What is Workflow?
Work•flow /ˈwərkflō/
“The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.” – lexico.com
What is a quality workflow? How do we develop it? Below are elements of the production cycle that most creative people move through as they create something. First, we must identify the stages of project production. What is each stage and what are the quality checks for each stage. Read on and find out!
Stages of Creation Development
Inspiration
How do we find ideas to develop?
- Tools: Social media, peers/co-workers
- Process: Brainstorming, drafting, re-working
- We measure the quality of our inspiration by how much it motivates us
- We measure our own quality of inspiration
Intention
How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?
- Tools: Peers/collaboration
- Process: Reflecting on the beginning of the project, writing down original ideas
- Quality of intention is measured through the theme of the story, by the audience
Pre-production
How can we brainwrite, brainstorm, storyboard, and plan our ideas at this phase?
- Tools: Online organization, pen and paper
- Process: Brainstorming, drafting, re-working
- Quality of pre-production is measured through the overall success of the project, by the producers and audience
Production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.
- Tools: Cameras & Mics etc…, group messaging, scheduling, writing plans
- Process: Shooting individual scenes, review, put things together
- Quality of production is measured through how well the audience perceives the movie to be made, reviews of actors, and other things like that, by the audience
Post-production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our final stages of the project for this phase? This is where we publish the project.
- Tools: Editing software, peer review
- Process: Getting rid of bad scenes, adjusting looks, putting work together
- Quality of post-production is measured through how well the movie is edited, by the audience and producers
Presentation/Performance
How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?
- Tools: Publish to Youtube, online streaming services, post on social media
- Process: Good advertising, has a release date
- Quality of Performance is measured through overall success of movie by the audience and critics
Feedback
How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?
- Tools: Social media, cast surveys
- Process: Ask what improvements can be made and take note
- Quality of feedback is measured through how much the next project is improved and also by the crew/cast