A Course in Production Lesson Five: Working with other Production Teams

August 08, 2020

We have talked about working with your direct reports. Now, let's talk about working with other Production teams!

Why work with other Production teams?
Working with other Production teams might seem like a relatively minor occurrence in the grand scheme of things, and it happens more often than you think.

SPECIAL NOTE - I meant to say in the video that for this particular lesson, I want you to think of "Production" more broadly. I am referring to other Production teams, as well as other departments in Animation whose work also never makes it to the screen like Facilities, HR, Accounting, etc.

Usually, you have one Production team (including Producer, PM, coordinators, etc) per show or line. Production teams, therefore, end up pretty defined, and depending on your studio structure, will have more or less chances to interact and collaborate with each other.

Such instances include:

Putting together teams and resources for test projects
Shared spaces (boardrooms, theatre, dailies room, etc)
Studio-wide event planning
Training new production staff
Swapping artists and/or resources (including seat moves)
Training and professional development for Production staff (Shotgun info sessions, etc)
Discussion delivery priorities if, for some reason, farm resources are stretched thin

What’s wonderful about coming together with other production teams is that you have a group of people who are dealing with more or less the same thing that you are—two, three, four heads are better than one, right?

Personally, some of the best support in problem solving I have experienced in my career has been from people on other Production teams who may have different priorities, but they have the fresh perspective on an issue that I desperately need.

To reduce work in our societal imagination merely to competition, and to the act of beating the competition, is to condemn our societies, our communities and our individual lives to imaginative poverty of the very worst kind. In the real world it is also an isolating approach that closes off the possibilities of cooperation and conversation across both scientific boundaries and artful borders.

- from Consolations by David Whyte

We all have the same goal
All Production teams, regardless of their show’s respective priority, should want other shows to succeed and treat them with respect.

If a studio loses a show and is unable to find homes for the people on that show, everyone else in the studio loses. You could see your friends and coworkers lose their jobs and go work for competitors, which is frankly bad for morale regardless of your feelings for the project. All shows are tied up in your studio’s reputation, which ultimately serves you and your teams. It’s work, it’s stability.

Maintain privacy
When Production teams get together, we invariably share information about whats going on with our show, our teams, etc.

While other Coordinators, etc, are often your biggest ally and resources in coming up with clever solves, remember to maintain the confidence of those who share personal information with you. Venting is one thing, outing your colleagues, for example, is quite another. You are coming together to collaborate and make the best studio you can, you are not coming together to gossip.

Lift as you rise
You might have heard this phrase “lift as you rise” tossed about as you advance in your career. Basically, it means to remember that just as people cut you breaks in your career, you would be best to do the same. Again, it is all in service of making your team, your studio, our industry, stronger as a whole. Be the PM, Producer, etc, to grant the opportunity to someone who was you a few years ago - very keen, eager to learn, talented, just needs a chance to shine.

There is room for all of us at the top, especially in an industry that is growing as quickly as this one. While some spirit of competition is healthy and to be expected in business, it does not need to be cutthroat or unkind.

Lesson Five Resources