Rookie Mistakes: Bringing Problems and No Solutions
If you can't bring solutions, at least be prepared with the facts about the problem.
The rookie mistake we will focus on in this video is only bringing problems and zero solutions to your team or superiors. Right off the bat I want to make clear, that when you are in a Coordinator or Manager role, part of learning your role IS being mentored on this stuff – you can’t necessarily know how to solve problems you are encountering for the first time.
In other videos in this series, I have offered the 15 minute rule, which is to try and figure something on your own for 15 minutes before asking for help. An extension of this for Production is that if you can’t bring solutions, at the bare minimum you should have facts about the problem at hand.
For example, say the problem is your FX department isn’t going to have all their shots done in time for the due date on the schedule. You might not have any solutions on how to fix this, but you can bring your boss and supervisor some key information and facts so they can help you choose a course of action. Some facts to have ready are listed on screen, including
Supporting with Facts example problem: FX team won’t hit deadline
When are the FX for this episode due?
When does the lighting team ship their delivery to client?
How many FX shots total are there in the episode in question, and how many shots are complete so far, if any?
Are there any crew vacations coming up that would impact the artist power to get the job done?
Are there any wedge tests or key areas of approval that are holding up the team?
Ex, are you waiting on final animation? How many shots are stuck in animation?
Are there difficulties with access to licenses or other technical set up issues?
Ex, perhaps there are fx rigs that have been archived and need to be recovered
Does the FX team have the reference they need?
If you don’t have any solutions to offer, another key thing in preparing facts to present the status of things is to ensure you have done your due diligence.
A harsher way to say this is don’t be a pest and ask questions that you should be able to answer yourself.
Stephen R. Covey says in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “If you want to have more freedom, more latitude in your job, be a more responsible, a more helpful, a more contributing employee."
Due diligence includes checking with your supervisor to ensure they are aware of the situation and if they have any suggestions or thoughts. Due diligence can also look like going back through meeting notes, shotgrid notes, re-watching launch recordings, workflow documentation, re-reading email threads, and double checking the schedule to ensure you have all the correct, key dates.
Due diligence = I tried to find a solution/answer/information by…
Going back through meeting notes
Reviewing shotgrid notes for action items and agreed-upon courses of action
Check statistics on relevant shotgrid pages or charts
Re-watching launch recordings
Consulting existing workflow documentation, bibles, and the schedule
Double check to ensure all your dates are correct!
Re-reading email chains
The last thing I want to say with this rookie mistake of bringing problems and no solutions is to be mindful that you are not the problem. Make sure you are communicating clearly with your teams and supervisors and thinking about what is best for the Production as a whole, not just what works for you and your particular team.
As I said in one of the early videos in A Course in Production, Production is very much a service department. It’s not about our egos or our creativity on screen. We are behind the scenes, working in a team environment doing what is best for the show, even if it's not glamorous. I offer another quote from Covey’s 7 Habits,
“Many people wait for something to happen or someone to take care of them. But people who end up with the good jobs are the proactive ones who are solutions to problems, not problems themselves, who seize initiative to do whatever is necessary, consistent with correct principles, to get the job done.”
- Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
