A Film Project is a Project - What Makes it a Project?

A project is a unique, one of kind undertaking, designed to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity. Building a patio on the back of a house is a project. Putting together a wedding is a project. Organizing a party for your ungrateful friends is a project. There’s a beginning to it, a middle to it and an end to it. You think about it, plan it out, do it, and its over. That, in a nutshell is project.

There’s one additional and important element that makes something a project. Any project, whether or not it is a film project, is governed by something called “constraints” (see the magic triangle). Constraints are limits on what you can do. In film production, there are three constraints: schedule, cost, and quality.

• Schedule – The schedule is your timeline for getting your project done. Time is one of the base factors in a film project. If you are getting paid to put together a project (ala, you’ve been hired to shoot a wedding video, or a music video, or a porn video), the schedule is more important because you most likely have a ‘deadline’. A deadline is a date that cannot be missed without catastrophic results. For example, if you are hired to produce and deliver a commercial for a local business, they most likely need it finished in a timely manner in order to get it on the air. They will have you harmed if you do not deliver on time. That is a deadline.
• Cost – The second constraint is your cost (or sometimes called ‘resources’). There are two major things considered ‘cost’: money and people. Money and people are considered the fuel for your film project. You need fuel to run the film project engine. Fuel is a cost. Money and people power are considered a ‘cost’ (note: even ‘free’ labor is considered a cost)
• Quality – The third constraint is your quality. How good or bad can you make your film project? How professional can it be? Is it a full-blown motion picture, or a backyard yuk-yuk video for YouTube?

It is important to note that these constraints are not independent of each other. In fact, they are related and tied-together.

‘Fast, good, cheap… pick two!’ is an old saying you see in barbershops.

If you want it fast and high quality, it probably is not going to be a cheap film. If you want it high quality and cheap, it’s probably going to take a long time to do. If you want your film fast and cheap, you aren’t going to be able to make it a very high quality.

The very essence of mastering the planning of your film project is an honest and keen understanding of your constraints.