For this month’s issue, we wondered what life hacks trusted production leaders and operators could share with us as we rethink our workflows in the new year. So, we called up some good friends and asked their advice. Here’s what they had to say.
For Leaders: Organization Equals Efficiency
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Luke Manwaring is the Video Director for Bethel Music, and he let us know how he keeps his filming days and post-production days running smoothly.
Luke:
“I think the more I do this, the more focused I get on preproduction, and that's something I'm talking to myself about. I'm a huge procrastinator, so I think something that I'm learning more and more and more is that the more organized you can be, it just leads to a better shoot. And it's like little things that kind of feel dumb like that or even just labeling boxes and all this stuff. You can expand that into all preproduction, right? The more you kind of nerd out on that stuff and make spreadsheets and get, like, in the weeds of a project, the better the project will likely be just because It takes away some stress on the day of.”
Luke really emphasizes trying to nail all the little details, even down to labeling rental boxes:
“Obviously, I deal with a lot of Lens Rentals orders and the key to keeping organized with Lens Rentals is when you open the box, you take the Pelican case out and inside it is the return label. The first thing you should do is put the return label on the box. Because the amount of times we got burned by not doing this because you get to the end of the shoot, especially if it's a big one, and then it's a rush, and you have 10 or 15 ops crew members helping you pack, things get lost."
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Braxton Matlock works quality control and social media for Browne Ampification while side hustling as an audio engineer for JTL Group in Kansas City. He emphasized organization as well:
Braxton:
“Over label everything. Like, don't ever just assume that you're gonna remember or anybody else is gonna know.”
For Media: Always Tell a Story
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Aaron Davis is the Creative Director at LifeMission Church in greater Kansas City, and he showed us the thread that ties his production theory together.
Aaron:
“Whether you are in post-production, whether you're editing a video, whether you're directing from the switcher, whether you're creating a graphic, create a story that portrays a message that your leadership is trying to portray. Find the vision, find the why and ask ‘How can I portray it through story?’ Because story ignites more brain activity than just portraying information, so anytime you can spark the creative side of the brain, anytime you can spark both sides of the brain, it helps store it in a long-lasting way.”
“Find the vision, find the why and ask ‘How can I portray it through story?”
—Aaron Davis, Creative Director, LifeMission Church
For Audio: Know Your "Room"
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Our friend Russel Goodwin, the Director of Operations at CV Lloyde Audiovisual in Kansas City, shared his thoughts about knowing your “room.” The word “room” means two things to an audio engineer. Obviously, it means the physical room itself—understanding the hot spots, dead spots, hang time, and trouble spots so that you can tailor your mix to sound well in as many seats as possible, but, metaphorically, “room” also means the people in the room.
Russel:
“Know your audience. Anticipate what they're looking for when you are doing a mix. If the result you deliver is vastly different from the culture, then you won't be necessarily successful. It may be perfect, but it might not be successful. The question of ‘How loud is too loud?’ has no answer because it always depends, which goes back to the culture and understanding your audience, understanding what they're expecting. If you are in a position where you would like to perhaps introduce your style to a culture, do that with grace and an attitude of servanthood, and know that it will take a very long time to do it successfully.
For Leaders: Your Most Important Resources is Time
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Justin Firesheets works as the Project Manager at Church of the Highlands in greater Birmingham, Alabama, and he shared his personal tips for managing what might be a leaders most valuable resource: time.
Justin:
“Every successful day starts the night before, because if you don't go to bed knowing what you need to do the next day, then you end up wasting time that day, trying to figure out what you should do. When I leave the office at the end of the day, I should already know what things are gonna take up my time tomorrow morning so that I can plan accordingly.”
And he shared the specifics of using a calendar for more than just events.
“If you don't have an effective calendar, you're in trouble. I will set aside a 30 minute window on my calendar that I'm gonna dedicate to specific tasks because otherwise it's really easy if there's not a sense of urgency things to keep getting pushed off at the expense of other things that to seem more pressing.”
