A production company owns creative and delivery. A production service company (a fixer) executes someone else's creative and isn't judged on it. A freelance director or DP brings craft and reputation but no infrastructure. A studio rents you space, sometimes with a house crew. Below all four, Japan's own below-the-line org chart doesn't map onto a Hollywood one — which is where most cross-border budget confusion actually starts.
4つの類型Four types, four different things
The Japanese market separates more sharply by function than the market in London, New York or Berlin does. Deciding which of the four you need — before you write the brief — determines whether the quotes that come back are comparable at all.
Production company
制作会社Owns creative direction, casting, crew, delivery and liability for the finished work. Bid against a treatment or concept, not a bare crew-day rate.
Production service
プロダクションサービス／フィクサーExecutes someone else's existing creative — permits, logistics, crew booking, on-set coordination. Bilingual by design, and does not expect to be judged on creative outcome.
Freelance director / DP
フリーランスComes with craft and reputation, but no infrastructure of their own — no insurance, no equipment account, no established permit relationships. Usually paired with a production service for anything beyond a minimal crew.
Studio
スタジオRents space, power and basic grip — sometimes a house crew, sometimes not. Booking is typically in Japanese; confirm ceiling height, power capacity and included crew before assuming anything.
組織図が違うThe org chart doesn't translate
Even once you've hired the right category of supplier, a second layer of mismatch shows up on set: Japanese below-the-line crews are structured differently from a US crew, and assuming a Hollywood chain of command causes real confusion over who owns schedule and budget decisions.
- Line Producer
- AD team (schedule authority)
- DP → camera + lighting
- Costume (independent dept.)
- Hair / Makeup (independent dept.)
- Producer / 制作
- 撮影 (camera) — separate
- 照明 (lighting) — separate dept.
- 録音 (sound) — separate dept.
- 美術 (art) — covers wardrobe/hair scope differently
In a US structure, the assistant director team typically sits inside the line producer's budget authority, and costume and hair/makeup run as independent departments alongside the other keys. In the Japanese structure documented by producers who work between the two industries, camera and lighting are commonly split into fully separate departments rather than one DP-led unit, and below-the-line divides into a different set of creative groupings outside camera, lighting, sound and cast. Neither structure is wrong — they simply don't overlay cleanly.
依頼先ごとのブリーフの出し方Briefing each type correctly
| Supplier | What to lead with |
|---|---|
| Production company | A treatment or creative concept — even a rough one. A bare day-rate request gets an inflated number, priced against a full-service scope they assume you want. |
| Production service | A locked or near-locked creative brief plus logistics needs. Asking for a creative opinion here typically gets a polite non-answer — it's outside their normal scope. |
| Freelancer | Confirm who is handling insurance, equipment and permits before you finalise the booking — it usually isn't the freelancer. |
| Studio | Exact ceiling height, power draw and whether a house crew is included in the room rate or billed separately. |
まとめVetting checklist, regardless of category
- Ask for transparent day-rate breakdownsWho works how many days at what rate, by role — not a single bundled number.
- Confirm rights clearance ownershipMusic, footage usage, and talent likeness rights should have a named owner in the quote, not an assumption.
- Ask about prior experience with foreign clientsA supplier who has worked with an overseas producer before already understands your approval flow and expectations — one who hasn't may cause friction that has nothing to do with skill.
- Confirm who has final sign-off authority on setGiven the org-chart mismatch above, do not assume it defaults to whoever holds that title on a US crew.