Once again we have been set a blogging task as an assessment. Actually I have two blogging tasks as assessments, but I probably won't begin the other one until tomorrow or Wednesday.
For my main goal of the semester I have decided to combine two of the bullet points from the list of suggested goals. They are:
a) Understanding & Respecting Boundaries between your/their role & others’ roles
b) Ability to Delegate appropriately
I've decided that this is appropriate because I feel that the two go hand-in-hand. I think it must be impossible for a director to delegate tasks appropriately if they do not understand and respect the boundaries between their own and others' roles. In fact I think the primary reason for understanding and respecting these boundaries must be so that the director can delegate appropriately, including knowing who to ask for ideas and opinions and advice. In other words, b) is impossible without a), and b) is the reason for a). If these things are not combined then a director cannot possibly get the best possible output from their collaborators, because those collaborators may be either too restricted or too stretched in their work.
Explain how you perceive yourself to be in need of development in the area you have chosen.
The reason I have chosen this goal is because I think this is an area I continue to struggle with. While I have had greater problems with professionalism in the past - most notably with punctuality and adhering to deadlines - I have in fact made good improvements in these areas and feel confident that I am continuing to slowly but steadily overcome the problem. On the other hand I have never properly addressed the issue of boundaries and delegation. I struggle to be patient on set, and sometimes this leads me to overstep the boundaries of mine and others' roles. This is particularly revealed in a bad habit of trying to help which in fact leads to me getting in other people's way. For example I may move props or pieces of set dressing or lighting and camera equipment. While this comes out of a desire to assist the team I am working with and speed the shoot along for the benefit of everyone, it can have a negative effect. I can get in people's way, or do something wrongly, and sometimes I probably make people feel as though I think they are not doing their jobs properly, which would make them feel defensive and antagonistic. It is in my nature to be proactive and to want to take part in all aspects of the work, however I suspect this is something I will have to learn to suppress in order to prevent the negative effects I just mentioned. One of the temptations I might have to be careful of in the process is that of asking other people to do the things I want to help with myself. Part of learning to delegate appropriately will also be learning when it is not my turn to delegate, as I need to respect the HODs and not interfere with them taking charge of their own departments. Wanting to do everything yourself is not considered a strength in a director, and this is an issue I struggle with.
State exactly what you want to achieve with the Goal and what it will look like once you’ve gotten there.
I want to be able to work in teams that are free of interpersonal tensions, because everybody knows their own place in the team and takes ownership of their role, and does not feel imposed upon by me overstepping my marks. I want to be able to help productions run efficiently by ensuring that tasks are delegated appropriately.
Chart a path for growth which will deliver you to that goal.
I don't think I can chart a path for growth over the entire semester, but I think I can do so over shorter periods of time such as one or two weeks, so in my weekly blog posts on this topic I will try to do this. In the blog posts I will look at the tasks that I face over the following one to two weeks and try to predict times when I may be required to face the challenge of this goal, and try to suggest in advance ways that I might be able to deal with it.
At the moment, I have just found out the script and crew that I will be working with for the upcoming TVC project. In 11 days, on the 26th of March, I am required to submit a treatment for my TVC, including a first draft shot list, casting brief, and location briefs. Between now and that time I will be having two classes with the production students to study scheduling, and one for developing the TVCs with the camera students.
A unique challenge that will arise on this project will be in working with the production students, who will be taking on the role of "producer" on this project, rather than "production manager". Since I have never worked with a producer before it will be difficult at first to understand their role, therefore I will make sure that I take some time this week to discuss this with my producer, Lisa, and ask her to explain how she sees the role of producer. We will discuss how we will collaborate and try to foresee any problems that could arise between us.
The relationship that I have always struggled with most on projects has been the relationship with the DP, and I have to say that I have never once a had a director-DP relationship that I was satisfied with. On the other side of the coin, I very much doubt that any DP has ever been satisfied with their relationship with me. For this project I will be working with Ben, who I have never worked closely with before. I think I will also try to meet with him some time this week, purely to discuss our collaboration before making a start on the creative work we will be doing together. I will prepare by writing down my thoughts on how our collaboration should work, so that when I ask Ben I can focus on listening to his thoughts, without busily trying to formulate my own. Then I can offer my own thoughts and we can find ways to compromise if there are aspects that we disagree on.
Hey Rose, friendly back up partner here. I've just read through your post and I have to say that I think your main goal/goals are a really good choice. Its very important for you to know everyones roles and the boundaries that come with them as well as being able to delegate effectively. This is important because keeping boundaries means people are taking responsibility within their disciplines, even though you get the say about whats in the frame, they must take charge in their area. Its also very important that the crew do this because it releases the stress on you and will help support you in larger projects.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that your punctuality has greatly improved, however your deadlines might still need a little work. You had the treatment all perfectly done for that deadline, however your I was there when you handed in your slightly late essay. Not telling you off just letting acknowledging. ;)
As the role of Producers is quite new to both of us, we'll have to see what it means as we go along. I believe it means having more say over the product, as well as being more of a face to the project for the client (i have to make sure that they are happy) and that I also get to contribute to the project. As I said we shall see as we go. :D
Also wanted to say that you structured this blog post really well and that you write HEAPS!! I had to take notes so I would remember what to write here!
Ciau for now! Lisa