Stretch tasks R093 TA3: Work Planning and Workflow

Round 1: Quiz Blitz

1. A task that cannot start until another finishes You cannot edit footage that has not been shot.
2. A fixed checkpoint, often a client sign off Milestones mark points the project must reach.
3. contingency Contingency names a risk and what you would do instead.
4. Tasks against time Overlapping bars run in parallel. Bars that follow each other are dependencies.
5. False It has no contingency at all.
6. Post-production Post-production happens after filming or capture.
7. Pre-production Planning, research and booking all come first.
8. poster-v03-client-review.svg Numbered versions sort correctly. Never use final.
9. The chain of dependent tasks that sets the shortest project length A delay on the critical path delays the whole project.
10. An indoor alternative; A reserve date Contingency is a named plan, not optimism.
11. One copy is not a backup Versioned saves and an off site backup protect against corruption.
12. Time People's availability is usually the real constraint too.

Round 2: Quick Fire

1. • A task that cannot start until another has finished
   • An example, such as editing depending on filming
   Model answer

   A dependency is a task that cannot start until another has finished. Editing depends on filming, because you cannot edit footage that has not been shot, and filming depends on the location being booked.

2. • Contingency names a specific risk and an alternative
   • With spare time built into the plan
   Model answer

   Contingency names a specific risk, such as equipment failure, and the alternative you would use instead, such as a spare camera. It also puts spare time into the plan before the deadline; working faster is just optimism, with nothing planned.

3. • Save a new numbered version at each stage
   • Never use final, keep layered files, or back up elsewhere
   • So an earlier state can be recovered
   Model answer

   Save a new numbered version at each significant stage, such as poster-v03, and keep a backup in a second location. Numbered versions mean an earlier state can be recovered if a change goes wrong or a file is corrupted.

4. • Skipped decisions are made later, with less information
   • Work already built has to be redone
   Model answer

   Every decision skipped in pre-production still has to be made, but later, with less information and with more work already built on top of it. That work then has to be redone in post-production, costing far more time than the planning would have.

Round 3: Big Think

1. • Pre-production: brief, research, script and storyboard
   • Booking the location, people and equipment
   • Production: filming
   • Post-production: editing, sound, grading and export
   • Each dependent task waits for the one before
   • Checkpoints such as sign off of the storyboard or a rough cut
   • Spares, a reserve date and spare days
   • A Gantt chart with durations
   Model answer

   Week 1 is pre-production: agree the brief with the gym, research, write the script and draw the storyboard, then book the gym, the people and the equipment. The first checkpoint is the gym's sign off of the storyboard, because filming cannot start until the plan is approved. Week 2 is filming, which depends on the bookings, with a reserve shoot date and spare batteries and cards. Week 3 is editing, which can only start after filming, followed by sound and grading, with a rough cut sent for approval. Week 4 holds the final changes, the export and two spare days before the deadline. A Gantt chart would show each task's duration and the order.

2. • The weather could ruin the light or the day
   • An indoor alternative or a reserve date
   • Equipment could fail
   • So spares should be packed
   • A model could pull out
   • A reserve person, or flexible shots taken first
   • Files could be lost, so back them up during the day
   • Location permission, and a conclusion
   Model answer

   The biggest risk outdoors is the weather: rain or poor light could ruin the day, so the photographer should plan an indoor alternative and agree a reserve date. Equipment can fail, so spare batteries, spare memory cards and ideally a second camera should be packed. A model could pull out through illness, so a reserve contributor should be available, and the most flexible shots taken first. Files could be lost or corrupted, so images should be backed up to a second device during the day. Permission for the location must be agreed in writing beforehand. Overall, each risk needs a named plan and spare time, because hoping it goes well is not contingency.

This or That

1. No: it depends on filming You cannot edit footage that has not been shot.
2. Tasks running in parallel Bars that start where another ends show dependencies.
3. A milestone A milestone is a fixed checkpoint.
4. Post-production They come after the product has been made.
5. Production Pre-production plans it. Production builds it.
6. No: use a version number There is always a final-final-2.
7. Before it Spare time after the deadline is just being late.
8. Keep the layered file The layered file is what you edit if changes are needed.

Memory Match

• A 5 Dependency: Cannot start until another task ends
• B 4 Milestone: A fixed checkpoint, often a sign off
• C 6 Contingency: Spare time or a plan B
• D 2 Gantt chart: Bars of tasks against time
• E 1 Critical path: Dependent tasks setting the shortest length
• F 3 Version control: Numbered saves that can be recovered

Sort It

1. Production Photographing the products Capturing images is production.
2. Production Filming the scenes Filming is production.
3. Pre-production Sourcing and licensing assets Clear licences before production, not after.
4. Post-production Editing the footage Editing is post-production.
5. Post-production Exporting the final file Export comes at the end.
6. Production Writing the app's code Building the product is production.
7. Pre-production Writing the script Planning comes first.
8. Production Recording the voiceover Recording is production.
9. Pre-production Booking the location Booking is part of pre-production.
10. Pre-production Carrying out a risk assessment Risks are assessed before production.
11. Post-production Mixing the sound Mixing happens afterwards.
12. Post-production Testing the product Testing is part of post-production.