Working Smarter Guide: Project Management

• Sharing is caring. Create a ‘To do’ tracking document with expected time frames and share with the production team so everyone can see how the project is tracking.
• At the conclusion of any meeting clearly list what you understand the next steps to be and confirm everyone has that understanding.  If you find people in the team are not recalling the steps, or working to them, consider shifting to notating what has been agreed and sending as an email soon after the meeting.
• Organise your collaborators to work with you. Work with your director to schedule your time to both be working efficiently.
• Use a note-taking app (eg. Evernote, Google Docs/keep, Asana, Notion…) so you can easily and quickly share meeting and production notes.
• Use the skills other people have. Do you need to do that job, or can/should someone else do it?
• Me time. Keep the focus. When you need to concentrate, let others know. Be aware when others are demanding of your time and will distract you from the task at hand. You could set an auto-reply (out of office) on your email to let people know there may be a delay in replying.
• Be open and clear with your team. The more people know, the more they can help – especially if there are challenges (see below). You’re all working towards the same goal.

Many ‘problems’ are clear from the outset. Don’t dodge them – talk to your producer/production manager and director as early as possible so your concerns are understood and contingency plans can be set in place. Keep in mind that your fee only covers a certain amount of hours so anything out of your control that pushes those hours up is a potential threat to your livelihood.

Some factors that are likely to take more unplanned time include:

• Underdeveloped scripts, or scripts that are still in the process of being developed make it difficult to plan and meet deadlines. Work with the director and production manager to develop a tailored design schedule and strategy. This may mean you can commit to some aspects of the design (for the parts of the script that are more established) and keep developing the design for aspects that are less certain.
• Casting late, or challenging performer requirements (less-common fitting requirements, allergies, availability for fittings…).
• Commitment clashes – where your deadlines on one production clash with another. Work out a schedule that shows how you are going to manage the clash, and share this information early with your team.
• Script demands that are not achievable within the budget. You can help your director come to terms with what is possible, and you can make cost-effective script or design suggestions.
• An indecisive or dictatorial director, or a director who has an extensive process of exploration. Use the early steps of your design process to establish what your director’s decision-making processes are, and how you can provide information to them in a way that helps them make decisions in a time-effective way. Keep your production manager abreast of your design development so they are aware of any issues early.

• Never work from scratch.
  • When you use a piece of paper, or a computer screen think of each page as a  preset format that suits the way you like to work, eg your page can already have a title block, or can be set up as a template for processes you do often, such as props and costume lists, budgets, weekly and monthly schedules and pitch documents. Upload the templates into project management apps (see below for a list of apps) that allow you to send invoices, receipts and meeting notes from your phone, with photographs of receipts attached. Alternatively, upload documents to a USB drive or cloud-based platform (EG. Google Drive or Dropbox) for easy access on your next job.
  • Build on your draft digital costumes and props lists – set up your list properly at the beginning of the project and just keep adding and amending as the project develops without ever having to rewrite.
• File-as-you-go.
  • Set up a logical digital filing system for all of your project documents on all of your devices. Use the same filing logic for every project – a master ‘project’ folder broken up into logical subfolders.  These might be ‘departmental’ subfolders (such as for set, props, costume, production documents) or process stages (research, draft, construction, documentation). At a later stage each subfolder can be further broken down into specific ‘element’ folders such as references for each character, or venue documents. Filing this way makes it easy to find documents, share them with your team, and copy them when needed.
  • Have a basic “admin” folder so you can copy and paste a format for every new project. You will save yourself a lot of set-up time.
  • Set up a file-naming convention that works for you and use it across all files.
  • Version-manage with clear file names that include a version number and/or date. Use something like ‘design_plan_04.pdf’ instead of ‘design-final.pdf’, it’s rarely the final and you’ll end up with ‘design-final-2-updated-finalfinal.pdf’.
  • Stay on top of which is the most current file version and what has been issued to teams.  One way to do this is to have an ‘Issued’ folder where each file is dated and any outdated versions are systematically moved to a ‘superseded’ folder. You can share a link to the whole folder and know that your team is always on the same version as you.
  • Allocate an hour each week to update and backup your files. Set up an archive system for old files and projects.
  • Make sure you archive production photos from all of your devices to a single backed-up location.
• Organise your workspace.
  • Having the things you use all the time at hand will save time and energy. Always in the right place.
  • Keep a shopping list taped to the toolbox or in a list app – for tools and materials that you need to replenish.
  • Keep an itemised kit list with how much each item cost to keep track of what you use each job.
• Be ready to travel.
  Meetings can be anywhere. Set up a travelling toolkit that is always ready at hand: usb stick, soft and hard tape measures, scale ruler, drawing pad, pens/pencils, laser measure …
• Make working drawings really work.
  With the addition of a few explanatory notes or dimensions a preliminary drawing can become a reference for your team and get them underway with costing and planning. Draft designs at A4 size are very easy to copy, annotate and share.
• Design documentation ‘shorthand’ can save time.
  We are professionally and contractually obliged to provide clear, accurate and timely design documentation, but we may not be being paid to produce a ‘full’ documentation package. Understand what documentation best suits you and the design process.
  • A digital model might work better than a physical scale model
  • Collated references can stand in for costume drawings when things are moving fast
  • Adding web links to a props list can substitute for fuller props documentation
  • A hand-drawn sketched isometric with some dimensions and notes added may replace a full CAD documentation package.
  • Budget can also dictate the amount and type of documentation, for example, it may not be useful to be ultra precise in a prop drawing if the time or funds to hunt down that exact item are not there.
• Agree to outcomes from the beginning.
  Negotiate your design deliverables at the outset with the producer or production manager so that all parties are comfortable.
• Know the software.
  Be familiar with planning proformas such as Gantt Charts and spreadsheet software so you can use them efficiently to perform more complex management tasks such as scheduling and budgeting.

