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Getting projects out the door, and what gets in the way.

One of the many problems creative individuals and studios face is getting work out the door on time and on budget. So many seemingly tiny things can blow that out. This is the first in a series of posts covering some of them.

Saying it like it is, this is a pain in the arse! Working on any project takes discipline, but it helps to have an efficient order to things, and as Creatives most of us don’t have that in us. For me it used to be about the feel, the mood and the emotion I was in, and the expression or passion somehow manifests out of that. I have since learnt a few things, but that’s another post.

Plenty of things creep in and push timeframes out. It’s usually a pile of tiny ones. Scope creep crops up regularly, and arguably the biggest of them all is too many cooks in the kitchen.

20-50
comments to resolve on a single image
From experience, not a study
5
near-identical sunset references, attached to “just make it a nice Sunset”
From experience, not a study
1
person who should be making the final call
The whole argument, in one number

Every project I’ve run with too many cooks has ended in compromises, scope creep and, eventually, unhappy clients. It’s a huge problem and it took me years to pinpoint. I hear it comes easily to some people. What I’ve learnt from them is that naming one person with the final say on everyone’s feedback keeps a project running smoothly. That one person makes the call on sometimes 20 to 50 comments on a single image, and decides what the artists action.

Scope creep comes in from plenty of other angles, but this one is the killer every time. The reason is simple: you can’t please everyone. I think it’s because we all have different ideas of what looks great, or what looks photorealistic. A couple of mine are lighting and brickwork. If the bricks and mortar don’t line up, or the bricks look too flat, or they turn an impossible corner and clearly read like wallpaper, then it’s just another unrealistic 3D image doomed to a re-do. For someone else it’s reflections, people, plants, materials, textures, colours, whatever it is. It’s individual perception, likes and dislikes built on life experience.

All that can hold up an image or an entire project, and then along come another five sky references with “just make it a nice Sunset”. Sigh. Shoot me now! That’s guaranteed to add a few more rounds until the sunset everyone agrees on is presented, and then something else pops up that nobody agrees on.

Five sky references, one brief

Attached to the words “just make it a nice Sunset”.

Panoramic sky: heavy layered cloud lit peach and grey from below, deep blue overhead, a small bright sun low on the right.
Sunset 1
Panoramic sky: mostly clear steel-blue, with a bright glow and a band of pink cloud sitting low along the horizon.
Sunset 2
Panoramic sky: flat grey overcast with only a thin gold line of light at the horizon, close to dusk.
Sunset 3
Panoramic sky: dark sweeping cloud with warm amber breaks either side of a pale bright centre.
Sunset 4
Panoramic sky: dense pink and mauve cloud across the whole frame, with a gold slot of light at the horizon.
Sunset 5
Illustration, not real reference images. That you cannot tell them apart is the point: five of these arrive, each subtly different, and none of them is a decision.

The only answer, in all its permutations, is ONE person who works for the client making the call on behalf of the company. They whittle everyone’s comments, ideas and thoughts into a clear briefing, delete the noise and the four near-identical sunset references, and keep it all in one place. A document works. propag.io works better. From that briefing the artist works out the camera angles, time of day, architectural details, where the plants go, the framing and the lens, and captures the intent behind the image in the first draft, usually called a white card or clay draft. Once the client approves that, the images are on a positive trajectory with an easy flow into Draft 2.

Where a render actually goes

Start to finish.

  1. 01BriefOne person whittles every comment into one clear brief
  2. 02White cardAlso called a clay draft. Angles, framing, lens, intent
  3. 03Draft 2Only once the white card is approved
  4. 04FinalSigned off by the same person who has had the call all along
  5. 05DeliveredApproved files, one place, whole team
Stage names as used in the post. Every project runs the same shape, which is what makes “where is it up to?” answerable without a phone call.

The change that fixes it

Same feedback, one route through.

What arrives

ClientMarketingThe boardAccount leadSomeone’s partner5 sunset refs“Make it pop”

What the artist gets

One nominated decision-maker
No numbers claimed here. It is the argument of the post drawn out: everyone still gets a say, one person still decides.

That’s part of the discipline. Keep it together, keep it clear and easy to digest, and have one team member, only one, controlling the feedback to the artists. Gatekeeping, so to speak. Keep it congruent with the intent, keep it tidy in a central place everyone can see, or directly on the image, so it’s clear and precise with no room for scope creep or misinterpretation. The flip side: if it’s not in the comments, it’s not going in the final image. Simple and efficient. PMs get the chance to confirm and clarify the comments before they go back to the Creatives.

If it’s not in the comments, it’s not going in the final image.

That’s just a couple of the reasons project delivery slows down. It’s not rocket science. It’s finding how things can work more easily: simplifying, breaking stuff, making mistakes. Wow, that’s a post in itself. From here on in, “give yourself permission to make mistakes” sounds like the title of the next one. If you do make a mistake, own it, let the client know, and do your best to fix it for them. At least the system isn’t letting you or your clients down now. Propagio gets the ducks lined up.

Hopefully this was worthwhile, more to follow.

Cheers,
Luke