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Friday, September 15, 2017
OMG...I Had a Productive Production Meeting
OnStage Blog: Can a production meeting actually be productive? Yes, that can happen, things can run smoothly and an agenda can be followed closely. It’s a great feeling to leave the meeting with such a sense of accomplishment.
13 comments:
Joshua Blackwood
said...
I dread production meetings. These are the least productive meetings that I have ever had the privilege to attend. Ideally, in my opinion, a production meeting should fall between 30 mins to an hour. Each part of the production (lights, sound, set, costume, props) should get equal time, no more than 5-10 minutes. There should always be an agenda, that is followed. It really falls to the production manager to control the meeting and identify when something is a design matter that needs to be discussed outside of the production meeting. As the writer states, it can quickly dive into a fight, argument, or two hour meeting where 90% was the set designer and lighting designer arguing. Every person should be trained in how to hold an effective meeting and this doesn’t seem to be taught at most schools or discussed, especially as it relates to community theatre. In most instances, each person has it in their mind that their issue is the most important and most pressing that they feel the need to control or dominate the meeting. Each person should come to the meeting prepared, with any questions that they have or issues that the whole team needs to address and stay within their allotted time frame. Having personal experience with a production manager who failed at time management has given me much more insight into all this. Simple rules, Come prepared, Have an agenda, stick to the agenda, hold a separate design meeting.
This summer, production meetings were always scheduled during lunch break in a rehearsal day. That way, everyone including the stage manager could attend the meeting. It must have complicated the calculation of the stage manager's working hours but for the benefit of everyone else, it was kept that way. (And the stage management department was in charge of ordering lunch for everyone. It was almost but not really a violation of the union rules because the SM interns were not equity.) Scheduling it during lunch break was a great way to give a common purpose in the room, make discussions brief, table design discussions for later and just in general get it moving. It was most helpful because the director wanted to get back to the rehearsal on time. But it did not entirely prevent the meeting from running longer because sometimes important decisions have to be made, such as what to do when the director had to go to NY for the next day.
Interestingly, this article does not mention a production manager once. I have to wonder if there was even a production manager at these meetings that the author discusses. I was talking to alumni yesterday and we both bonded over the struggle of production meetings in the real world. Both of us worked in production management at separate theatres this summer, but not as the production manager at first. Towards the end of the season, I was the PM on one of our shows and she had taken over as PM on some of her theatre’s shows. We both sat and suffered through poorly-run meetings earlier in the summer and wanted to change how meetings were run. We bonded over the fact that at CMU, we are taught how to run effective meetings and not let it turn into a two-hour design meeting. I would encourage other production team members to speak up if you are at a meeting like this. Even though it may not be your meeting, it is your time.
I agree with Ben, I find it very odd that the article doesn't even mention the production manager once. In the 'real world' I too have sat through ridiculously long production meetings that turned more into a design meeting, and appreciate very much the short and concise method that is being taught here. Finding ways to keep to an agenda, and publishing it before hand so everyone knows what is expected to be is very helpful to keeping to the short timeframe. The Production Manager is both the facilitator and the moderator of the production meetings, and should use their time ensuring that the meeting is addressing the needs of the production and the staff present. Production team members should also prepare themselves based off of the agenda, and be sure to open lines of communication to the production manager before the meeting agenda has been sent out to ensure topics of importance are included. Of course things pop up, but planning ahead serves everyone.
I wholeheartedly agree with Ben and Madeleine on the absence of a production manager and how that is a problem on its own, but honestly what I most noticed and was frustrated by was that this article really just pointed out this guy is liking his meetings now. It didn't actually address how to fix meetings that are going badly or what really causes them to go south. And I think a lot of that is management and how a meeting is run. Because as said above, management makes all the difference. But if you're going to write an article about meetings needing to be better, then how make them better needs to be addressed. It was like he just wanted the world to know that he had found a good meeting and wanted us to all know he was enjoying it. Great production meetings come from everyone willing to collaborate, and keeping it to group topics, and willingness to listen, and the list goes on and on. There are a lot of reasons a meeting goes well. Most of them due to great leaders who help al those things to happen and to inspire people. That needs to be acknowledged in an article like this and its disappointing it was just skipped.
