The stage lights are shining. The set is filled with students rushing to and fro, checking microphone volume levels and camera placement. Students who have finished their tasks chat with the nearest classmates, talking about everything and nothing. Producer Caislyn Hummel moves stands in the midst of the controlled chaos, giving feedback from the sound booth and occasionally calling for quiet on set to run through intros.

But there’s a lot that needs to happen before an episode ever hits the stage, and the producer is at the heart of it, keeping all the pre-production organized and on track.

The Pre-Production Process

A producer is in charge of many things, such as storyboarding the show or movie, scripting certain scenes that need to happen just right, and reaching out to special guests that appear on the show.