SHORT FILM COMPETITION PROJECT

Part 1: Project Integration Management

Every year, an independent film production company sponsors a short film contest. The contest is open to anyone who wants to participate. Because of new technological advances, two main categories are available: traditional film, with actors, cameras, etc., and digital film, which requires that a person use a computer to do all the film production. Actors can provide the voices, but all visuals must be done using computer animation. There is no restriction for the film topic, but it should be something that could be run as a preview to major film in a theater, be provided on the Internet, or be distributed on small wireless devices, such as cell phones. Therefore, the length of the film should be 2-5 minutes long, and it should be appropriate for an audience under 17 years old. Alex is a senior student in the computer science program at a university, and he is earning a minor in film production. He is very interested in everything related to the digital animation industry. He is determined to participate in this contest and win it. He applied for and was awarded a grant for $5,000 through his college to work on this film project. He could use the money to pay for any special hardware or software that the university could also use. He could also award small stipends ($500 per person) to people who help on the project. Alex knew that he would have to convince several people to donate their time and energy to help him make a great film in time for the contest, just 10 months away. The first-prize winner in each category would receive $100,000 and the opportunity to participate in a major film contest. There were also prizes of $50,000 and $25,000 for second and third place. Alex really wanted to use his computer and project management skills in the film industry, so even if he didn't win a prize, he wanted to gain valuable experience to help find a job after graduation.

Tasks:

1. Research information on making short, computer-animated films. What type of software is typically used? How much does it cost? What type of skills help people produce animated films?

Auto desk Maya $1,470 annually Skills needed for a job in computer animation.
have animation and acting skills, combined with a good sense of graphic design

• have a good level of computer literacy

• have a good working knowledge of relevant graphics, animation and compositing software, including Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects Flash and/or Cel Action

• have a good understanding of the principles of animation and filmmaking

• have knowledge of drawing and structure

• be self-motivated

• be able to take direction and willing to address constructive feedback

• be able to communicate clearly with colleagues

• be able to manage relevant aspects of production

• have the capacity to work both independently and as part of a team

• have an appreciation of accuracy and pay close attention to detail

• be able to deliver on schedule, working calmly and efficiently under pressure, if required

• have respect for the procedures and requirements of a particular studio or production

• have knowledge of the requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation and procedures

2. Alex knows it's crucial to get the right stakeholders involved in this project. Develop a list of the people, their roles, and desired skills that Alex should try to find to help him produce this movie. Assume that all of the people would be students, faculty, or staff at Alex's university who would be willing to volunteer their time, and get up to a $500 stipend, for working on the project. Assume that Alex's main strength is in computers, and he has good organizational skills. He is not artistic or musically inclined, however, and he has no great story ideas for the film. He'd like the film to be funny, but not many people share Alex's sense of humor.

3. Prepare a project charter for the Short Film Competition Project. Assume the project will take 10 months to complete (starting September 1st with final submission due July 1st) and the total budget is $5,000 plus unlimited volunteer hours. Alex estimates that he will spend about 20 hours per week on this project and serve as the lead technical person. He's asked you to be the project manager, and he'll work closely with you. Use the project charter template and examples of project charters in Chapters 3 and 4 as guidelines. Assume that the project sponsor is Alex. Include the main roles for other major stakeholders, as identified in task 2 above.

4. Research the types of hardware and software that Alex and his team could use to produce their short, computer-generated film. Assume that the university has several resources available, Alex has a state-of-the art computer system with a lot of software, and remember that there is a $5,000 budget available. Describe at least three realistic configuration options for what hardware and software to use. Then prepare a weighted decision matrix, including at least four different evaluation criteria and their weights, determine scores for each option, and calculate the weighted score for each alternative. Use the weighted decision matrix template on the companion Web site and include the option descriptions in the same file. Print your results on one page.

Part 2: Project Scope Management

You have volunteered to work as project manager for the film. You worked on a group project with Alex in your Introduction to Film class and you were very impressed with his technical abilities. He was also easy to work with, but he was not comfortable working on the business and political aspects of film production. Your first task was to work with Alex in assembling a team and developing the scope of the project. You both first thought of Dana, who was extremely creative and came up with great characters and stories in a few of your classes. She was also in the university's theater group, so she would have many contacts that might be willing to help. Dana agreed to take the lead in developing the script for the film, and she recommended three other people, Carlos, Sophie, and Jake, to help with the story, artwork, and voices. She also recommended someone she knew in the music department, Scott, who agreed to put together the music for the film. Finally, Caroline, a marketing major and Dana's roommate, agreed to help you with the marketing and other business aspects of the project.

Tasks

1. Develop an agenda for your first meeting with the project team, scheduled for October 1st. Include a description of the project and rough scope, time, and cost goals. Assume the purpose of the first meeting is to get everyone up to speed and to build relationships so everyone works well together as well as brainstorm ideas for making the film.

2. Develop a scope statement for the project. Use the template provided in Appendix D and the example in Chapter 3 as guides. Be as specific as possible in describing product characteristics, requirements, and deliverables. Assume that you plan to have four characters in your film, four voices, and three short songs/background music. You plan to develop storyboards to plan the main scenes for the film.

3. Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. Break down the work to level 2 or level 3, as appropriate. Use the template in Appendix D and samples in Chapters 3 and 5 as guides. Print the WBS in list form as a Word file. Be sure to base your WBS on the project charter, scope statement, and other relevant information.

4. Use the WBS you developed in Task 2 above to create a Gantt chart in Project 2003 for the project. Use the outline numbering feature to display the outline numbers (click Tools on the menu bar, click Options, and then click Show outline number.) Do not enter any durations or dependencies. Print the resulting Gantt chart on one page, being sure to display the entire Task Name column.

Part 3: Project Time Management

One of your duties as project manager is to lead your team in developing and following a schedule. You have only 10 months to complete the project and all of your resources are full-time students and have jobs and other activities. So far, everyone is volunteering their time and you are reserving the $5,000 budget for purchasing special software, food for meetings and parties with the project team, and other miscellaneous expenses. In addition to preparing a Gantt chart, you also plan to give everyone a simple milestone report and a calendar to make sure everyone understands the schedule. You make sure you black out weeks when people are taking final exams, going on breaks, and so on. Alex suggests that you have the artwork for the main characters and the rough storyboards for the film completed by December 1st so he can begin doing some of the computer animation over break. He'd also like to have an initial screening by March 1st and the final screening by May 1st.

Tasks

1. Identify at least eight milestones for this project. Write a one-page paper describing each milestone using the SMART criteria.

2. Review the WBS and Gantt chart you created for Tasks 2 and 3 in Part 2 above. Review the key milestone dates Alex provided and a typical schedule for college students. Develop a simple schedule in the form of a milestone report and a calendar. See the templates for a milestone report and the sample in Chapter 3. For the calendar, prepare a simple list with dates and milestones, as well as a graphical calendar display.

3. Using the information from task 2 above, describe the main dependencies between tasks. For example, you have to have the artwork for the main characters before you can put them into digital form. Describe at least five tasks and their dependencies.

4. Create a Gantt chart for the project, including the milestones and dependencies you described in tasks 1-3.

5. Estimate how many hours each person would work on each task listed in your Gantt chart.