Week 1 - Production Manager

For the first week of content creation, in which we were tasked with making the video, we chose to focus on catfishing as we felt that there was a lot of information to be conveyed that would be more impactful using audio and visual. A member of our team revealed that she was able to use animation and so we ensured to make full use of her skills. 

As someone who does not often adopt leadership roles within groups, the role of Project Manager posed a challenge to me but did enable me to develop some key leadership skills. As I took on this role, I decided I wanted to work very closely with the team and ensure complete transparency throughout the process. I felt this would ensure that everyone was fully involved in the project and no one was left to handle big tasks alone. I made full use of the joint Google account we created to share any documents made throughout the week. This meant that even if not all members needed access to documents, they were still able to see them and track the progress of the video. 

To begin the week, I collaborated with the rest of the group to make a plan of action, ensuring the deadlines set were achievable for the whole group and that everyone had a manageable workload. We met. a few challenges when arranging specific times for meetings on the days we had planned due to our varying timetables and so in the future, I will be sure to plan exact times in advance rather than just a day. I then collaborated with the Production Designer to establish what equipment would be needed and booked it for the relevant day. 

 

The communications manager for the week was not able to meet in person due to personal circumstances and so this meant I had to be extra careful with maintaining clear communication throughout the week. The best way to do this was through a Snapchat group chat we had previously created; each day I messaged the chat to check up on how the content was developing and to offer extra help to anyone who needed it. It was in these short check-ins on the group chat that we made changes to the weekly plan, as necessary. For example, on one of the days, we had a group zoom scheduled however two members were unable to attend and through our communication over the group chat, we decided we were all on top of our workload and knew what was required of us for the rest of the week, so a meeting was not necessary. It was in making adjustments like this that I realised a project manager not only has to be organised and instructive but also considerate and adaptable. As the week progressed work was completed quickly, and everyone was happy with the developments. We had a final in-person meeting at the end of the week in order to finalise the storyboard in person so that the Production Designer had a clear plan of action and could piece the video together as efficiently as possible.

 We maintained contact through our group chat to provide support as the production designer finalised the video, resulting in a product we were all very happy with.