A personal retrospective on what it means to be a project manager. Recently I partook in a fireside chat with a bunch of seasoned project managers from around the country. OK it was a pub but there was a fireplace.…
Author: Rob Anderson
Rob has worked in the field of entertainment since the age of 16 when in 1982 he got his first paid gig as a PA for the NFB in New Brunswick. Since then he has worked on close to 700 episodes of broadcast shows along with a few features. Currently Rob lives in New Brunswick where the lobster is cheap and the dulse seaweed is plentiful.
The comfort zone
Or: This must be purgatory. It’s Friday. 5 O’clock. You have spent the week doing your job. You have your check and are ready for the weekend. You had a discussion with some of your co-workers about a game you…
The art of staying sane
Or: Even crappy McJobs can give you valuable experiences. I was at a conference this week (Casual Connect) for the social online gaming space and had a fun discussion about the awful jobs people have had to do over their…
Uncertainty is the principle
Or: Heisenberg would have made a great Producer. A great quote from Ed Catmull: “On managers self-destructive tendencies for creative work: The notion that you’re trying to control the process and prevent error screws things up. We all know the…
Just do it!
Or: the world of rapid prototyping. I am in the process of recovering from what is known as a game jam. Game jams are an event that you can organize with friends where you try and create a playable game…
You don’t know what you don’t know.
There is something about that statement that I really like. It makes me reflect back to my younger days in the film industry, the days when I had a huge opinion on anything and everything with absolutely no experience to…
The Production Bible.
Or: there are more than ten commandments in this one. There are many bibles that exist in a production, with many more rules than the ten from the Christian bible. I prefer to call them Manifestos. These Bibles/Manifestos are used…
The perfect wave.
Or: when it all goes right! I realized the other day that most of my articles are focused on the things that can or do go wrong with a production. While I consider myself somewhat of a cynic I also…
Dealing with stress.
Or: Captain I think it’s gonna blow! Over the years I have seen a lot of folks leave this industry for one reason or another. Some leave because they wanted a career change. Some were forced because they couldn’t find…
Signal to Noise ratio
Or: Kids these days! When I am doing timing for storyboards my typical setup is Final Cut Pro. I get the audio and the still images from the board and pace out the show based on the acting in the…
How I spent my March break
March 29, 2010 A couple of weeks ago now, I went to the Game Developers Summit and The Flash Game Summit to try and absorb as much information as I could on the world of game making. I consider myself…
The state of the animation industry?
Or: I think we are going to need a better boat. You may have noticed some rather spectacular news in the last few days concerning closures of animation studios and layoffs of seasoned folks at others. While this is not…
Casting your net
Or: the importance of networking I am heading off next week to the Game Developers Conference. I hope to be able to post some things from there but I thought that sharing some of the reasons for going would be…
When is a job not a job?
When it is a career? Words have power so I like to read the meanings to them when formulating my thoughts: job 1 |jäb| noun 1 a paid position of regular employment : jobs are created in the private sector,…
Know your role
Or: Weren’t you supposed to take care of that? I enjoy being a part of a small company. In a startup the roles that everyone play can be very wide and fluid. An artist can do everything from board to…
Zen and the art of cartoon making
Or: Wrong, do it again. I have three daughters. They are all aspiring artists with different levels of talent, as you would expect from kids of different ages and mentalities. This past weekend we had an interesting debate around the…
Global Game Jam experience. By Rob Anderson
Or: there is such a thing as too much coffee. This past weekend I decided to get involved in the Global Game Jam. It isn’t a competition or a contest but a global challenge. Here in their words is what…
Finding the pressure points. By Rob Anderson
Or: Critical chain management methodology for animation production. I have mentioned before the data on the {f2e86ea6af82e2bb048871abf045622abf0ed27fb513932dc1ee8c05a54cbefd} of projects that are considered a failure or that go over budget for various reasons (32{f2e86ea6af82e2bb048871abf045622abf0ed27fb513932dc1ee8c05a54cbefd} success rate, 44{f2e86ea6af82e2bb048871abf045622abf0ed27fb513932dc1ee8c05a54cbefd} over budget and 24{f2e86ea6af82e2bb048871abf045622abf0ed27fb513932dc1ee8c05a54cbefd}failure,…
File structure and file naming. By Rob Anderson
Or: TZ_2010_SC_22_fx_prt_02_walk_3_4_back_blue_V_23_good_Final_rev_latest._Friday_6 I love computers. Either Mac or PC. I’m not one of those folks who feel they have to hate one over the other. The biggest advantage- and also failure- of programs are their ability to allow the user…
Entering the metrics, by Rob Anderson
Or: This data doesn’t look like a blonde? Knowing the stage that every element of a production is at is extremely important for a production manager. The use of digital asset management tools has become essential. You need to be…
A little about Rob Anderson
Now that I have agreed to be a contributor for this site, something that I feel very honored to be, Mike has asked that I do a write up about myself. Those that know me know that I am somewhat…