Software to keep me on track

Here is a list of tools i have been examining to help me stay on schedule.

• ACE PLANNER, Planning and tracking software has a 3o day trial period.
• Work Centrics, Planning and tracking software has a 30 day trial.
• Time Meter,Planning and tracking software free 30 day trial copy.
• Countdown Clock, Countdown reminder software.
• Alarm Clock Pro, Versatile reminder software.

Test Run Take Two

Creating Intro for Show Reel:

This is the second test of my new strategy.  This time the project was to create an introduction to my showreel.

Step one.  To begin I completed a compact pre-production, this included research into existing showreels and the creation of a storyboard for the intro.  I looked at a number of showreels and analysed how they are layed out, their timing and use of typography.  I came to the conclusion that many do not have a dedicated introduction, and if I included one on mine it might give me an advantage.  After consultation with my lecturer Michael Agzarian, I was advised to use an existing static design of mine and animate it.  The design was of a pair of 3D thongs positioned to create the shape of an aeroplane.  Michael suggested I break apart the plane and animate it re-forming with my name and logo imposed over the top.  From this advice I created a storyboard of the animation.

Step 2 was creating a list of tasks I needed to do to complete the intro, each task was given an estimated time.

• Model Thongs – already completed
• Texture Thongs – already completed
• Create rough animation – 2 hours
• Tweak animation – 2 hours
• Create smoke effect – 2 hours
• Set up lighting and rendering – 3 hours
• Render out layers and passes – 10-12 hours
• Composite scene – 1-2 hours

Overall the time necessary was around 22 hours, however as I could render whilst I was asleep a more accurate prediction was around 11 hours.  The deadline I set for myself was 5 days.

From this I created a schedule and a GANTT chart.

The Schedule:

GANTT Chart:

Once again I found the process to be helpful.  The process of breaking down the overall task into smaller chunks makd the project much more doable in a short time.

By creating the project piece by piece I was able to spread it over a number of days rather than cramming it into one or two.  This allowed me to work simultaneously on other assignments/projects with a lot more ease.

In this project I found the GANTT chard was slightly more helpful than the Anime Club Logo.  Some of the tasks were dependent on others.  The GANTT chart was able to visualise this, which allowed me to reschedule some tasks foreword whilst other dependant tasks had to wait.

The project did not run as smoothly as the Anime Club Logo in terms of meeting the deadline.  The client was myself, so there was no outside pressure on me to get the job done on time.  This led to me spending too long on certain tasks (rough animation, lighting and rendering, compositing).  I found myself being caught up in the tasks I enjoyed and wasting time perfecting them to a level most people would not even notice.

The finished introduction sequence.
After both test runs of my new strategy I have found it still needs some work.  The breaking down of the project into easily manageable pieces, and structuring them over a period of time has been very beneficial.  However without an outside influence keeping me on track my discipline can waver.  My next research will be into tools to keep me disciplined and help me to stay focused on keeping to my schedule.

A Test Run

Putting My Strategy Into Practice

After developing an alternate strategy I decided to put it to the test and see if it would really improve my time and project management skills. I earmarked two projects to be used as test cases, they were:

• To design a logo for the upcoming CSU Anime Club.

• To create an introduction sequence for my personal showreel.

Creating Anime Club Logo:

Step one was to do a brief pre-production, this entailed some quick research into various anime movies/TV shows especially their title sequences. As my client is an anime buff this research was quite easy. After the research I create a page and a half of thumbnail sketches which provided the building blocks for the direction and feel of the project.

Step 2 was creating an inventory of the tasks required to complete the project. Each task was given an estimated time frame. Here is the list:

1. Create rough designs, 1.5 hours
2. Show client, discuss next direction, half hour
3. Refine roughs with clients opinions in mind, 2 hours
4. Show client, discuss further refinement, half hour
5. Create the final design, 2 hours
6. Show client, discuss if there are more than one final design, half hour
7. Apply any final tweaks to design and send to client

The time frame for this project was five days, Monday to Friday. The total estimated time for the project equalled around 7.5 hours. However in terms of my workload it was not a high priority project. Therefore I scheduled it over the first three days of the week to complete it in small chunks.

