pre-pro What filmmaking credit would I get? What crew member or position would I have?

I'm interested in making a documentary feature, and don't really know what my role in its creation would be and what I would call myself or tell others I do or did do I'm regards to it. Im currently writing a synopsis for it describing what it'd be about, what type of content would be in it, and outlines of the type of characters that'd be cast to be featured in it and locations to be considered for securing or filming at for the documentary feature.

I'd hire the director and cinematographer, unless the cinematographer would be hired by the director if that's what could traditionally happen.

I'd monitor the progress as it'd be moving along, collaborate with the director regularly to monitor his or her progress in making the documentary feature creatively and daily in the hands on way he or she would do, watch edited cuts of it and footage of what's been filmed already and provide notes and consultation about what needs to be changed and what needs to be fixed, and overall monitor the progress of the documentary features completion and guide it to completion through being its main visionary and person who initiated the project as a whole.

What would I be doing while doing that? What title would I be holding? Producer? Executive producer? Filmmaker? What merits me having that title?
 
Also "Created by" if there is a creative aspect to this doc.
 
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Hey,

Thanks for responding to my thread. I hate asking questions like that publicly since even though all question are good questions, I hate seeming like a novice that is asking questions that are a little too inexperienced to answer without agitation or disinterest in doing so.

I don't know why it seems so confusing to me what the titles of the person doing the things I mentioned would be, but for some reason I believe I've seen different people doing the things I mentioned titled differently or having different associations with the project.

Sometimes the producer is titled that and described as someone who was hired to create and manage a film project by someone else, an then sometimes it's described as someone who is creating the project independently and they were the one who initiated it or something. They turned their own film idea into a film or turned a source material not from them originally into a film.

I don't want to look silly saying to someone "I'm a film producer" or "I produced this documentary feature or film" and they think I'm saying I wasn't in control over the project, or the one that initiated it, or working on an independent project that I financed and turned into a documentary feature.

Executive producer is another title I hear tossed around for certain people, and to me it's used to describe someone who was the highest authority on a project who had complete control over it, no hands on control or did no hands on work on it and was given that title for another reason, or the person who financed it. When is someone an executive producer versus a producer, either or both?

Hope to hear from you soon.
 
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You are the Producer. The Exec would make sure you stay on track and on budget. This is usually for a studio.
 
I hate asking questions like that publicly since even though all question are good questions, I hate seeming like a novice that is asking questions that are a little too inexperienced to answer without agitation or disinterest in doing so.

There is no such thing as a stupid question; the only stupid thing is not asking it in the first place.

When I started my journey into the craft of audio post production I asked many newbie questions of a number of very prominent Supervising Sound Editors and Sound Designers (several are now Oscar nominees and recipients). Being the true professionals that they are, they were patient and instructive, and, like all good teachers, they were brutally honest, poked fun at me on occasion, and were very, very supportive. Their interest in me and many others was to pass on their own knowledge and passion for the craft.

You are the producer. As you are seemingly the only producer on the project those who care will know what you did; the rest don't matter.
 
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