Advance planning. A milestone sheet for all stakeholders. Enough buffer and recovery time for all teams. Standby teams. Shifts. Prioritizing people over the timeline. Always. Keeping realistic deadlines and not make-believe ones.

"Pre-planning and communication" There are two ways to keep a project on track: 1) Plan ahead. 2) Communicate when the plan goes awry or unforeseen circumstances arise. We used to rely on 1) a lot but we've shifted more to 2) in recent years. I'm old enough to remember back in the day when a job wouldn't get done without massive amounts of pre-planning. Changing our minds at the last minute was costly and logistically took too long to implement. Nowadays, faster and more flexible digital workflow has normalized delaying committed decisions up until delivery for both producer and client, deprioritizing planning ahead and goal visualization. When a muscle isn't exercised regularly, it atrophies from disuse. Use it or lose it.

It means there have been problems. First of all, you should discern them and take actions to solve them. Additionally, to make it up, you should work twofold hard.

When your animation project hits unexpected roadblocks, keeping the timeline on track is all about adaptability. First thing - breathe. Then, figure out exactly what’s causing the delay. Is it a tech issue? A resource problem? A bottleneck in the pipeline? Once you know what’s slowing things down, shift priorities. Maybe certain scenes can move ahead while another gets sorted. Maybe there's a workaround. Maybe you bring in extra hands if needed. And communicate always. Keep your team and clients in the loop. Transparency builds trust, and sometimes, fresh eyes on a problem unlocks a quicker solution.

Assess the setbacks and prioritize tasks. Identify the root cause, evaluate affected tasks, and determine resources needed to resolve the issues. Reallocate resources and adjust the schedule accordingly. Focus on critical tasks, reassign tasks to team members with necessary skills, and adjust deadlines. Communicate changes to the team and stakeholders. Inform them about the revised schedule, expected completion date, and provide regular progress updates. Focus on completing critical tasks first. Identify essential tasks, allocate sufficient resources, and monitor progress. By following these steps, you can effectively manage project setbacks and keep your animation project timeline on track.

When facing unexpected setbacks in an animation project, I focus on adaptability and clear communication to keep the timeline on track. Prioritize & Adjust Milestones: I reassess project milestones and identify areas where workflows can be streamlined without sacrificing quality. Transparent Communication: I inform stakeholders with realistic updates, presenting solutions rather than problems. Optimize Resources: Whether reallocating tasks, refining the scope, or optimizing processes, I ensure the team stays focused on critical elements that drive progress. I’ve successfully navigated delays while maintaining high-quality deliverables by staying proactive and solution-oriented.

Dead line para mim é dead line e pronto. Se não tem, que venha o próximo. Para manter um projeto de animação nos trilhos, priorizo o essencial, uso automação para acelerar o workflow e redistribuo tarefas para evitar gargalos. Comunicação ágil e planejamento com margem para imprevistos são chave. No fim, é equilíbrio entre organização e improviso. Sempre há um jeito de virar o jogo, mas sem prazo cumprido, não tem jogo.

Things can go wrong—hardware and software failures, staff turnover, tight deadlines, budget blowouts, etc. It happens. A good project manager plans for it, with buffer time and a backup budget. You learn fast that perfect planning is impossible. First, get your head straight. A stressed mind solves nothing. Take a day to step back, reassess, and replan. You might need to extend deadlines, tap into reserves, hire new staff, or buy new tools. Prioritize. Then, act. Also, record the problem, the solution you implemented, and the results. This creates a valuable knowledge base for future projects. Don't forget to implement a post project review, to analyse what went wrong, and what went right. This will greatly improve future projects.

Depending on the kind of a setback, I'll do different things. Someone got the covid and can't work? They need a stand-in. We're generally not pulling the weight? Then it's time to hire more animators or whoever it is we're lacking. It's one small thing that someone can't do due to [insert emergency]? I can probably do it myself.

En caso de un retraso, analizo el tema con el equipo de supervisores, vemos si esto ocasiona retrasos en otras areas o si es un caso aislado, y proponemos opciones de solución; importante no quedarse con una sola solución, siempre es bueno mantener un plan B y C. Es importante hacer una supervision constante al plan inicial propuesto, por lo general esto hace detectar los problemas de forma anticipada y permite tomar acciones prontas ayudando a encausar el proyecto de nuevo en poco tiempo.