A friend asked me this the other day and I thought it might make sense to spell it out a for people who maybe don't know.
In simplest terms a Unit Production Manager or U.P.M. for short is the Production Manager that oversees the production of a specific film Unit.
What does that mean? Well in layman's terms a UPM is like the Human Resources director/Office Manager/Union Negotiator/General oversight person. The UPM is also the Line Producers right hand in dealing with the entire production. The Director could be the Line Producers left hand in this analogy. More often than not the Director works with these other two positions as the head of the creative department as opposed to "working for" either of these positions. Since either the Director is also one of the Executive Producers or is directly hired by a producer above the Line Producer.
Where a UPM is in the Rankings: Technically speaking.
Executive Producer
Producer
Line Producer
Unit Production Manager
Production Coordinator
Assistant Production Office Coordinator (A.P.O.C. or "A-POCK")
Production Office Departments:
(All are below the UPM and part of the oversight, depending on the size and type of show)
Location Manager
Assistant Location Manager
Location Assistants
Location Scouts
Production Accountant
Assistant Production Accountant
Payroll Accountant
Assistant Payroll Accountant
Travel Coordinator
Production Secretary
Production Assistants (Ancillary Staff)
Production Departments:
Every Union Department Head Answers to the Unit Production Manager.
* (The Director of Photography and the 1st Assistant Director can sometimes be excluded from this hierarchy if they are direct hires from the studio or part of a Directors contract, this is more political than chain-of-command.)
Assistant Director Staff (AD STAFF)
1st AD
2nd AD
2nd 2nd (Or 3rd AD)
Set Production Assistant (AKA "PA's")
Additional PA's
Day Player PA'd
This is just a general overview in terms of a big film set's structure and where a UPM fits in. It's at the upper end of the command structure.
I saw a diagram once that said that the UPM was the head of the "Business Side" of a film like the director was the head of the "Creative side".
Wikipedia
"A unit production manager is the DGA–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non-DGA productions might call it the production manager or production supervisor. They work closely with the line producer."
Here is a link that pops up when you search Google. Its a pretty good article but it's not everything. Lots of nuance in the job, and what you actually end up doing depends on the budget and type of show your working on.
http://getinmedia.com/careers/unit-production-manager
Some of the things is this article are not 100% correct for every single project. Often on Indie Stuff the Line Producer and UPM will be the same person. The LP (Line Producer) is the person who actually controls the approval of money, they often will consult with the UPM about Labor and or costs on the show. At the end of the Day the Money is controlled by the Executive Producers, who the LP and UPM answer to. To keep those money folks at the top happy the UPM should have a pretty clear idea of what is being spent everyday, what your labor weekly and daily costs are, your projected costs. Right down to the cost of each specific shot.
While all the information is technically correct it doesn't cover everything. The best way to figure it out is to either work for a UPM or go do the UPM job on a really really indie set and keep working that way learning as you go.
Short and Sweet feel free to ask any questions in the comments.
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