Developing Quality Workflow

What is Workflow?

Image Creative Workflow from Behance.com, https://www.behance.net/gallery/27919515/Creative-workflow-GIF

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?

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • To find inspiration to improve workflow, you need to look to everyday life. Look at what others are doing around, analyze what you are doing in your everyday life, or ask teachers and coworkers to see what they are doing.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • When working, you need to be enjoying what you are doing, and constantly looking to improve your work. If you don’t enjoy what you do, then you won’t take pride in it, and won’t have the motivation to improve yourself.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • Quality needs to be measured by an individual. Quality is being above the standard, going the extra mile to make sure that your work stands out in a good way.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • Quality is measured mostly by yourself. A lot of quality comes from personal successes, and improved workflow. Quality can also be measured by statistics, for example aluminum melts at 1,221°F, where as tin has a melting point of 449.5°F. In this sense, aluminum is much higher quality in the fact that it doesn’t melt as easily.

Intention

How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should set a specific goal for the projects that you work on. You can’t make everything perfectly so you need to pick what you want to devote more time to than other things. It can help to write out what you want to achieve from completing your goal, whether it’s bettering yourself at a task, doing something good for others, or taking time to appreciate life.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should ask yourself constantly if what you are doing could be better, or if you would like to change something.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • I measure quality by evaluating something that I have completed and trying to look at it through another person’s eyes. If I saw someone doing this work, would I be proud of it? This is what I do.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • If you have completed everything that you wanted to complete for your task, then you have achieved quality. It can vary on what you are doing, but sometimes quality is measured by the understanding of the idea by others. If others can have a vivid image of what you want to do, then that is a quality idea.

Pre-production

How can we brainwrite, brainstorm, storyboard, and plan our ideas at this phase?

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • When doing preproduction, you want to get all of your ideas onto paper, or into a document. You should be completely open to others adding to or editing your work. Others often have good ideas that you may not think of.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • When getting your ideas out, you should ask yourself what you vision is, then if what you have fits it. This stage will take a while, but you need to take time, and be able to brainstorm new ideas. It can help to ‘sleep on it’ and really take time to get this stage to what you want it to be. It is better to take extra time here than later find out that you wanted to do something different.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • In order to have a quality plan, you should know what you want to do in detail, have times and deadlines set, and have reviewed and re written you plan several times. This should be something that you have ran past several people and asked for feedback on.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • For this part, you measure the quality. If you are happy with what your plan is, then you are good to go.

Production

How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • In this stage, communication is key. You need to talk to each other to make sure that everybody has a clear image of how they want to convey their ideas. You also need to have patience, as everybody probably wants something a little different with what you are working on, and you need to find the right balance.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • This is the part when you really need to produce quality work. Take your time, especially when making shots. If you have good quality shots, then everything will seem more professional.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • You want a shot that fits the scene, if something dramatic is happening, then you want to convey that when filming your scene. Lighting is also super important. This can sometimes be fixed in post, but if you have proper lighting when filming it will look higher quality and more professional.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • In this case, quality is mostly measured by the people who you are making the film for and with. Everyone needs to agree and be happy with the shots and scenes that you are making.

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.

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should use professional editing tools, find people who know how to use them, and go through the film and edit it to be the best it can be.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should take a lot of time to edit the raw footage into a finished film. You should go through several drafts, make changes, and be willing to cut some parts. You want the highest quality footage you can realistically have, as this ads a lot to the final look of the film.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • You should measure quality by how real the film looks. Your effects should look as if they were real, and everything in the film should make sense.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • Everyone needs to measure quality for this. The editors need to be happy with their work, but they also need to shift their thinking to match the director’s as well.

Presentation/Performance

How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should try and get the film out to as many people and get as much feedback as possible. The more feedback you get, the more you can better your films in the future.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should show your film to family, friends, and co workers, as long as they have the time. Ask for feedback. If you want to get public exposure, post your film on YouTube or another video sharing website.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • I think that as long as a few people enjoy your film, then you have succeeded in making your film. But to really be quality, you need to have a general consensus that your film is a quality film.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • Typically, the people who view your film measure it’s quality.

Feedback

How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?
    • We should try to get feedback from all people who view the film. We can use word of mouth, google forms, or really any way on conveying information.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?
    • You should take time to think of what type of questions you want answered, and then write out those questions to ask the people who viewed your film.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?
    • All feedback is good, whether it is good or bad. If it is good, then you know what you should keep doing with your films. If it is criticism, then you now now know what you can do top improve your films.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY?
    • Everyone who views your film will measure its quality. That’s what feedback is!

Recipe For Success: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton - F1 Driver for Mercedes
Image of Lewis Hamilton from Formula1.com https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/lewis-hamilton.html

Born January 7th, 1985, in Stevenage, England

Personal Success Definition

I define success as somebody who can be a master at what they do, and enjoy it. They are doing something that they have a passion for, and enjoying their life thoroughly.

Lewis Hamilton is extremely successful. Since he joined Formula 1 in 2007, he has won 6 Formula 1 World Championships. He drove for McLaren in 2007 through 2012, and joined Mercedes in 2013 to the present. He has won 5 of the last 6 F1 World Championships.

Skills for Success

Lewis Hamilton is a consistent racer, an aggressive driver, and a person looking to constantly improve.  Lewis Hamilton began his journey into motorsports when he was only 8, when he started Karting. He met a McLaren Formula One team boss and asked him for his autograph. He told the boss, Ron Dennis, how well he had been doing in his Karting career, and Dennis told Hamilton to call him when he was old enough to drive for McLaren. In 2007, when Hamilton joined McLaren, He proved himself to be a consistent driver, constantly and consistently able to produce fast lap times. He is also regarded as one of the more aggressive drivers. He looks for the right opening, and takes it, while still knowing the limits of the car. Hamilton is also constantly looking for ways to improve his driving style, adapting and overcoming any challenges that are thrown at him on and off the grid.

Hamilton in action

Hamilton during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix in a downpour of rain. He won the race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F1_2014_JAP_Lewis_Hamilton_4968.jpg

Ever since Hamilton started his career, he has used his raw natural talent to become the best and fastest driver that he can be. He is always looking and pushing to be the best, and he has reached it. However, he still pushes himself to be a millisecond faster, to make 1 less mistake, to secure the win. By demonstrating his skills as a driver with McLaren, he was able to get signed by Mercedes, arguably the best modern day Formula 1 racing team. Hamilton is able to produce fast laps when it matters most, he is excellent no matter if he is down by a lap, driving in the rain, or has “no tires left.”

Challenges Overcome

Hamilton had to push to separate himself from the rest of the drivers in order to be a competitive driver on the Formula 1 grid. He worked extremely hard, especially in his early career, and still works very hard today. He has to stay in peak physical condition, and has to put in countless miles into his cars in order to be the best. He is still very young, and there is a lot of pressure for him to perform well.

Significant Work

Video from the Formula 1 YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_qr75-ydFVKSF9Dmo6izg

Lewis Hamilton’s race against Vettel during the 2018 Formula 1 season

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#Formula_One_career

https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/lewis-hamilton.html

https://www.lewishamilton.com/