The Technical Director or Technical Producer (TP) is usually the most senior technical person within a single business unit of a company. This person usually possesses the highest level of competence in a specific technical field and may be recognized as an expert in that industry. The technical director provides technical direction on business decisions and in the execution of specific projects. He or she may be assigned to a single project, or may oversee a number of projects with related technologies. This position is often similar to that of chief scientist or chief engineer, but perhaps more involved in business decisions. Technical directors and chief scientists often report to the chief technology officer of the company.

Example

---

In a television production control room (PCR), the technical director has overall responsibility for the operations. Technical director is responsible for the proper working of all the equipment is in the PCR. He may also match the quality and the output of all the cameras on the studio floor using the camera control units (although the video operator usually does that). It is his or her responsibility to supervise all the other crew members working in the PCR. He also coordinates the working of whole crew and looks into any technical problem which may arise before, during or after the shooting. During a production, the technical director sits in front of a switcher and pushes buttons to select the camera and other video sources to broadcast or record, as requested by the director.

In theatre, the technical director is responsible for overseeing the construction and rigging of stage scenery. As a part of this job, the technical director creates working drawings from the scenic designer's drawings, in order to communicate construction to the scene shop.

In visual FX/animation production such as Pixar or Industrial Light and Magic, a technical director's responsibilities vary from studio to studio. Technical directors may solely add digital lights, paint, texture, character develop, animate, rig, etc, or perform a combination of these tasks.

External links

---

• Stagelink Technical Directors Directory

Management occupations | Entertainment occupations | Scenic design