• and there are three broad categories along the vertical axis:

-      New Tasks

-      Continuing Tasks

-      Completed Task

• Underline a deadline and underscore or put into bold the name of the person handling each action/responsibility.
• The value of the Status Report is:

(a) People reporting to the producer (you) have a framework that encompasses your expectations of their jobs;

(b) Staffers reporting to you can exhibit initiative in exploring what their job involves (pro-active, not just reactive);

(c) the format highlights the name of the person responsible - the "neck in noose" (people inevitably scan the document quickly to see what they are responsible for);

 (d) Deadlines are be specified wherever possible; and

 (e) Some people (not everyone, fortunately) find that moving an item into the "completed" category is as good as sex.

Dealing with Crisis

Bruises are good teachers

• Over time, you will be able to anticipate where difficulties will occur with the kinds of projects you are producing.
• In general, you can expect things to get hairy
  • during shoots (when there is greatest velocity of events)
  • with talent (the prima donna syndrome, and this is as true – or more true -- of non-professionals as professionals),
  • at key milestones or approval points.
• Whenever you go over budget, there will be a crisis.
• The likelihood of a crisis rises in direct proportion (or a multiple of) to your distance from the resources that would be needed to prevent it.
• The severity of a crisis is determined by the cost it imposes on the production – usually in time which quickly translates to money.

Move quickly

• It is often enough for the producer simply to identify the problem and label it. Shining a light on a tricky, problematic or difficult issue goes a long way toward getting it solved.
• Try to find a neutral time and place "to talk" with those involved. It is sometimes, but not always, a good idea to get everyone involved in a dispute into the same room.
• Try to separate "fact" (this is what I observe) from "interpretation" (this is what it makes me think).
• Often, especially during shoots, the problem is caused by changes in circumstances, or unanticipated exigencies (the guy with the leaf blower outside the window where you’re shooting the love scene. Here, the producer must become a diplomat (with a handful of cash at the ready).

Firing people

• It is not fair to fire someone if you have never given them a specific job definition. But, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ever do it, or won’t do it, or that it is never the right thing to do. After all, life isn’t fair. Just don’t add unnecessarily to the unfairness bank. You already know about karma.
• Build a record of problems you have encountered.
• Firing is often "counseling" a person out of job that is wrong for them, and, if it’s wrong for them, it’s wrong for the production.
• Move quickly once you know that the person needs to go. Don't keep someone around once they know they are leaving, or once you know they need to go.
• Be as generous as possible with money and benefits.
• Talk with the person about how they would like you to word the separation. Or propose how you intend to explain this action to others. Often the “perception” is more important to the person being let go than anything else.
• If you are firing someone "for cause", be fast and maybe not so nice. It is important for everyone on the project to know how you will handle inappropriate behavior and performance.  It also provides some protection from liability that may have been incurred by this behavior, although it is not an “invisible shield” from that liability.
• Many people working on a production will be freelance, and they understand that their assignments are only temporary. In those cases, it is often enough to simply let them know that their services are no longer required.

Giving & Taking “Notes”

Whether given casually or formally, a few words can become powerful levers that change what you are working on. Coming from your boss, such comments can be ironclad directives. (Change your work or else!) Coming from a colleague or a friend, observations can be helpful, inspirational,  distracting, or worse.

People proffer their opinions about your work quite regularly, without the slightest pause, thoughtful analysis, or consideration of the effect their comments might have. And most of the time this is fine because we all tend to take such casual opinions with that proverbial a grain of salt.

However in the context of production, words can become hugely powerful when they are directed toward a project that is under construction. This is especially true when the words convey requests or commands that will be difficult to achieve within the often quite limited parameters within which you are (not always reasonably) expected to accomplish great things.

Without thinking much about it, even so-called professionals will give and receive notes with casualness and imprecision. This can bring unwarranted chaos to the creative process, — a matrix of ideas, personalities, tasks and logistics that is complicated enough to navigate in the best of circumstances. Maybe sloppiness is so prevalent because there is so little consensus about what notes are and how they should work.

