R|com Creative Blog

Our team has recently completed production of a short mini-documentary project.  It has been one of the most delightful experiences we’ve had in the production space. The film is called “Harmony” and is about a remarkable teacher, Carol Anne McGuire, and her education program, Rock Our World. This is a “fine cut” of the project – a final cut will be completed shortly.

We first met Carol Anne five years ago. The Apple Distinguished Educator was part of a group of teachers we were videotaping for Apple. When we learned about Carol Anne and her interest in changing the world, we were smitten. At the time, Carol Anne was teaching at a school in Orange County, CA. She had just made a video film, using her students. The film was about themselves. All of the students were (and are) blind. But, that’s Carol Anne for you.

More recently (as discussed in a recent blog entry), Carol Anne has been working with the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas. She has been sharing her ongoing core curriculum teaching program that is founded on an international collaboration of music. The program is called “Rock Our World.” It is one of the most amazing methods of delivering education I’ve ever seen.

As Carol says, “when I was a kid, if I wanted to learn about Japan, I’d pick up a book and read it, and that book might have been ten, twenty, or even fifty years old.” Today, when Carol Anne’s students want to know something about Japan, they place a video chat call. Literally. By building musical scores with schools from around the world, and injecting core curriculum (math, science, social studies, etc.), Carol Anne’s children discover a bigger world. And by becoming part of it, they make it theirs – and perhaps a bit smaller, too.

This short video is hopefully a preview of a full-length documentary on the subject. The fine cut process is important, as it gives the filmmakers (us!) the chance to step back from the project for a few days. We can look at the film and evaluate little changes or updates that will help increase the end-result.

One of our challenges involves the creation of budgets for custom web application budgets. The reason is that web development is, basically, unpredictable. There are typically three elements to web application budget development: database expense, application expense, and UI (user interface) expense.

The most straight-forward of the three is database expense. The rules, roles, and execution of database code is fairly predictable. The interaction between application code and the user experience is a completely different animal, and not for reasons you might assume. Our biggest challenge in this area is keeping our client on track with the original specification.

Often, as we develop and deliver custom application code, our client(s) will think of new things to add, change, or eliminate. Now, keep in mind that our work Agreements include a design, feature, and engineering freeze clause, including dates related to the overall project. At the same time, our job is to satisfy each client with the best possible solution. In many cases, these individuals aren’t experienced with application development, so their eyes are their biggest connection to the code they thought they were going to see. Often, what is delivered inspires them, and as such, they want changes – and they want those changes included in the original spec budget.

For our team, the key is often to spend some extra time in the pre-production phase of the project. On occasion, we’ll even add a separate “pre-production” design phase to a budget, so we can work more closely with the client to ensure there are fewer changes as the project moves forward. Even so, there are times when clients want to make changes, regardless of how the preparation process was developed. And, while it is often an opportunity to add revenue to a project, the end-result is delayed, and that has a cost to both parties.

Part of our team is about to head to Australia to shoot a sports documentary for the University of Michigan. It will be a challenging project, crossing the entire country via the Stewart Highway, a desolate, dangerous and often two lane road that sees road trains (multiple trailers pulled by a single tractor-cab) hauling ass at all hours of the day and night.

Preparation for any shoot is key to having a successful outcome. In this case, there are additional variables to be concerned with. One of them is preparing the right clothes and bug repellent, as there is quite a bit of bug action down under! Cameron will pack and unpack multiple times, not because it’s fun, or even because she’s a woman (gulp!), but because she’s experienced with this type of work. Taking the time to resolve where gear goes, where clothes go, and how to keep weight below the airlines stipulated maximums (before penalties, meaning cash) is an essential part of the pre-production process.

And, when you’re going to be on location for several weeks, often without hotels or other common retailers about, the time spent is well worth it. Even after years of doing this, I continue to marvel at how much time is involved in this process.