Why Every Animator Needs to Wear The Producer Hat
- Dale Hayward
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
For most of my career, I never thought of myself as a producer.
Producers were those mysterious people who played an important role, but I never quite knew exactly what they actually did.
My job was to animate — to bring characters to life frame by frame.
But as the projects got bigger, it became tough to find a producer that understood the nuisances of stop motion, so more and more I budgeted, scheduled, organized teams, hired and made sure the work got delivered.
Finally I realized, I was already doing the work of a producer! I finally admitted to myself that i was wearing the producer hat.
The more I leaned into this role, the more efficient our productions became. Not only did projects stay under budget, but our studio finally started making a profit!
Here’s the truth that many animators (and even directors) don’t realize:
If you’re not thinking like a producer, you’re leaving money on the table and risking the creativity.
When You Don’t Think Like a Producer
Budgets explode. Without clear planning, you’ll underestimate costs and end up scrambling to cover overages.
Scope creep takes over. Without clear agreements, clients can pile on changes that eat up time and energy.
Teams burn out. Without good scheduling and buffers, your crew redoes work and is working insane hours.
I’ve lived through each of these, and I don't want you to either.
Adding another hat
Becoming a producer doesn’t mean giving up your creativity.
In fact, it does the opposite.
As an artist, you understand what's needed for the creativity to thrive. So when you take control of the budget, schedule, and workflow, you get to protect it.
You can say yes to new ideas without fear of blowing the budget.
You can build schedules and budgets for proposals fast (with the right system)
You can feel confident that you have enough covered to keep the project moving.
That’s the power of putting on the producer hat, with enough tries it fits better and better.
Animation is a team sport. The more you can think like a producer, the smoother your projects will be — and the more creative freedom you’ll actually have.
That’s why Sylvie and I created our upcoming Master Stop Motion Production Workshops.
We can't wait to share the tools, strategies, and mindset shifts that turned our projects from chaos into clarity.
There are 3 dates available for the online sessions.
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