I think this article brings up a great topic about how production meetings really can be helpful, but I don't think the author does a great job when discussing how one might make a production meeting effective. The author talks a lot about their frustrations when it comes to poorly run production meetings. They talk about how they only say what is relevant to the group, which is a good practice, but I feel as though this article was their opportunity to complain about all off the things that could go wrong. It is when I her stories like these that I am, for the millionth time grateful for the education I am receiving here at CMU. Here, we learn how to avoid all of these things and how to keep everyone effective and herd. This summer, I walked into my first production meeting and herd the PM go "so does anyone have anything they want to say?" which lead to a 2 hour meeting where I left with more questions then I had gone into the meeting with. I think the author brings up a good point about how a good meeting can really affect the attitude of the people involved.
I have been to a handful of production meetings in and out of CMU, and I have to say, we’re usually pretty good at it. I have only found myself feeling irrelevant to a conversation going on in the meeting once or twice, and at the end of those conversations I still felt like I know what has been decided and exactly how it’s going to affect my department or not. And I do have to say that being one of the departments applauded by the production manager for productivity and timeliness and quality of work is one of the best feelings to leave the meeting with because it just motivates you to keep it up and do even better for next week. I’m very excited to begin working on the opera next week because everyone really seems to be on the same page and has no problems reaching out to one another with questions and potential issues – in the meetings or not.
As a maker, I have never really been a part of production meetings, but I have always been interested in how such a divergent group with so many different goals to achieve can ever have a productive and creative discussion that actually ends on time. The main problem the article seems to describe is forcing design elements that are falling behind to have their discussions about their particular element in the meeting because they don't seem to be fulfilling that obligation on their own time. I'm unfamiliar with the mechanics of how production meetings are set up but hard design deadlines, outlining what is expected to be discussed at the next meeting, and leadership of the meeting that doesn't allow meandering conversations to go on for too long seem like promising starting points. Having a producer who knows how to run a meeting properly and productively I'm sure makes all the difference in the world.
The dreaded production meeting... something that we usually end up saying, couldn’t that have been an email? There is a balance to be found between giving too much information and asking every little question that doesn’t pertain to anyone, or not reporting and just saying nothing for the group. Things should be brought up that will affect another member in the group or possibly affect other decisions down the road. The sound department won’t care if the actor will be in all red but the set and lighting designers will want to know and possibly have a voice in that decision, depending on the theatre. Not many people care what types of shoes people are waring but the TD should know that information to make the proper adjustments and decisions. The danger of not giving any information is that it then turns into 10 other meetings all compartmentalizing the information. It’s a hard balance to find but must be found for each person and each theatres needs.
Based on the few production meetings at CMU I have observed, we tend to have fairly productive and quick production meetings. Our meetings average around 10 minutes, the agenda is followed religiously, and it never delves into a “two hour set design discussion”. However, we lean heavily on outside design meetings. Speaking about this with other students reveals a jungle gym of side meetings with almost every other department. We also tend to rush past topics that may have cause for more discussion (Such as expanded metal grating on elevated walkable surfaces). All things considered, we could do worse. The only meeting that could stand to be improved upon is the 4:30 meeting of the technical directors. This daily ten minute meeting has a clear start but no clear ending. It is rife with side bar conversations. I also often leave the meeting confused as to what I will be doing that night and have to ask the project manager each night about where I will be working (since the board is currently inaccurate…). It would be so much better if we all just paid attention to the project manager while they talk and had a clear dismissal at the end.
