VOICES In the Trenches
You Get the Picture
Project managers learn the challenges of making a movie.
By Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and Laurence Cook, PMP
Rhonda Wilson Oshetoye, PMP, and
Laurence Cook, PMP, are practicing
partners at RLO Enterprises, Atlanta,
Georgia, USA.
MAKING A MOVIE IS A PROJECT. Yet when our
project management firm undertook a film for the
first time, we could find little information about
project management in the movie industry. Instead,
we had to discover on our own how to implement
project management methodologies in this field.
When BJG Media Productions hired us for the
indie film A Choice to Yield, our project managers
facilitated the initiation discussion with stakeholders. Once stakeholders agreed on the scope and
budget, the team began the initiation process.
Planning was a nightmare at first,
as we tried to learn the ins and outs
of moviemaking. With minimal
guidance and without historical
documents, the team struggled to
understand the depth and cost of
every task. We learned through
intense research that the closest
position to a project manager is the
line producer. Once the line producer responsibilities became clear,
planning began to roll. Planning sessions shifted to risks.
We created a risk management
plan with high-, medium- and low-
risk factors and associated costs
for each. From changing actors
to planning the use of venues, the
cost of change is a huge variable for
movies. One venue change can cost
up to US$15,000 for a three-hour shoot. The ten-
sion between the director’s vision and the reality
of managing the budget for unknowns is a serious
issue, and managing the director became the high-
est and most costly risk of the entire project.
A STRICT BUDGET FOCUS
Project plans had to be solidified before the first
scene could be shot. We broke the plan into
phases. From there, our team planned everything
from the script review to the casting call, identi-
fied resources, procured equipment and enacted a
communication plan. We planned movement from
set to set, coordinated with a caterer and signed
venue contracts.
Next, we distributed the shoot schedule and
wardrobe requirements to each actor, gaffer, cameraman, associate director and other production
support personnel.
Project execution entailed early morning pre-shoot meetings and post-shoot assessments of the
shots—including immediate lessons-learned discussions, schedule adjustments and revalidating resource
assignments. This process enabled us to manage
every aspect of filming with regard to contract agreements, set requirements and payment distribution.
The need to reshoot scenes required significant
adjustments to the schedule and budget. While we’d
expected some reshoots, we didn’t expect as many
as were required. This sent the budget spiraling, and
pushed us back to planning. To mitigate cost and
overages per scene, we made specific adjustments
for future shoots. We reduced lighting costs by
shooting night scenes during the day and simplified
makeup requirements. We also had to renegotiate a
few contracts, make backdrop construction changes
on location and modify venue-use agreements. As
with any project in execution, budget awareness
took precedence and required strict focus.
This paid off when the project was successfully
completed 2 percent under budget. In addition, our
firm has been asked to manage another movie project.
Of the many skills project managers bring to
the film industry, the most important are managing change and controlling the supporting tasks
of filming. The orchestration of multiple moving
parts requires a project manager’s ability to adapt
and overcome obstacles. In moviemaking, the
unknowns are huge and unpredictable, but the
project manager’s skills and training are a great fit
for managing the process. PM
