Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Design, media, and writing / 27-2012.00

Producers and Directors

Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. Responsible for creative decisions, such as interpretation of script, choice of actors or guests, set design, sound, special effects, and choreography.

US jobs
143,120
Median wage
$90,360 a year
Job family
Design, media, and writing

Can agents do the work of producers and directors?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Design, media, and writing:

  • Task levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OSWorld-Verified includes tasks in image, slide, and document apps, and the best agent passes 90.2% of all its computer tasks. No task-level benchmark in our collection scores the quality of design or writing work.
  • Project levelNot yetOn the Remote Labor Index, which includes graphic design, video, 3D, audio, and web projects from freelance platforms, the best agent completed 15.8% of projects to a standard a client would accept. GDPval deliverables score higher (84.9% wins or ties against professionals, reported by OpenAI), but those tasks are one-shot and fully specified.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in design, media, and writing, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
  • Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
  • Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
  • Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
  • Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
  • Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
  • Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
  • Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
  • Perform management activities, such as budgeting, scheduling, planning, and marketing.
  • Consult with writers, producers, or actors about script changes or "workshop" scripts, through rehearsal with writers and actors to create final drafts.
  • Identify and approve equipment and elements required for productions, such as scenery, lights, props, costumes, choreography, and music.
  • Establish pace of programs and sequences of scenes according to time requirements and cast and set accessibility.
Other job titles for this occupation (60)

Artistic Director · Director · Executive Producer · Multimedia Producer · News Producer · Producer · Production Director · Radio Producer · Television News Producer (TV News Producer) · Television Producer (TV Producer) · Animation Director · Animation Producer · Art Framing Manager · Broadcast News Producer · Broadcast Producer · Casting Director · Commercial Director · Content Producer · Creative Director · Creative Producer · Digital Media Manager · Digital Media Producer · Digital Producer · Dramatic Director · Executive News Producer · Film Maker · Film Producer · Independent Film Maker · Independent Video Producer · Line Producer · Media Manager · Media Producer · Morning News Producer · Morning Show Newscast Producer · Motion Picture Director · Movie Producer · Moving Picture Producer · Music Video Director · Music Video Producer · News Production Supervisor · Newscast Director · Newscast Producer · On-Air Director · Podcast Producer · Production Manager · Production Stage Manager · Production Supervisor · Program Assistant · Promotions Producer · Radio Services Director · Stage Director · Stage Manager · Television Newscast Director (TV Newscast Director) · Television Program Director (TV Program Director) · Television Technical Director (TV Technical Director) · Theater Company Producer · Theater Director · TV Director (Television Director) · Video Director · Video Producer