ShotFlow Summit 2024 Highlights, Recent Releases, 5 Ways to Improve Your Workflows by September
and Industry Pros
It’s Christmas in July again and as the fall season approaches, it’s time for enterprise content production professionals to fine-tune their processes. Whether you’re a Creative Operations pro, Producer, Studio Director, Post Production Manager, or retail Marketer, the goal is clear: identify 5 incremental ways to improve your workflow by September. Let’s explore a strategic approach to achieve this objective.
1. Meet/Discuss Current Gaps and Pain Points
Gather your team’s insights by scheduling a meeting focused on uncovering gaps and pain points in your current processes. Your team members are on the front lines of content production, and their experiences are invaluable. A Studio Manager might discover that asset organization is a recurring challenge, while a Post Production Manager could uncover bottlenecks in the review cycle. By actively listening to your team, you’ll gain a wealth of information to guide your improvement efforts.
2. Make a list of Repeatable, Simple Tasks
Take a close look at the seemingly simple tasks that you and your team repeat frequently. For instance, a Producer might realize they’re constantly reformatting briefs for different departments. Or a retail Marketer could find they’re manually resizing images for various platforms. Identifying these repetitive tasks is the first step towards automating or optimizing them, potentially saving hours of work each week.
3. Where’s the Bottleneck?
Examine your current workflow to identify bottlenecks that slow down your content production. A Creative Operations professional might notice that approval processes are causing significant delays, or a Post Production Manager could find that render times are impacting delivery schedules. Pinpointing these bottlenecks will help you prioritize which areas of your process need the most attention.
4. Eliminate Unnecessary Steps
Look for unnecessary steps. As the processes evolve over time, some tasks may become obsolete or no longer add value. Take a critical look at each step in your workflow. Perhaps a Merchant realizes that a particular report is no longer used by stakeholders, or a Studio Manager finds that call sheets are redundant with new technology. Removing these unnecessary tasks can streamline your process and allow your team to focus on high-impact activities.
5. Continuous Alignment with Stakeholder Priorities
Set up meetings with key stakeholders to review and re-validate priorities. This step ensures that your improvement efforts align with broader business goals. A Sample Manager might discover that pre-printed sample tags have become more critical than before, or a Creative Operations manager could learn about color accuracy requirements that need to be integrated into the workflow.
By following these five steps, you’ll be well on your way to identifying meaningful improvements to your content production process by September. Remember, the key is to focus on incremental changes – small adjustments that can add up to significant enhancements in efficiency and quality over time.
As you implement these improvements, keep the lines of communication open with your team. Regular check-ins will help you gauge the effectiveness of the changes and allow for further refinement. With this systematic approach, you’ll be able to optimize your workflow, reduce stress on your team, and deliver better content more efficiently.
Tales from Holiday Productions Past
“For the 5 years I worked at World Market, I celebrated extra Christmases. It’d be super hot outside the sample warehouse in July when I’d then walk into a winter wonderland. We’d be sampling German pfeffernusse and Italian Panettone while identifying the right ornaments per the old assortment spreadsheet. By the end of the day I was always covered in glitter! I’d begin shopping for new ornaments for that year, but by the time the real holiday came around, my holiday spirit usually waned though eventually I’d get a second wind.🎄It was a fun time and great memories!”
Emily Taylor, Director of Product Management
“I worked at QVC for over two decades. Due to the timing of seasons and the popularity of Christmas in July I experienced Christmas nine months out of each year. That’s more than fifteen years of Christmas. I have three words for you: dirty fake snow. It gathers studio grunge after a few months of continual use (dump it out, sweep it back up) and when you’re sweating over a set in the middle of summer it sticks to your skin. In fall or winter it gets staticky and again, sticks to you and your clothes. Gotta suffer for your art.” #overit.
Will Rutledge, Director of System Solutions
“I think my most memorable experiences were shooting for lifestyle holiday campaigns. I used to work at a popular stuffed animal retailer and photographing humans was not our day-to-day norm. We often used our family and friends for talent, so we had to be realistic in what we were asking of our amateur talent resources. One year we really focused in on family experiences and had so many children (and pets!) running around my boss’ house. It was chaos! Kids were trying to open our prop presents, crying over who got to hold certain stuffies and dogs trying to claim the toys as their own. While it felt impossible at the time, I think some of the best photography came out of the chaos because that is what real life is like with kids. We captured some really sweet moments that brought the campaign to life – even though it tested our sanity!”
Tammy Samisch, Technical Account Manager