Project Responsibilities

// July 20th, 2009 // Project Management

Account Manager/Director gets with you (Producer/Project Manager) to get you acclamationed with a new project that just came through the company doors. New business has done their part, promises have been made, now the transition begins. You get the 30,000 foot view of the project (i.e. New product – immersive experience, you have 4 weeks and here is your team, good luck)… Now what? Doing your research comes first, learning everything you can about the project so that you are able to answer the questions you need when you conduct the initial kick-off with the team.

But there comes a point where as a producer you need understand the dynamics of the project, the team’s individual responsibilities, all inline with orchastrating a finalized and cohesive product. This product should meet the client’s expectations and most importantly not go over budget and stay on the timeline as much as possible.

A partnership needs to be established with the Creative Lead/Art Director and the Producer – I think once you have that in place, a project is on course to be produced properly. The next steps for the producer is to make sure that the vision the CD has in mind number one can be accomplished by the technical developers within the timeline set based on the budget. If you can bridge the gaps and keep everything in line you have successfully done your job. As the producer you really need to be able to answer any creative or technical question that team members internally may have at any given time during the life cycle of the project. On the flip-side, the producer should also answer any question the client or account manager may have about the project. Staying knowledgeable without micro-managing the project and project team is a fine art and balance that may take some time and experience to master, but also understanding the dynamics that make up the different teams you may be working with can affect that.

Good luck….