Recommended by APDG members. Your suggestions are welcome, fill out the contact form on the Working Smarter homepage.

• Project Management
  • Monday – task management, collaborative tool
  • Asana – task management, collaborative tool
  • Microsoft Project – large complex projects, part of Office365 subscription
  • Microsoft Planner – simpler checklist-based app, part of Office365 subscription
  • Wrike – for large teams
  • Xero – at the more expensive end but it saves a lot of time and super easy to use
  • AirTable – flexible task management, collaborative tool
• Note-Taking, Idea-Keeping, Collaborative-Dreaming-and-Scheming
  • Evernote – multi-media note-taking app that syncs across your devices
  • Apple Notes – built into iOS
  • Google Keep – Google Docs can also work
  • Milanote – uses visual boards to organise ideas and projects
  • Notion – can also be used as a collaborative online workspace for task management
  • Notability – best suited to those with a tablet and stylus (or iPad and pencil)
• Time-Keeping
  • Crew Call – time tracking for film crew
  • Toggl – time tracking app
  • Xero – at the more expensive end but it saves a lot of time and super easy to use
• Accounting
  • Wave – an account-keeping and financial management app
  • Rounded – accounting app for freelancers
  • Quickbooks – accounting app with built-in invoicing
• Cloud Storage & File Sharing
  • Google Drive – Part of a Google Account or G-Suite
  • OneDrive – Part of Microsoft365 subscription
  • iCloud – Part of an Apple account (likely need to upgrade for more storage)
  • Dropbox – standalone service, with integrations to other platforms and services
  • Box – standalone service
  • WeTransfer – sharing large files
• Security
  • 1Password – password manager that works on PC and Mac
  • LastPass – password manger
• Meeting/Schedule Coordination
  • Findtime – Microsoft Outlook
  • Doodle – free service
• Online Meeting Tools
  • Miro – online whiteboard collaboration tool
  • Google Jamboard – online whiteboard collaboration tool

Listed in no particular order. External resources and companies not endorsed by the APDG.

Tips & Tricks

• Keep track and learn. I used time tracking apps on my phone such as Toggl. These help me stay aware of how much time I’m spending on projects and can adapt behaviours for next time. Here’s some others you can try.
• Create a calendar (eg Google Calendar) at the beginning of the project; start by putting in key dates and identify early other commitments that might clash.
• Make a literal road map. Plan the day the day before so you tick off tasks that are ‘en route’ or close together.
• Time is money. Have a plan.
• Consistency makes life easier. I try to have regular scheduled meetings with a director, Monday mornings on Skype work for me. Put the meetings in your calendar
• Meetups. Set up your roadmap for when and how long you need to meet/talk with people.