No. 6 - The Insult of the “Creator” Job Listing

How Companies Are Devaluing Directors & Production Professionals

Imagine applying for a Creator position, only to realize it's actually a producer, director, DoP, gaffer, editor, colorist, and sound designer job—all for the salary of a mid-level marketing manager.

Welcome to the new era of production job listings.

A friend recently sent me a job posting that exemplifies everything wrong with how creative work is being positioned today. The company was looking for a Creator to "lead productions," but the role also included scouting locations, making shot lists, managing equipment, shooting, operating gimbals, color grading in DaVinci Resolve, handling client revisions, and organizing a seamless archive system.

For all of this? They were offering between $60K and $110K a year.

They expect one person to deliver the work of an entire crew, year-round, under a trendy job title that conveniently avoids calling it what it really is: a full-scale production role that should be paid accordingly.

The Disguised Race to the Bottom

This isn’t just a one-off listing. It’s a pattern I’ve seen more and more:

• Companies combining multiple specialized production roles into one, expecting the same quality output at a fraction of the cost.

• The growing assumption that directors are also DPs, editors, sound designers, colorists, and producers—because social media has blurred the lines between professional production and content creation.

• A willingness to sacrifice creative vision in exchange for an all-in-one execution machine.

What’s most frustrating is that this approach ignores the reality of how great work is actually made. Each role in a production exists for a reason—because real creative work is a collaborative process. When companies cram all of these responsibilities into a single “Creator” role, they aren’t just underpaying one person—they’re devaluing the entire industry.

Why This Hurts Everyone

This trend isn’t just bad for the individuals who take these jobs. It’s bad for everyone in the industry—freelancers, agencies, production companies, and even the brands hiring these roles. Here’s why:

• It devalues specialized roles. Instead of hiring a proper director, DP, or editor, companies assume one person can do it all—and that the quality won’t suffer.

• It forces talented professionals to undercut themselves. Skilled directors and filmmakers, desperate to stay competitive, feel pressured to accept roles that should require an entire team.

• It’s unsustainable. Burnout is inevitable when one person is expected to handle the workload of a full crew.

• It diminishes creative vision. When companies expect a “Creator” to execute everything solo, the work lacks the depth that comes from real collaboration.

What Needs to Change

Companies need to start respecting and properly compensating production professionals. If they want a full-scale commercial director, they need to be willing to pay for one. If they’re looking for a scrappy content creator, they should be upfront about that and set realistic expectations. A production job should not be disguised as something else just to fit within an arbitrary salary range.

Action

If we don’t start demanding fair pay and proper recognition, we are only accelerating the devaluation of our own industry. Accepting these unrealistic job expectations only reinforces the idea that high-quality production can be achieved without investing in the people who make it possible.