I, too, noticed the production manager was not mentioned (or blamed, to my shock) in the description of how dreadful his previous production meetings are. Here we are taught that sending out emails first to ask people is there anything that they want to discuss, and then the PM will put together an agenda and distribute beforehand so people know what to expect. Sometimes the PM will function as a filter to questions that do not pertain to multiple departments. When running the meeting, the PM will try to stick to the agenda first, and then ask for other concerns and questions. Plus, (at CMU) there’s a 30-minute cap to the meeting so even someone brings up something that is not for the group, it won’t be a dreadfully long time to sit through. On the other hand, production meetings are always turned into design meetings because people – and this include every single person – may have misunderstanding of what production meetings are for. I’ve seen directors call something a production meeting when it’s really a design meeting; or production meeting gets too much in the technicality of props or scenery; etc.
We talk a lot about running production meetings here. The way in which I have learned to run a production meeting is very different from any that I have attended or run outside of the School of Drama. I know that there are people who do not like to go around to each department in a production meeting. And they’re probably right. I like getting updates from each department, especially if that department is further behind whichever department I happen to be working for. The problem with that is it can turn to a meeting where one department takes over. I would be interested in running meetings where each department is on the agenda, even if the only item for each department is saying “all good here”. I had to bite my tongue a lot this summer with the say some of our production meetings were run. They definitely turned into design meetings or meetings about only one department. It made realize how ineffective they truly are after attending production meetings here.
Having to a few production meetings in my day, I can definitely say that the way we do it here is the most fastest method I have ever experienced. I think it can sometimes be an issue at our meetings that everyone wants to get out as fast as possible, and sometimes not everything is discussed that should be discussed. Don't get me wrong, I love three minute production meetings, but I think it is somewhat telling when the meeting "ends" and then about five other mini meetings follow, without the production manager present. I think this makes it very easy for some information to get lost in the shuffle, or not effectively communicated to the entire group. I think this can be avvoided by making sure the agenda is as updated and filled as possible, and by encouraging conversation without being obnoxious or forcing people to make up things to say to fill the empty space. Overall, it can be very tricky to run a truly productive production meeting, since there is such a fine line between too short and too long.
13 comments:
I dread production meetings. These are the least productive meetings that I have ever had the privilege to attend. Ideally, in my opinion, a production meeting should fall between 30 mins to an hour. Each part of the production (lights, sound, set, costume, props) should get equal time, no more than 5-10 minutes. There should always be an agenda, that is followed. It really falls to the production manager to control the meeting and identify when something is a design matter that needs to be discussed outside of the production meeting. As the writer states, it can quickly dive into a fight, argument, or two hour meeting where 90% was the set designer and lighting designer arguing. Every person should be trained in how to hold an effective meeting and this doesn’t seem to be taught at most schools or discussed, especially as it relates to community theatre. In most instances, each person has it in their mind that their issue is the most important and most pressing that they feel the need to control or dominate the meeting. Each person should come to the meeting prepared, with any questions that they have or issues that the whole team needs to address and stay within their allotted time frame. Having personal experience with a production manager who failed at time management has given me much more insight into all this. Simple rules, Come prepared, Have an agenda, stick to the agenda, hold a separate design meeting.
This summer, production meetings were always scheduled during lunch break in a rehearsal day. That way, everyone including the stage manager could attend the meeting. It must have complicated the calculation of the stage manager's working hours but for the benefit of everyone else, it was kept that way. (And the stage management department was in charge of ordering lunch for everyone. It was almost but not really a violation of the union rules because the SM interns were not equity.) Scheduling it during lunch break was a great way to give a common purpose in the room, make discussions brief, table design discussions for later and just in general get it moving. It was most helpful because the director wanted to get back to the rehearsal on time. But it did not entirely prevent the meeting from running longer because sometimes important decisions have to be made, such as what to do when the director had to go to NY for the next day.