The Schedule: 

The GANTT Chart: 

Thoughts on the process:

I found the process to be quite helpful. By writing down all the tasks and allocation them times I could much easier map out the project and keep it to a much tighter schedule. By only allocating small portions of time to the individual tasks I found my procrastination was limited greatly. By having meetings with my client each day I found it forced me to make full use of the time I had allocated.

I found that for a small project like this the GANTT chart was largely unnecessary. The schedule and my diary covered all the information in the GANTT chart adequately. The GANTT chart was good in that it combined my schedule and diary into one diagram, however for a project this size it was not really necessary.

I was happy with how the project progressed, the schedule ran on time. One thing I learned is to never show a client work you as a designer are not happy with, invariably they will choose the worst piece. Only show them what is good.

The Final Designs:

My Hybrid Strategy

My Hybrid Strategy:
For each project I encounter I will begin with pre-production. The size of this will depend on the size and type of project. Once this is completed I will do a basic inventory of the tasks necessary to complete that project. I will then attempt to create a rough estimation of how long the project will take and evaluate whether the project is feasible within the time frame. If it is too ambitious I will go back and re-work it until it is doable. I will try not too spend too much time on this section for small day to day projects, however for larger projects such as animations and bigger design jobs I will atttempt to do it thoroughly.

When the project is feasible I will create a production schedule for the project. This schedule will be arranged into parts depending on the length of time available and the projects importance . These will most likely be Monthly tasks, Weekly tasks, and Daily Tasks, Hourly tasks

Each schedule will become progressively more detailed as the time frame becomes smaller. For example the Monthly tasks would contain fairly general jobs, the Weekly tasks would contain more specific jobs and the Daily tasks would contain highly specific jobs.

To organise this I will use GANTT style charts and my diary/calendar to keep track of how everything is progressing. For the planning of individual days, I will leave the scheduling until the day itself. This way I can still retain some freedom and the ability to be flexible. However for each day I will still have a list of tasks, and I will be a lot stricter in my scheduling. I will be breaking the time up into hour, or two-hour blocks rather than half of a day.

Production Planning

Production Planning

Before production begins on a project it is important to go through some form of planning. Production planning is something I have often neglected in the past. This research focuses heavily on how to plan for animations, as they are generally the projects in which my lack of planning cost me the most.

‘good project management = good time management,’ (England 1999)

Pre-production:
This is the platform that you build your production on. A thorough pre-production stage can possibly save large chunks of time when it comes to production. The pre-production for an animation may include; research, script creation, basic storyboard, detailed storyboard, animatic and a rough sound edit (O’Rourke 1998).

‘Try and cover everything in the beginning, if you keep having to make changes even small, they add up and you can quickly drift off schedule,’ (England 1999).

Production planning provides a valuable insight into what the final product will look like. Pre-production also helps lay down the creative goals of the project. This is especially important because according to Kerlow (2000), once a production has started, if the creative goals are changed or modified, many negative effects can occur as a result, especially delays and extra expenses. Pre production is also important in that it sets the foundation for the next stage in the process, production estimates.

Production Estimates:
When pre-production has reached the stage where the storyboard is at a high level of detail, this is applicable to animation, a list of all tasks that need to be completed to make the animation, should be made . This is easier if the animation is broken down scene by scene and a list is created for each. Once this list has been created each task is given an estimated time frame. It is human nature to under estimate so it is a good idea to slightly over estimate (O’Rourke 1998). All the estimates are added up and a judgement can be made as to whether or not the production can be completed before the deadline. If they suggest otherwise the storyboard can be modified to cut down on production time.

‘Frequently this editing results in a better storyboard, by forcing yourself to economise, you often find more concise and effective ways to tell the same story,’(O’Rourke 1998).