Origins of "notes"                                                             

The phrase “giving notes” originated in the theater. During a show’s rehearsal period, the director, cast members, or others involved in the production are able to stop the working out of a scene to offer a critique, give suggestions, ask questions or whatever. But, once the audience shows up and the house is filled, it is no longer possible to stop the show to give feedback in the moment. Instead, those who have something to say must jot down observations. When the performance has concluded and the audience has left the theater, the cast will assemble on the stage and the director, producer, choreographer, etc. will go over his or her notes on the performance that just concluded.

While we don’t know when this tradition began, it has continued because it works: the entire cast and crew are present; comments are timely and specific; actors are expected to integrate suggestions into their performance, but they must do this themselves. There is a shared sense that the entire company can work together in refining and polishing their show. Notes are about making the work better.

However, the work of producing is very different than the work of performing. In production, notes tend to come at odd moments — often when other things are going on. Notes come from above and from below. In production, notes can have significant implications on schedule and major financial impact. There are more people involved in most media productions than in theatrical ones. The organizational structure is different from one kind of production to another. As a result, the producer can easily find himself or herself in a quagmire of conflicting comments, opinions, expectations, and demands. There is pressure to move quickly and respond fast. However with a little care, the process need not be as anxiety provoking and destructive as it so often is.

Always announce that a note is a note. If you simply make an observation or suggestion, without identifying it as a serious "note" for consideration, the receiver can miss the significance of your note, or simply not realize that you are giving a note. So be conscious, alert those involved that you are offering a considered, carefully formulated comment intended to make the production better. You’re not just making idle conversation.

Good notes refer back to the deepest goals of the project. They should be based on an awareness of the intent of the overall enterprise. Good notes anticipate their impact on the production budget and people resources. It is unreasonable to ask for something that simply is not feasible, or not feasible within the schedule or available budget. Yet that often precisely what happens. It is not helpful.

Notes come in two sizes. There are “line” notes or little notes. These relate to small items, specific scenes or cuts, aspects of a performance, a camera move, lines of copy, graphics, etc. Then, there are “big” notes. These can impact the overall merit of the production. You should flag such big notes and give them at a time and place where they can best be heard and understood. “Big” notes should never be given in a large group or in times of crisis.

Now, it may be inevitable that a crisis will elicit a “big” note from someone with overall authority or a significant financial interest in the outcome of the production. Even if that is the case, the “note” should not be given in a way that would undermine the authority and position of the producer, director, or other personnel to whom the note might be directed. Find a place off set, or out of the production office, for the meeting. If you can, explain that retooling a production is a little like turning around an oil tanker — it can be done but it will take some time to execute the turn.

Notes come from two directions. They can come from "below" – that is from someone who reports to you or is on the same level. You should listen and acknowledge these notes, but you don’t necessarily have any responsibility to respond, and certainly not to act on the suggestion. Notes from “above” are an entirely different matter. These notes come from someone who has authority over the production and the expectation that you will not only listen to their comments, but that you have the obligation to consider them and respond, whether or not you feel that the comments have merit.

When you are being given notes, wherever they may originate, your first job is to hear the notes in an objective way. Don’t get defensive. In most cases, you don’t have to answer notes immediately. Simply say, “Thank you. I will get back to you.” Buy yourself the time you need to carefully consider the note from different perspectives. You may well find that the person offering the note -– usually in a rushed moment and with less analysis and background than you have —has a valid point.

Clarity of listening and responding

If you know you are entering a meeting where notes will be given, take a pad, or laptop, or iPad, or whatever you will use to write down (record) what you are told. Listen carefully. Make sure you understand what the note giver means. Ask for clarification if you’re not sure.

$        As receiver of notes, you should take care to record and/or log them (date, note, from whom)

$        If there is time, it is preferable that the note giver write out his or her notes. This lets receiver study comments in a neutral moment. But it takes time and discipline and a facility with writing clearly to deliver good notes.

