Best Paranormal Movies For A Chilling Experience

To expand our knowledge about movie production, we’ve talked to Tadas Vaitmonas - a freelance producer working with movies, documentaries, commercials, and music videos. You can see his awesome portfolio by checking out his business website - nomountain.tv. So, let’s start our interview by asking Tadas how he ended up being a movie producer. Was it a love for cinema or maybe just an opportunity that came along? 

“It was an absolute lucky chance. I had just graduated from Physics and decided to take some undefined amount of time off and travel around. After vagabonding for several months in the Middle East, I ran out of money, and winter was coming. So coming back to Lithuania seemed the most logical solution to me. Once back here, I was simply looking for a job, literally, the first “real” job in my life (and even now, I always say that I haven’t had one yet). I had worked a bit in media and TV before and had some friends working in various departments at that time. So I took a chance and sent a couple of dozens of emails to various producers. One week later, I got hired as an office assistant on a feature film. That’s how it all started.”

Discovering your passion or, at least, a preferred line of work is on a lot of our bucket lists. And, see, it’s entirely possible! So, to dig deeper into this part of the movie industry, we’ve followed up with our traditional question that gives us a glimpse of a day in a professional’s life. So, what does it look like working as a producer? 

“Ooof, that’s hard to put into a frame, but let’s try...First of all, it varies depending on the kind of project: there is a massive difference from commercial to feature, to documentary, to corporate, etc. Also, the work specifics purely depend on the stage of a project at sales, pitching, prep, shoot, or wrapping. To me, the most boring one is shooting because if you’re a reasonable producer, 95% of the work is done during the prep stage. In general, a Producer is somebody who works at all of the stages: from finding partners to budgeting and pitching to crew hire and prepping, to overlooking the shoots, to wrapping up and preparing reports.”

“To me, each day and each project differs, even if I am producing only commercials. Long story short, as a Producer, I am responsible for the organizational and financial parts of the project. Most of the time, I am also partly responsible for the creative execution and reporting to clients or investors. So I have to oversee all the departments, thus I need to have at least basic knowledge of all the elements of the shoot: direction, art, casting, wardrobe and makeup, camera, lights & grip, special effects, stunts, cars, transportation, and logistics, accounting, etc. Of course, I always have people assisting me with bigger projects and covering some parts for me: Production Manager, Production Coordinator, and Production Assistants.”

Loads to know, and loads to get your head wrapped around! Sounds like a very fast-paced profession, doesn’t it? Lastly, we’ve asked Tadas for advice to those wishing to start a career in the movie industry. That is, if after reading Tadas’ description of his day didn’t scare you off with its intricacies. So, now, for a word from a professional: 

a) Choose a department: think about what you like the most. If you are not familiar with the departments, ask around.

b) Always start as an assistant or trainee, the lowest part of the chain. Thus, you don’t get big responsibilities and have a chance to observe the workflow and ethics, and make up your mind if "this is for you.”

c) Get ready to work hard long hours and always live in uncertainty.

d) Send emails to heads of departments or ask around - the industry is based on freelance professionals, so the job market is very dynamic. As a result, there is always a need for smart, motivated people with good common sense.

e) There are programs run by Production unions for those who want to start but don’t know how - check those out; there’s probably one in your area.

We thank Tadas for giving us some of his time and sharing such great insights about working in this industry. Hopefully, you’ve learned something new, and your aspirations of becoming a part of movies are even stronger after reading this interview. But, for now, scroll down below and check out the rest of the paranormal movies to watch!