Facilitating the Facilitators - The Case for Production Workflow Managers
Production Workflow Manager: A liaison who designs, manages, and optimizes production workflows and tool configurations, allowing for fluid collaboration between creative, production, and technical teams.
Introduction
"The envoy to pipeline from production."
Most of us accept that the primary role of a VFX vendor-side production team is to facilitate the activities of artists working on a project. The tangible goal-posts then, can be summed up as: keeping an artist's main focus on what's happening between their read and write nodes — not tracking creative look approvals, change orders, linking assets, scheduling, relaying notes, and so on...
A good producer needs to have a set of tools at their disposal to enlist, support, and deliver the work of these artists. These tools should also help make sure producers and coordinators can utilize all available data tracked in whatever production resources available. Enter the Production Workflow Manager. Some put this under Production Manager, others Production Pipeline Lead, at some shops coordinators do this, or TDs, but this person's role is to facilitate the facilitators — and it's my opinion that this should be a dedicated role as the envoy to pipeline from production. Essentially someone who works to build, teach, and support workflows that bolster the work of production professionals.
