Working to a Brief

Timescales

• Determines production achievability in terms of timescale and budget
• Keeps the client and team informed of exactly what is happening at any time
• Serves as a detailed summary of the entire production process
• Helps to determine crew and format requirements
• Acts as a reminder list so that nothing is forgotten

Whatever the circumstances, projects generally need to have a definite end point. Whether you're working in television, multimedia or graphic design, the commissioner / client needs to be able to produce a product to a certain specification for a specific time in order to make money and survive. However, it is sometimes difficult to allocate a set time for the creative process without it being too much of a constraint.

Obviously the creative process is the one that's always more difficult for people to establish, but it's crucial that people do. In the design industries people keep that open-ended far too often. Grant Campbell

What should a schedule contain?

• Detailed information about what is going on throughout the whole production process
• Detailed information about roles and responsibilities for the duration
• Indication of the various project sign off stages

What else should a schedule take into consideration?

• It should remain consistent with agreed start and end dates and allow for testing
• Additional time must always be included to provide leeway for the unexpected
• If a project is budgeted on a very tight timescale then problems may arise further down the line with possible over-running

The production phase
Once a production is underway it is important to keep accurate records and ensure that the following occurs:

• Monitor and record all the time spent on the project
• Ensure good communication between the client and producer and ensure the client is updated at every phase
• Notify the client of sign off stages and when the cut off points for any changes are reached
• Clients may change their minds during a project but they should be informed that this may well affect the overall timescale and can produce knock on effects in terms of budget and delivery dates
• All companies work differently and the flexibility of a project's timescale depends on the relationship that you have with a client or broadcaster
• With any project, both the producer and the client's reputations are at stake, so it is important to ensure that even if the timescale is tight, the quality of the end product will not suffer

The schedule is normally put together in a firm sense once we have a commission, so all we do at the brief stage is make sure that we can do it in a broad brush strokes way. Once you have a commission you start scheduling exactly who is needed and it's normally the production manager working with the executive producer and liaising with the channel at the same time because obviously we need to agree any staffing with them and keep to budget. David Flynn

• If a project runs into difficulties along the way that have not been accounted for negotiation may be required
• Delays may be circumstantial and not the fault of the client or the producer, so circumstances dictate who should bear any additional expenses

Making the most of your time

A well-constructed schedule makes the most effective use of your time. It is then possible to be flexible within that. If you have organised an exterior shoot on a particular day and it is raining, alternatives should have been scheduled in so that days can be swapped without losing valuable production time and wasting money.

In broadcast television, companies such as Endemol may be working to the deadlines of commissioning editors and they have to plan and assess carefully whether programme production is realistically possible within the allocated timescale. Format shows are sometimes easier to schedule because they follow the same pattern as those previously produced, so experience can play a huge part in allocating time.

Will there always be a written schedule?

There are occasions when there may not be a written schedule, such as when working to immediate deadlines. Graphics can be required for organisations such as GMTV at extremely short notice so the brief will be verbal and the production process will begin immediately in order to meet the transmission deadline. Rendering or play out time must also be taken into consideration when planning a timescale, as should other equipment requirements.
In magazine publishing (www.futurenet.co.uk) deadlines are everything and there is no leeway at all or the end product will not be on the shelves by the target date. There isn't always a written schedule but everybody is aware of time constraints and their own responsibilities. Time needs to be allocated and managed effectively as it can make the difference between the success or failure of any project.

We have about three and a half weeks to produce a magazine from beginning to end and that's all the shooting, all the photography, writing, designing, sending it, creating it, making sure we're all happy with it, getting it to the printers. There's no leeway and if you miss the deadline, you're paying money to get the magazine done. People will come down on you really hard, so that's set in stone. We know the size of the job we have to do so we have to go out and do it. Mike Ellott