Project Management

Thanks Lane for moving this out of email.

Before we begin this project, I would like us to consider the collaborative structure that works for film production. With the model of producers and directors the most complex art projects in history manage to synthesize the collaborative efforts of hundreds of highly motivated and creative people.

Producer: a person whose job it is to secure the means of production, identify and define what deliverables are and specify the dates when those items are due.

Director: a person whose job it is to articulate the creative direction of the project and manage the sub-projects within the scope of the collective/unified creative goals of the big picture.

While I think the people who play roles sh/could change over time (the end of each term?), I think that we should seriously consider identifying them at the start, because of the project management structure they afford. I will even be so bold as to volunteer and propose something, altho solely for the sake of discussion:

1) If I'm going to build and host and manage a wiki-site , which I am happy to do, over Christmas break, that seems to place me in the role of producer, at least initially. That is to say I would be happy to volunteer if that is what people decide we want. In this role I would not only manage the site in terms of functionality and architecture, I would also meet with the director and the contributors (virtually) to determine commitment levels and "assignments" which could be pegged appropriately to participants interests and availability. I would in that role, working with the director, give you an assignment(s) and a due date(s) and track that it gets done, posted, etc.

2) Since Lane has articulated the initial vision for this, in this system I am proposing, it seems to make sense that he would fill the role of initial director, or director pro tem—again if that's what he wants to, and if that's what other people want. I'm not trying to grab roles or define relationships, I just think that these internet groups seriously lack focus and accountability, so I'm being pro-active. I'm happy with whatever we decide as a long as it includes some system of meta-organization other than total chaos and inertia.