What kind of team player are you? – Ten team player characters in the workplace (2)

In the previous article we met two metaphorical team player characters – the producer and the director. You can read about them here: http://casteffect.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-kind-of-team-player-are-you-ten.html

Let me now introduce two more team players, very close to my heart: the screenwriter and the editor.
As a screenwriter, who has spent many hours in editing studios, I can assure you that a successful team in the workplace can't afford itself to manage without these two team players. For years these role players have been underestimated in the film industry. Today, it's clear then ever, that their role in a film's success is very important.

The Screenwriter – is usually the first link in the chain. The screenwriter is the ideas' generator, the storyteller, the one who creates a picture in words with a strong personal statement. The screenwriter can observe human behaviors, conduct research based on pure curiosity, listen, having an endless desire for information and knowledge gathering.
Budd Schulberg, the famous screenwriter (Academy-award-winning screenplay for "On the Waterfront") said during an interview on 1998: "One thing you do in writing dialogue is that you make up as little of it as you can and you listen as much as you can. Watching it this evening, I was reminded how many times something in there was not really written by me, I simply wrote down what they were actually saying."

The screenwriter examines every detail through visualization point of view, seeking the most effective ways of the film medium to convey his message. The screenwriter often asks himself the question: "How exactly does it look like? How can I describe this picture in words?" To answer these questions, the screenwriter needs communication skills and high sensitivity to his story's environment, analytical and organization capability, and ability to clearly articulate a high level of getting the message to viewers. Screenwriters and directors are natural partners and work closely throughout the whole process.

The Editor is often named "Cut and Paste guy". Actually the editor is able to create a masterpiece out of a "raw" and "rough" material. His job is to create the specific work which reflects the artistic vision of the director and the screenwriter - this makes him a central team player in the staff.
The editor is an organizer, very responsible and creative, with a high team work orientation, high interpersonal communication skills and impressive time management ability. Often he plays the role of a "savior", because he has the ability to solve problems in a creative and interesting way.

Understanding the role of these two characters, we can now realize the power of many unforgettable films and the secret of their success.

Now, my readers please think about the following two metaphoric questions:
1. What kind of team player are you - a screenwriter, an editor or both or someone completely different?
2. What kind of conflicts you expect to happen when these two team players collaborate with the director and the producer characters?

Food for thought for you...

Best regards,
Yulia Reinshmidt, CEO at CastEffect - Costeffective Proprietary Corporate Training Videos http://www.casteffect.com/

What kind of team player are you? - Ten team player characters in the workplace (1)

In recent years I met dozens of corporate teams from various organizations. They took active part in my scriptwriting and dramatization training sessions in front of a camera. One of the steps set out in these work processes was a role casting. This step is one of the most fascinating and engaging experiences, in which each person expresses himself in a role that matches his personality and the group decides together who will take part in what.
As a trainer and a filmmaker I am amazed every time I follow this fascinating process. My professional background and my origins come from a creative environment, in which filmmaking is the goal of all involved parties. The filmmakers' driving force is to create a movie or TV program or any other visual video format - and for this they need to work together as a team, being able to reach this artistic goal. Many artists consider this platform as an opportunity to express their personal statement, therefore the emotional element of interpersonal communication and “personal chemistry” is very powerful and critical factor for success. Team collaboration and personal expression of each individual staff member are examined in a process of determining the main functions contained in film cast, this interesting and multi-colored tapestry of people, which is supposed to create a single artwork. Who are those main characters? I chose to present here the characters of a producer, director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, art designer, visual effects producer, animator, sound editor and of course - an actor. This short series of articles will present these team players, each article will address two of them.

Producer - he is the starting point of every production – he is an entrepreneur, a prime mover, an enabler, a charmer who can mobilize resources and budgets and make things happen, an organizer with a sharp business and financial sense. He is the one who is supposed to deal with most of the risks, strives to cope with difficult challenges - qualities that may sometimes make him appear as an aggressive, not sensitive enough, dictatorial, “cut corners” guy, tends to be in conflict with people, someone who people tend to be afraid of or the one who is supposed to bring the bad news - and therefore other team players use to communicate with him in an unnatural and insincere matter.

The director is his natural partner to production management. An ideal director will be one with advanced communication and organizational skills, a motivator, someone who provides a personal example, leading his cast to its best performance results, wisely manages conflicts, knows how to deal with the pressures, constraints and fears of his crew. As a creator he has a personal statement, combines the architectural vision skill (the finished film is completely visualized in his mind even before the first shot is being taken) with the ability of a very profound, focused and detailed interpretation skill. However, his inherent desire for perfection may create fatigue and emotional stress among his staff. His personal statement can provoke some conflicts and resistance from the rest of the creative team players. It may simply establish an emotional situation in which his crew cannot relate to his personal statement and therefore cannot perform the tasks. It's also the classical accelerator of a constant conflict with the producer, who is in fact his employer and expects him to strictly meet budget and time deadlines.

Now, my readers please think about the following two metaphoric questions:
1. What kind of team player are you - a producer, a director or both or someone completely different?
2. If you manage team players with director or producer characteristics - how would you lead these kind of team players in your team?

Food for thought for you...

Best regards,
Yulia Reinshmidt, CEO at CastEffect - Costeffective Proprietary Corporate Training Videos