Interestingly, this article does not mention a production manager once. I have to wonder if there was even a production manager at these meetings that the author discusses. I was talking to alumni yesterday and we both bonded over the struggle of production meetings in the real world. Both of us worked in production management at separate theatres this summer, but not as the production manager at first. Towards the end of the season, I was the PM on one of our shows and she had taken over as PM on some of her theatre’s shows. We both sat and suffered through poorly-run meetings earlier in the summer and wanted to change how meetings were run. We bonded over the fact that at CMU, we are taught how to run effective meetings and not let it turn into a two-hour design meeting. I would encourage other production team members to speak up if you are at a meeting like this. Even though it may not be your meeting, it is your time.
I agree with Ben, I find it very odd that the article doesn't even mention the production manager once. In the 'real world' I too have sat through ridiculously long production meetings that turned more into a design meeting, and appreciate very much the short and concise method that is being taught here. Finding ways to keep to an agenda, and publishing it before hand so everyone knows what is expected to be is very helpful to keeping to the short timeframe. The Production Manager is both the facilitator and the moderator of the production meetings, and should use their time ensuring that the meeting is addressing the needs of the production and the staff present. Production team members should also prepare themselves based off of the agenda, and be sure to open lines of communication to the production manager before the meeting agenda has been sent out to ensure topics of importance are included. Of course things pop up, but planning ahead serves everyone.
I wholeheartedly agree with Ben and Madeleine on the absence of a production manager and how that is a problem on its own, but honestly what I most noticed and was frustrated by was that this article really just pointed out this guy is liking his meetings now. It didn't actually address how to fix meetings that are going badly or what really causes them to go south. And I think a lot of that is management and how a meeting is run. Because as said above, management makes all the difference. But if you're going to write an article about meetings needing to be better, then how make them better needs to be addressed. It was like he just wanted the world to know that he had found a good meeting and wanted us to all know he was enjoying it. Great production meetings come from everyone willing to collaborate, and keeping it to group topics, and willingness to listen, and the list goes on and on. There are a lot of reasons a meeting goes well. Most of them due to great leaders who help al those things to happen and to inspire people. That needs to be acknowledged in an article like this and its disappointing it was just skipped.
I think this article brings up a great topic about how production meetings really can be helpful, but I don't think the author does a great job when discussing how one might make a production meeting effective. The author talks a lot about their frustrations when it comes to poorly run production meetings. They talk about how they only say what is relevant to the group, which is a good practice, but I feel as though this article was their opportunity to complain about all off the things that could go wrong. It is when I her stories like these that I am, for the millionth time grateful for the education I am receiving here at CMU. Here, we learn how to avoid all of these things and how to keep everyone effective and herd. This summer, I walked into my first production meeting and herd the PM go "so does anyone have anything they want to say?" which lead to a 2 hour meeting where I left with more questions then I had gone into the meeting with. I think the author brings up a good point about how a good meeting can really affect the attitude of the people involved.
I have been to a handful of production meetings in and out of CMU, and I have to say, we’re usually pretty good at it. I have only found myself feeling irrelevant to a conversation going on in the meeting once or twice, and at the end of those conversations I still felt like I know what has been decided and exactly how it’s going to affect my department or not. And I do have to say that being one of the departments applauded by the production manager for productivity and timeliness and quality of work is one of the best feelings to leave the meeting with because it just motivates you to keep it up and do even better for next week. I’m very excited to begin working on the opera next week because everyone really seems to be on the same page and has no problems reaching out to one another with questions and potential issues – in the meetings or not.
As a maker, I have never really been a part of production meetings, but I have always been interested in how such a divergent group with so many different goals to achieve can ever have a productive and creative discussion that actually ends on time. The main problem the article seems to describe is forcing design elements that are falling behind to have their discussions about their particular element in the meeting because they don't seem to be fulfilling that obligation on their own time. I'm unfamiliar with the mechanics of how production meetings are set up but hard design deadlines, outlining what is expected to be discussed at the next meeting, and leadership of the meeting that doesn't allow meandering conversations to go on for too long seem like promising starting points. Having a producer who knows how to run a meeting properly and productively I'm sure makes all the difference in the world.