Production Schedule:
This involves taking the list of tasks created in the previous stage and scheduling them into a workable timetable. The detail of the schedule is dictated by the time frame and the importance of the project, however a good idea is to break the timetable down into at least three or four different versions, hourly, daily, weekly and monthly. Breaking up time so that you constantly working on varied tasks is a good idea to stay fresh over a lengthy period of time. Another good ploy is to try and set a solid routine where you spend the same parts of the day working on similar tasks (Subotnick 2003). Keep tasks small so that the turnover is quick and fulfilling and interest is maintained. Keeping a schedule is important, however flexibility is also equally important. Kerlow (2000) recognises this by asserting that to deliver a project on target (under budget, before the deadline, at a quality you are happy with) compromise will probably be necessary.

There are various tools that can help implement your schedule. GANTT and PERT charts are two common ones. The GANTT chart is especially useful in planning tasks and monitoring progress as the project goes on. The PERT chart focuses more on the relationship between tasks and less on time.
Software can also be used to help with managing tasks. Software such as the Mac’s iCal works well in organising daily tasks, like a sophisticated diary. Microsoft Project is a program, which allows you to construct GANTT and PERT charts digitally and monitor your project in that way.

Reference List:

England, E, Finney, A 1999, ‘Managing Multimedia: Project Management for Interactive Media’, 2nd edn, Addison-Wesley, Harlow, England.

Kerlow, I 2000, ‘THE ART OF 3-D COMPUER ANIMATION AND IMAGING’, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Cambridge, USA.

O/Rourke, M 1998, ‘Principles of Three Dimensional Computer Animation’, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.

Subotnick, S 2003, ‘Animation in the Home Digital Studio Creation to Distribution’, Elsevier Science, Cambridge, USA.

Production Processes and Pipelines

Long projects, such as animations, seem to be the type of project I have the hardest time organising my time for. I am specifically researching animation production processes and methodologies to attempt to understand the best way to organise such projects. Hopefully this research will also be applicable to organising other projects such as design jobs too.

Here is a run down of my research into improved time management in the form improved production planing and organisation. This is in relation to animation type projects, however it can be easily applied to other multimedia/design work.

Kerlow (2000) suggests that when planning the production strategy for any computer animation project one should begin with an examination of a few key elements:

* What is the type of production?

* How technically complex is it?

* What resources are needed (budget, deadline, hardware, and software)?

Types of Production:
In 3D animation alone there are many different types of productions, each requiring vastly different production strategies. Here is a brief list Kerlow (2000) provides for solely 3D production projects:

* 90 minute all computer animated feature film.

* 30 minute computer animation to complement a hand drawn feature film.

* 15 minute all computer animated weekly series.

* 10 minute sequence of animated cut scenes for a computer game.

* 4 minute short film.

* 3 minutes of visual effects for a live action feature film.

* 2 minutes of low quality animation for web streaming.

There are a large variety of different types of productions for solely 3D projects.  This large variety dictates that most productions will be significantly different and will therefore require an individual production process.  Not all of the above productions are applicable to student work, however this does not alter the reality that each different student project will have different dynamics and require a somewhat individual production plan.

Technical Complexity:
The type of production affects both the technical complexity and the necessary resources.  An experimental student animation may have a relaxed schedule and need limited resources, while animation for Visual Effects in a feature film may have a tight schedule and require high technical complexity and large computer power (Kerlow 2000).

Due to the technical complexity of an animation project being driven by many factors, it is important to plan each aspect of the production in the early stages.  In an animation the technical complexity of each shot needs to understood, if sections are too complex then time needs to be allocated to learn the techniques necessary or the shot needs to be modified. Technical complexity should be balanced so that it doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the production.

Resources:
In terms of hardware and software, student resources are generally set by what the university provides, and to a smaller degree what individual students own. Monetary resources are also not as important to student productions due to the university providing the necessary hardware and software. With hardware/software and money covered in most student projects time is probably the most important resource.

