From Development to Distribution, We Handle the Heavy Lifting
A great film starts with a story, but it gets finished because someone runs the business behind it: the rights, the money, the crew, the schedule, the paperwork and the delivery. Sunscope’s producing team manages the full life of a project so the creative team can focus on the work, from first option agreement to final delivery to distributors.
What a producer actually does
The Full Life Cycle
Producing is a different job at every stage. Here’s what we handle at each one.
1. Development
The phase where a project becomes something that can be financed.
- Rights & chain of title: Optioning books, life stories and scripts, and documenting clean ownership from day one.
- Script development: Notes, coverage and rewrites, through our own writing team.
- Breakdown, schedule & budget: Script breakdowns, shooting schedules and a top-sheet budget investors can trust.
- Packaging: Attaching a director, cast and key creatives to raise the project’s value.
- Pitch materials: Lookbooks, pitch decks, series bibles and investor documents.
- Company setup: Forming the production entity, usually a single-purpose LLC, that holds the project and its contracts.
2. Financing
A modern independent budget is usually built from several sources, not one check.
- Equity: Investor presentations, business plans and recoupment structures.
- Pre-sales: Working with sales agents to sell territories before production.
- Tax incentives: California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0 offers independent films a 35% credit on qualified spending, with an added 10% for local hire. Independent features must have a budget of at least $1 million to qualify. We also assess incentives in other states.
- Gap and soft money: Bridging the remaining shortfall with gap financing, grants and in-kind partners.
3. Pre-Production
Where the money becomes a plan.
- Hiring: Department heads, crew and payroll services.
- Casting: Casting support, talent deals and SAG-AFTRA signatory paperwork. SAG-AFTRA’s Ultra Low, Moderate Low and Low Budget agreements are set by budget level.
- Locations & permits: Scouting, location agreements, and FilmLA permits. Basic permits take 3 to 7 business days and require proof of insurance.
- Insurance: Production liability, equipment and other required coverage.
- Contracts & releases: Crew deals, location releases, and talent and minor agreements.
- Safety: Safety plans, stunt and special-effects coordination, and set protocols.
4. Production
Where the plan meets real life, every day.
- Daily oversight: Call sheets, production reports and on-set supervision.
- Cost control: Hot costs and weekly cost reports, so the budget never surprises anyone.
- Union compliance: Guild rules, meal penalties, turnaround and paperwork.
- Problem solving: Weather, locations, schedules, people. Keeping the shoot moving.
5. Post-Production
Where the film is finished and made ready to sell.
- Post schedule & budget: Editorial, sound, color, VFX and music in a realistic timeline.
- Music: Score, plus sync and master-use licenses for every song. Our music division, Lovelane Music Group, can supply cleared catalog tracks.
- Finishing: Final mix, color grade and masters for broadcast, streaming and theatrical.
- Quality control: QC passes to meet each platform’s technical specifications.
6. Delivery & Distribution
A film isn’t sold until it’s delivered. Distributors require a full legal and technical package, and missing paperwork can stall a sale.
- Legal deliverables: Talent agreements, chain of title, title report, music licenses, credits and billing block, rating certificate, and E&O (errors and omissions) insurance.
- Festival strategy: Festival selection, submissions and premiere planning.
- Sales & distribution: Sales agent relations, distributor deals, deliverables schedules and rights management.
- Marketing: Trailers, key art, social campaigns and media buys through OhYeahLive.
- Licensing: Ongoing licensing of the finished title through the Sunscope catalog.
Who does what
Producer Roles, Explained
Producer credits mean different things. Here’s how the Producers Guild of America defines the main ones, so you know which role you need.
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Producer | Leads the project from concept to delivery, including rights, financing, key hires, budget and distribution. |
| Executive Producer | Makes an essential early contribution, usually securing a significant share of the financing or the underlying rights. |
| Line Producer | Runs the budget and logistics from pre-production through wrap. Department heads report to the line producer. |
| Unit Production Manager | Manages the day-to-day physical production. On smaller shows, one person often serves as both line producer and UPM. |
| Associate Producer | Handles specific producing functions delegated by the lead producer. |
How we work with you
Ways to Engage
- Full Producing Partner: We produce the project from development through delivery.
- Line Producing: We run budget, schedule, crew and logistics for your production.
- Development & Packaging: Script, budget, pitch materials and attachments to get you financing-ready.
- Production Services: Permits, insurance, crew, equipment and studio space for productions shooting in Los Angeles.
- Delivery & Distribution Support: Deliverables, clearances, festival strategy and sales agent relations for finished films.
Producer fees are set per project and written into the production budget. Every engagement starts with a consultation and a written proposal.
Why Sunscope
One Company, Every Stage
Most producers hire out the writing, the camera, the studio, the music and the marketing. We have them in-house:
- Writing: Screenplays, rewrites and pitch materials
- Camera: Crew and gear packages
- Studio space: Sunscope Studios and Blue Screen Studios in Sherman Oaks
- Music: Licensing through Sunscope Music and Lovelane Music Group
- Marketing: Campaigns and distribution through OhYeahLive
- Licensing: A catalog for global distribution
That means fewer handoffs, tighter budgets, and one team that knows the project from first draft to final delivery. Based in Los Angeles, working nationwide and internationally.