Video Producer
Video producers take a video project from brief to finished cut, managing the budget, the crew and the client along the way.
- Median salary*
- $93,600
4.3%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 1,900
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +19.1%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Video producers work across advertising, social media, corporate communications and broadcast, for a production company, an agency, a brand's in-house team or as freelancers. The closest comparison is a video editor, who shapes the footage once it exists, while a producer is responsible for everything that gets the footage made. On a small project that can be one person doing the quoting, the booking and the directing; on a larger one, a producer coordinates camera operators, editors, designers and talent.
How much do video producers earn?
The median full-time salary for a video producer is $93,600 per annum, before tax, up $19,800 since 2018.
What a producer earns depends on how they work. Agency and in-house salaries are steady and include paid leave, while freelance day rates have to cover equipment, insurance, software and the gaps between jobs. Experience in a niche, such as live events, sport or animation, tends to raise what clients will pay.
What does a video producer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Turning a client brief into a treatment, script and shot list
- Costing a project and holding the budget through to delivery
- Booking crew, locations, talent and equipment
- Running the shoot day and keeping it on schedule
- Sitting in on edits and rounds of client feedback, because the first cut rarely lands without changes
What skills do video producers need?
Employers look for project management, content creation and writing, visual design, backed by Adobe Premiere Pro fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Project management
- Content creation and writing
- Visual design
- Creative software production
Software and tools
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Adobe After Effects
- DaVinci Resolve
- Final Cut Pro
General skills
- Stakeholder management
- Time and deadline management
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 1,900 people work as video producers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 19.1% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a video producer?
Here's the path most video producers take, step by step.
- 1Study screen production, media or communications
A degree in screen production, media or communications is one route in, and about 48% of the current workforce holds one. A diploma of screen and media at TAFE takes about a year and covers camera, editing and production planning, and some producers arrive from marketing or journalism.
- 2Build a reel and get set experience
Take on student films, event coverage or social content for a small business, then cut a short reel of finished work. Time as a runner or camera assistant teaches the production routines that a course only sketches.
- 3Start in production support
Production assistant, camera assistant and editing roles are paid, entry-level ways in, and they put you near the scheduling, budgeting and client conversations that producing involves.
- 4Produce smaller projects end to end
Quote a short corporate video or social campaign, book the crew and deliver the cut yourself. This is where a producer's reputation, and the next brief, usually comes from.
Ready to apply as a video producer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a video producer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a video producer move to?
Moving into Video Editor typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $9,100 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Editor Story sense, audience understanding and knowledge of client briefs carry into editing, building on post-production craft learned on the job.Known move | +$9,100 | 65% | minimal |
| Film and Television Producer Producing, budgeting and client management carry into long-form film and television, with the move widening scope from short-form video projects.Known move | +$2,600 | 41% | reskill |
| Film and Television Director Creative leadership, story judgement and set experience carry into directing, with the move shifting from managing productions to shaping them. | −$13,000 | 82% | minimal |
| Music Producer Project management, client handling and production planning carry into music production, with audio craft developed through hands-on studio work.Known move | −$15,600 | 61% | minimal |
| Podcast Producer Storytelling and production planning carry into audio formats, with a short course covering sound recording and podcast distribution. | −$28,600 | 50% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a video producer?
The typical video producer is 36 years old; 73% are men, 70% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 36
- Median age
- 27%
- Female share
- 70%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a video producer?
The job runs in project cycles: a busy stretch of planning and shoot days, then quieter weeks of editing and revisions before the next brief lands. Producers spend much of their time on other people's timetables, juggling clients, budgets and crew availability, so it suits someone who enjoys organising a creative process as much as having ideas. Freelancers carry an extra layer of uncertainty, since the next job is often not confirmed until the current one is nearly finished.
What people like
- Getting a project over the line. A brief arrives as a few paragraphs and leaves as a finished film, and you are the one who held it together.
- Every project is different. One week is a product launch, the next a music video or a documentary short, which keeps the work from feeling repetitive.
- Working with creative people. Camera operators, editors, designers and clients all pass through a project, and those relationships often lead to the next job.
- Learning across the craft. Producers pick up editing, lighting and sound knowledge on set, so their skills keep building even when the role is mostly planning.
What people find hard
- Feedback that arrives late. A client can approve the rough cut and ask for changes after the final grade, which means rework against a deadline that has not moved.
- Long shoot days. Call times can be early and wrap late when a location is only available for one day, and the producer is usually the last to leave.
- Budgets tighter than the idea. The gap between what a client wants and what they have to spend is the producer's problem to solve.
- Lumpy income for freelancers. Work arrives in projects, so freelancers spend unpaid time pitching, quoting and chasing invoices between jobs.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ video producers?
Information Media and Telecommunications employs the largest share of video producers, followed by Arts and Recreation Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Information Media and Telecommunications
- 2Arts and Recreation Services
- 3Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 47.5% | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 12 or below | 17.3% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 14.2% | |
| Postgraduate | 11.3% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 6.5% |
Will AI replace video producers?
Video production sits in the middle of AI's reach. Editing software now handles transcription, first-pass assemblies, colour matching and social versioning, which takes some of the repetitive work out of post, and generative tools can mock up storyboards or placeholder visuals. What they don't do is run a shoot day, manage a client who has changed their mind, or judge which story is worth telling, so the producing side of the role holds up.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Shoot days and on-set coordinationDirecting crew and talent, adjusting when the weather or a location turns, and getting the shots in the can stays hands-on work.30%low
- Rough cuts and assembly editsEditing software can sync audio, cut on the dialogue and produce a first assembly from a transcript, which the producer or editor then refines.25%high
- Client briefs, revision rounds and schedulingWorking out what a client actually wants, negotiating changes and keeping a shoot calendar moving is relationship work.25%low
- Concepting, scripts and treatmentsGenerative tools can draft a script outline or visualise a treatment, but the idea still has to fit the client's audience and budget.20%moderate
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from video producer work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Film and Television Director
High skill overlap (82%), little retraining to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a video producer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a video producer earn?
Video producers earn a median of $93,600 per year before tax. What moves that figure is how you work: agency and in-house salaries are steady, while freelance income swings with client budgets and the time between projects.
How do I become a video producer?
Most producers start in a related job, such as production assistant, editor or camera operator, and move across once they can manage a budget and a client. A degree or diploma in screen production helps, but a reel of finished work is what wins the first paid brief.
Are video producers in demand?
Video producers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 19.1% over the decade to 2035. Demand follows advertising and content budgets more than any single industry, so work sits with production companies, agencies and in-house marketing teams.
Will AI replace video producers?
Parts of the job are already automated, including transcription, first-pass assembly and resizing one edit for several platforms. AI tools can also draft a script outline or mock up storyboards, but they don't run a shoot day, hold a client's confidence or decide which story is worth telling.
What can a video producer move into?
Producers move into film and television production, where budgeting and client management carry over but projects run far longer, with median pay $2,600 more. Editing is another route, building on post-production knowledge, where median pay is $9,100 more. Setting up your own production company or building a freelance client base is a common path too, and often where earnings grow.
What hours do video producers work?
Video producers average about 42 hours a week in full-time roles, and around 70% of people in the role work full time. Shoot days often run long with some evening and weekend work, so the weekly average hides a schedule that swings with each project.
Related roles
- Film and Television Producer
- Video Editor
- Music Producer
- Film and Television Director
- Podcast Producer
- Production Assistant
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