$         Emailing notes before or after the meeting is good. Notes given remotely by email without any interpersonal communication are not necessarily the best approach, although that is becoming more common, especially now that digital post-production makes it easier to send a link to an online edit.

$        When you have received notes, inform the person giving them to you that you have or will be considering each of them carefully. Buy yourself a few days to evaluate, if you can.

Say "yes" as often as possible

If you want those working with you to continue offering their ideas or entrusting you with more creative responsibility, then you need to respond clearly and within a reasonable time frame. This actually becomes more important the higher you get in the food chain. If those “in the trenches” feel that their ideas are being ignored, they will cease to offer them, and, as they do, will tend to invest less of their own personal creativity into the project. You do not want that to happen. On the other hand, production is not a democratic process by which ideas with the most votes win out — you need to retain overall creative control.

If you have time and resources, try out the most promising ideas, even if your hunch is that they will not work. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised, and the note-giver always appreciates that you are taking him or her seriously.

Give credit for good ideas. People who have ownership of their ideas work harder at them.

Be clear about saying "no"

“No” can be a beautiful word even if it is difficult to say, for such a short sound.

You should be prepared to own the decision that says “no” to some option or request.

“No” can come from several different rationales: aesthetic; financial; time; experience (already tried it), or that the idea is simply not applicable to the project at hand.

When does a note become a change order?

It is not always easy to figure out when you are obliged to follow a note and make the requested change. When in doubt, try the change and, if it clearly doesn’t work,  seek out the person who gave the note to show them that it didn't work (if you are rejecting the note). Of course, if the note does work, it is an even better idea to seek out the note giver to show him/her that it did work, especially if they are in a position to provide financial support in the future.

If your boss (client, funder) makes the wrong choice and sticks with it even when given clear information about other (right) choices, then you are probably stuck. Even the most creative person can make a bad choice. Suck it up. Move on. Maybe it can be reversed later.

When possible, create a process for giving notes

In giving notes or getting notes, it is generally a good idea to create a process to synthesize all the notes into a single message or document. As mentioned above, notes can range from serious concerns to off-handed, incidental comments.  If you and your team are giving notes, discuss them and try to get everyone on same page so you can provide a single set of notes. Similarly, if you are on the receiving end,  try to manage the note-taking process by requesting that they be presented in a unified fashion or at a single meeting, so that they can be addressed at once (and contradictory notes can be discussed and vetted).

This is particularly important during the post-production phase, when it is relatively simple for several people to view an online cut and provide notes via email.  When this happens, there are often contradictory notes, or people working at cross-purposes. It is essential to resolve those contradictions before proceeding, whether it is via conference call, online meeting, or another “ real-time” interaction. In the privacy of their own thoughts, without direct exposure to other ideas, people tend to stick more stubbornly to their own position. There are times when real face-to-face communication, or some simulacra, is the only way to get things done.

The Deadlock

If you are partnering with someone and you have equal voices, then it is good to know in advance how you will handle a terminal deadlock. They way I do it is to say that if logic and passion cannot solve a dispute, the "no" prevails (if it is a go or not go situation). But watch out – this arbitrary way to end an argument can also end the project — and the partnership.

Moguls will be moguls. Because they control the money, many media executives feel they should control the creative process as well. Their power to approve or disapprove means that they get listened to more attentively than others, and that those who depend on them for financial support are less likely to disagree. This kind of power easily corrupts. That is when the process of giving notes dies. Notes have become demands.

But in enlightened media production, notes are feedback and suggestion mechanisms, not hard edicts. It is understood that in the case of all “major” notes offered (from above or below), the production’s leadership (usually a producer) will gather input from the appropriate craftspeople, creatives,  and executives. The note is thus attended to in a considered and full way. The production gets better.

By the way, this is most certainly the case vis-à-vis this course, where you have the sole responsibility of shaping your project however you wish. You should know that in grading, our concern is for thoroughness and rigor, not for what may or may not be the "best" choices.