The production of individual projects is driven by the type of production, the technical complexity and the resources available.  If these elements are mapped out thoroughly before the project is started then you will have a greater understanding of what needs to be done to complete the production.    Whilst individual projects will require different production strategies, there is a rough process that can be adhered to. This process is comprised of three parts, production planning, production estimates and creating a production schedule (O’Rourke 1998). These three components are vital in ensuring that the production is feasible in the set budget, deadline and technical complexity.

My next post will delve further into production planning.

Reference List:

Kerlow, I 2000, ‘THE ART OF 3-D COMPUER ANIMATION AND IMAGING’, 2nd  edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Cambridge, USA.

O/Rourke, M 1998, ‘Principles of Three Dimensional Computer Animation’, W.W. Norton & Company, New York.

Bibliography

Here I will keep an updated bibliography of all the resources I have used and are currently using.

Bibliography: 

England E, Finney A. Managin Multimedia: Project Management for Interactive Media 2nd Ed. (Harlow, England.: Addison-Wesley, 1999.)

Griffin H. The Animator’s Guide to 2d Computer Animation (Oxford.:Focal Press, 2001)

Kerlow, I 2000, ‘THE ART OF 3-D COMPUER ANIMATION AND IMAGING’, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Cambridge, USA.

Meyenn A, Graham C, Thatcher K. Information Processing and Management (Milton, Queensland.: John Wiley & Sons, 2000)

O/Rourke, M. Principles of Three Dimensional Computer Animation (New York.: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998)

Ratner P. Mastering 3D Animation (Canada.:Allworth Press, 2000)

Subotnick, S 2003, ‘Animation in the Home Digital Studio Creation to Distribution’, Elsevier Science, Cambridge, USA.

Watkins A. 3D ANIMATION: From models to Movies (Rockland,Ma.: Charles River Media, 2001)

Hello world!

Hey all,

This is Jayden Farrell’s MPI305-2006 blog. This blog, as the title suggests will be focused on the study of work and working methodologies. In particular I will be researching time management tools, specifically but not limited to those useful to animation and special effects.

As I research varying time management tools and striges I will attempt to employ them to my own working methodology. Throughout the semester I will evaluate which methods work best for me, and hopefully develop a much more efficient and effective working method than I currently use.

Tools I currently use:

* Watch/Clock
* Diary (sometimes)
* Calendar (often)
* Memory
* Lists (occasionally)
* Friends (often)
* Mobile Phone Reminders
* Timetables

Strategies I currently employ:

* At the beginning of each day I look at my diary or calendar and see which tasks have the closest deadline and are the most important or time consuming. I adjudicate which tasks have the highest priority and roughly schedule the day into halves or thirds. I then work through the different tasks in order of priority attempting to stick to my rough schedule. All of this is generally done in my head, occasionally I will write out a list.

Analysis of current tools/strategies:

Advantages:

* Allows me plenty of freedom in how I spend my time.
* Gives me the freedom to focus heavily on a singular task and work on it until complete.
* Does not require a rigid routine, this suits my lifestyle and gives me the freedom to accommodate unforseen events into my schedule.
* Because my method is so simple there is very little chance of me becoming distracted and wasting time in an attempt to manage my time.

Disadvantages:

* My method lacks routine.
* It is not specific enough, and lacks deadlines. This results in me spending more time than necessary on some tasks, which leaves me less time for other tasks.
* Because I break time up into such large chunks (a half or third of a day) and allow myself plenty of freedom I often put tasks off I don’t like and just work on pet projects, or things I find enjoyable.
* I work very singularly, working on a task until it is done then beginning another and working through it till it is also done. This makes it very difficult to work on multiple tasks at one time. This can pose large problems when deadlines are tight.

Summary:

My current time management strategy seems to work adequately for me when my projects are small with fairly quick turnovers. However when I have to do a project over a long period of time, or I have many projects going at once, my method doesn’t allow me to easily plan my time and work on many tasks simultaneously.