you do not know what something means ASK!!

Another little point today. If you working a  Production Manager as part of your ambition to become a Producer make sure you are nice to the people you meet on the way up as you may need the same people to be nice to you on your way back down.