| | In my experience there is simply never enough money or experienced people put onto a project. And it's that simple. It is always trying to do more with less. They want to put as little money into it as they can, while still hiring enough people to get the job done at SOME level of quality and comfort to the employees.
With this mentality it's a fine line, and a crunch at the same time.
But would it be a bad thing if there was money left over??? Why? You can just use it elsewhere... Reinvest it. Making sure the project is properly funded, maybe even over funded can't hurt can it? I think when we calculate things to the exact it is impossible not to be wrong... I think the best thing to do is EXPECT TO BE WRONG... Have a big buffer and a couple extra staff members to help out with the various problems that will arrive in the first month or two of the production.
There should always be a money buffer in the budget. Likewise, there should always be extra people on at the beginning... Give them a limited contract, a trial of a month or so? If the project goes smoothly, if things are getting done well, and it is apparent it would be better for them to stay, extend their contract! If work is getting done WAY ahead of time, don't extend the contract. Imagine if your employees actually smiled once in a while other than to laugh at your lame jokes or in an effort to hide their contempt they have for you. You can have this if you stop being a cheap asshole. No harm can come to the project if things are getting done well due to being correctly staffed. Measure twice, cut once.... Harm will come when there is not enough money in it, when workers are understaffed.
If your project is under funded and understaffed you might as well just accept the fact that it will be a waste of money to go ahead with it in the first place. It's pointless to churn out low quality material and burn out your employees. That is how we fuck up in this industry. No one has a fucking backbone. We have rubber spines.
I find Projects are very rigid these days, we try to work with the staff we have and just keep pushing them when it's VERY obvious that another member of the team might be just what is needed to make the project flow smoothly. I find it's hardly ever a case of a project being over staffed anymore, and maybe that is the problem. If you had these extra people on board, perhaps all the problems that seem to come up would be alleviated to some degree.
I hate to be the voice of negativity, but it simply comes down to higher ups not putting enough money or staff into a project, but "just enough to get it done." They are scared to spend money, scared to take risks, and who can blame them these days?
But business is risk. Animation is a risky business... If you are not taking risks to get it done, you are not giving the project the respect or chance it deserves. Under funding a project is risk, but it is the wrong type of risk, and I'd rather call it "stupidity" or "cowardice" than risk. Risk is putting the proper amount that is needed to make a project succeed, knowing you are risking a lot if it doesn't pay off. That is good risk that is a necessary risk to ANY business or project.
Again, I am a negative jerk and I'm not interested in theories or shit that never actually pans out, I'm interested in results and what will get something done FOR SURE without question. And that means not dicking around, but putting the money and then some into the project AND hiring the right amount of people.
It is much better to be over staffed than under staffed. Period. | |
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