Surviving Production: The Art of Production Management for Film and Television

by Deborah S. Patz

Surviving Production, a detailed account of setting up and managing a film production company, covers the prep, the shoot, and the wrap. It provides insider tips on setting up a production office, organizing the workspace, hiring and managing staff, script formatting, setting up a computer, filing, accounting, working with stars, handling customs and foreign locations, obtaining rights and clearances, and wrapping a production. Also included are production checklists, production schedules, and dozens of production forms.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 1997

About the author

Deb Patz has been a filmmaker on award-winning productions since the mid-1980s, primarily as a production manager and coordinator, and then as production executive and finally as a business affairs analyst. She has worked with Lucasfilm, IMAX, MCA/Universal, Alliance/Atlantis, Nelvana, BBC, CBC, the Disney Channel, and the list goes on.

Based on her experiences, she wrote her first book on production coordination (published in 1997) and followed up by writing production management books (published in 2002, 2010 & 2025) and a book for teen filmmakers (in 2017). Her books are available around the world and in 3 languages.

She currently lives with her family and a stubborn but adorable westie-dog in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Reviews

[Mark Heiliger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's essentially a book about different forms and the various ways of filing them. It makes me appreciate the role of production coordinators, that's for sure.