Location manager to production designer
A location manager already meets 30% of what the production designer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.5/ 100
1 How much of what a production designer is expected to do is already part of a location manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the production designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A production designer role treats 4 of its required skills as things a location manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse a script
- analyse logistic needs
- consult with production director
- film production process
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A production designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a location manager background worth leading with.
- already held arrange permits information skills
- already held make photographic storyboards communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held make film shooting schedule management skills
- already held search for a suitable filming location information skills
- already held analyse logistic needs information skills
- already held work with the camera crew communication, collaboration and creativity
All 13 carried skills, including the 4 the production designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt designers’ work to the performance venue required
- still to learn develop design concept required
- still to learn develop the look of a production required
- still to learn provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
- optional, not held design lighting optional
- optional, not held design props optional
- optional, not held develop a specific interior design optional
- optional, not held ensure visual quality of the set optional
- optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
- optional, not held select costumes optional
- optional, not held use storyboards optional
- optional, not held attend rehearsals optional
- optional, not held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- still to learn supervise costume workers required
- still to learn create production schedules required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn conduct research on trends in design required
- still to learn estimate duration of work required
- still to learn CAD software required
- still to learn use CAD software required
- optional, not held create set models optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a production designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt designers’ work to the performance venue practise this
- 02 develop design concept practise this
- 03 develop the look of a production practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held analyse logistic needs skill
- already held consult with production director skill
- already held film production process knowledge
- already held arrange permits skill
- already held lighting techniques knowledge
- already held make film shooting schedule skill
- already held make photographic storyboards skill
- already held photography knowledge
- already held search for a suitable filming location skill
- already held work with the camera crew skill
- already held work with the director of photography skill
- already held work with the lighting crew skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
- optional, not held create set models optional
- optional, not held design lighting optional
- optional, not held design props optional
- optional, not held develop a specific interior design optional
- optional, not held ensure visual quality of the set optional
- optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
- optional, not held select costumes optional
- optional, not held use storyboards optional
- optional, not held attend rehearsals optional
- optional, not held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
13 held skills the production designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role cinematography knowledge
- not needed by the target role familiarise with personal directing styles skill
- not needed by the target role finish project within budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage consumables stock skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage location logistics skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate price skill
- not needed by the target role plan health and safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role prepare road directions skill
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role supervise site maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role work with pre-production team skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn CAD software required
Common questions about this move
Can a location manager become a production designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A location manager already covers 30% of what a production designer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 4 of which the production designer role treats as required.
What skills does a location manager need to become a production designer?
12 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt designers’ work to the performance venue.
How hard is the move from location manager to production designer?
Its learning distance is 69.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.