I’ve always loved calendars.
My dad used to attend work conferences and bring back swag in the form of tiny, kid-sized, leather-bound calendars that I could use to keep track of important events, like swinging on my swingset at 2 p.m. or attending a friend’s birthday party at Burger King two weeks in the future (two whole weeks!).
As an adult, a significant part of my career has involved using calendars to create deadlines or adhere to them. In public relations, we often planned events, edited newsletters or wrote brochure copy for strict deadlines. In my freelance writing life, I wrote articles for editors who expected proofed and print-ready copy by a strict 5 p.m. end-of-business deadline.
And here at Contrast Creative, we take our deadlines very seriously. When we create a calendar for a client’s project that may span months, we use the posted dates as a roadmap for success.
For us as producers, the deadlines are visual representations of shared goals. With each step along the way, our clients provide us with information and feedback, and we provide them with pieces of the end product for review and consideration.
Concepting. If a client’s project requires a creative approach, the Contrast Creative team brainstorms and writes a proposal or treatment to address the client’s goal. Our deadline clock usually starts ticking with the delivery of these concepts to the client. This deadline helps us understand what works and doesn’t work with the concept itself. If we have this information, we can move forward with the next steps more fully prepared.
Scripting. If the project employs actors or employees speaking scripted language, the scripting process takes place before the production, and clients have a built-in window of time to revise and approve copy before subjects step in front of the cameras. If the project involves shooting interviews, the scripting process takes place after the production, and scripts are approved in the post-production window. Adhering to scripting deadlines helps us as producers get the language and imagery just right, long before the critical days of production.
Casting. As producers, we are not only dealing with our self-imposed schedules, the crew’s calendars and our client’s busy lives, but we also must factor in the actors’ or real-life subjects’ availability. If our clients work with us to approve casting choices in a timely manner, we can usually choose the best subjects for the shoot and book them before they accept other jobs or make other commitments.
Production and post-production. For the most part, production and post-production keep the ball in our court. We work to complete production days within a standard 10-hour timeframe, and our post-production team begins the editing process immediately afterwards. If our clients meet their deadlines for revising and approval, video delivery can stay right on track. But when things get hung up at this stage in the game, the last box on our calendar is in jeopardy. And we love to check off that last box: Video Complete!
Just remember: the production process doesn’t happen overnight… and that’s a good thing (phew!). With a series of complex moving parts to coordinate, we producers need to stay on top of each detail, and time is a detail we can’t overlook. We use each deadline to check off a box, to keep ourselves and our clients on track and to make sure the project is completed on time and to a high standard.
The “high standard” part of that equation is an important point. Sometimes people think that if only they had more time, the end product would be better. Often, this is not the case. Many people perform better when they are faced with a looming end point. We see a deadline as an opportunity that drives us all to create the best work we can that doesn’t linger, fester or end up in a kind of production limbo.
Educate your team about the importance of time management, embrace the hard work that it takes to reach each milestone, then release the results to the world. After all, if you start viewing deadlines as friendly finish lines, your projects will capture finishers’ medals that your team can proudly wear on the coveted winners podium.