PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
SWANSONG (2025)
SWANSONG is a 2D animated short film produced at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I became Production Manager of a 30+ artist team during Pre-Production
Role Responsibilities: Strategised a system to track resources, assignments, and assigned tasks to team members using Trello and Google Suite. Set up, organised, and maintained the production’s Google Sheets file to track deadlines, status updates, and the overall animation pipeline
File Structure & Storage
I primarily used Google Suite to manage files and share information. I organized the file structure based on the 2D animation pipeline, with folders for each phase
Communication Streams
Discord was the primary communication channel for the film. Since it was a small team, each artist had their own channel to post work-in-progress and communicate with the director, leads, and asset artists. Communication trickled down the server based on each stage of the pipeline
Production Sheet
I created a Production Sheet using Google Sheets with key information to track production progress, tasks, and updates.
The entire Production Chart can be viewed in the Production Sheet Excel below:
Feel free to click on the tabs to explore the spreadsheet
A Global Team: While the rest of our team was based in Atlanta, a few of our team members were located all over the globe. We had to learn and navigate communication, given the time difference and communication streams.
A Rigid, Fast-Paced Production Schedule: We had to adapt a pre-determined production schedule to our individual needs, setting realistic milestones that prioritised the team's well-being and the quality of the film. We also had to balance both 2D and 3D pipelines within the production.
Multi-role Artists: Since we had a small team, many artists had to learn new roles and abilities to meet production needs. For example, I had to take on roles across management, character, background, prop design, and VFX. We had to learn quickly and step out of our comfort zones.
Challenges