The dreaded production meeting... something that we usually end up saying, couldn’t that have been an email? There is a balance to be found between giving too much information and asking every little question that doesn’t pertain to anyone, or not reporting and just saying nothing for the group. Things should be brought up that will affect another member in the group or possibly affect other decisions down the road. The sound department won’t care if the actor will be in all red but the set and lighting designers will want to know and possibly have a voice in that decision, depending on the theatre. Not many people care what types of shoes people are waring but the TD should know that information to make the proper adjustments and decisions. The danger of not giving any information is that it then turns into 10 other meetings all compartmentalizing the information. It’s a hard balance to find but must be found for each person and each theatres needs.
Based on the few production meetings at CMU I have observed, we tend to have fairly productive and quick production meetings. Our meetings average around 10 minutes, the agenda is followed religiously, and it never delves into a “two hour set design discussion”. However, we lean heavily on outside design meetings. Speaking about this with other students reveals a jungle gym of side meetings with almost every other department. We also tend to rush past topics that may have cause for more discussion (Such as expanded metal grating on elevated walkable surfaces). All things considered, we could do worse. The only meeting that could stand to be improved upon is the 4:30 meeting of the technical directors. This daily ten minute meeting has a clear start but no clear ending. It is rife with side bar conversations. I also often leave the meeting confused as to what I will be doing that night and have to ask the project manager each night about where I will be working (since the board is currently inaccurate…). It would be so much better if we all just paid attention to the project manager while they talk and had a clear dismissal at the end.
I, too, noticed the production manager was not mentioned (or blamed, to my shock) in the description of how dreadful his previous production meetings are. Here we are taught that sending out emails first to ask people is there anything that they want to discuss, and then the PM will put together an agenda and distribute beforehand so people know what to expect. Sometimes the PM will function as a filter to questions that do not pertain to multiple departments. When running the meeting, the PM will try to stick to the agenda first, and then ask for other concerns and questions. Plus, (at CMU) there’s a 30-minute cap to the meeting so even someone brings up something that is not for the group, it won’t be a dreadfully long time to sit through.
On the other hand, production meetings are always turned into design meetings because people – and this include every single person – may have misunderstanding of what production meetings are for. I’ve seen directors call something a production meeting when it’s really a design meeting; or production meeting gets too much in the technicality of props or scenery; etc.
We talk a lot about running production meetings here. The way in which I have learned to run a production meeting is very different from any that I have attended or run outside of the School of Drama. I know that there are people who do not like to go around to each department in a production meeting. And they’re probably right. I like getting updates from each department, especially if that department is further behind whichever department I happen to be working for. The problem with that is it can turn to a meeting where one department takes over. I would be interested in running meetings where each department is on the agenda, even if the only item for each department is saying “all good here”. I had to bite my tongue a lot this summer with the say some of our production meetings were run. They definitely turned into design meetings or meetings about only one department. It made realize how ineffective they truly are after attending production meetings here.
Having to a few production meetings in my day, I can definitely say that the way we do it here is the most fastest method I have ever experienced. I think it can sometimes be an issue at our meetings that everyone wants to get out as fast as possible, and sometimes not everything is discussed that should be discussed. Don't get me wrong, I love three minute production meetings, but I think it is somewhat telling when the meeting "ends" and then about five other mini meetings follow, without the production manager present. I think this makes it very easy for some information to get lost in the shuffle, or not effectively communicated to the entire group. I think this can be avvoided by making sure the agenda is as updated and filled as possible, and by encouraging conversation without being obnoxious or forcing people to make up things to say to fill the empty space. Overall, it can be very tricky to run a truly productive production meeting, since there is such a fine line between too short and too long.
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