Aileen: 0:02
Today's episode brings in King Montecillo, President and Managing Director of FizzBuzz Inc. An animation, design, and web development studio that specializes in stop motion animation, 2D and 3D animation, mobile app development, and even content and branding. Some of their partners include StikBot, Zing, Thumb Chucks, Evans Electric, and Everyday Play. King sits down with us to share her expertise on project scopes and what it takes to create ones that are most likely to succeed from project inception to delivery.
King: 0:37
Hello! Hi, Aileen! It's yeah, it's nice to see you and meet you.
Aileen: 0:43
Yeah, likewise, likewise. I'm super excited with what everybody's doing because everybody's bringing in their A game and all their expertise in the podcast. So, let's dive right in. Your studio works in different animation mediums. You have 2D, 3D, stop motion. It's a lot of things. How do you manage project scope and you ensure success through those different animation styles?
King: 1:09
Well first and foremost make sure that resources are on their A game. They're equipped in terms of their trainings, and we have to make sure that their skills are at par with the current or, you know, to be globally competitive. So, to be able to work on these projects, we have to identify, definitely, since we're offering different animations, 2D, 3D and stop-motion animation, we have to identify first the type of styles that the client wants. That's where the discovery phase goes. And we have to make sure that project managers are also there, together with the creative leads. So basically, assigning the right person, identifying the projects on the onset, before the project, goes to production or even to sending them quotes. So, it's very important, identify each of these projects, and make sure that these are documented. Documentation is the key. I think that's one of the things that during my start of my career where I've learned the hard way. So documentation is the key.
Aileen: 2:27
Hard lessons, document. That's really good. I think if you don't put anything into writing, is it really actually there? Do you have a preferred way of putting it in, in a document? Do you use project management tools or is this just through email or?
King: 2:41
Ideally, we have of course, GDRIVE's already there, but in terms of monitoring it, we normally have, let's say, we call it a Bible, or a document that has all the information. And it's going to be shared to the resources. In all our Gdrives, we have different folders that says details or documents wherein, the resources are already onboarded once they join us. If in the event, that, you know, chatting and emails are, you know, that's where the clients are comfortable, project managers are there to collate everything. So that's one of the crucial role of a project manager, other than the creative leads. Project managers, always have, it's like they're the, the housekeeper, whatever blocker they experienced, the project manager should be there to help them and provide solutions so that way they can just, you know, work and deliver. Whatever is expected from them.
Aileen: 3:51
I love the idea of the Bible where everything is there. And you mentioned how the project managers are housekeepers and they're meant to-- they're there to make sure that if the client says it on email, it has to be on the Bible. And that really highlights how important each role there is. Now that we're in each role, how do you approach the selection and assignment of the right people for those roles in animation production?
King: 4:19
Well number one, once they come in, definitely we have skillsets that we identify them with. And once they are identified, we have a couple of trainings. In fact, just recently, we have that recent 2D training and anatomy, which will be included in their skill sets. So knowing these trainings are being given to them. So that means at some point they don't stay to be on the fabrication or in the 2D or just doing something else for the rest of their lives. So we try to make sure that once they acquire these skills, they'd be able to work on it. So how to identify the roles of each resources? We work with the creative leads or the leads. Wherein they themselves have experience and have worked with these resources. Together, with the project manager, they identify that these resources will be ready for let's say another project. And this time, it's going to be a different project from the last time.
Aileen: 5:32
That sounds pretty good. So, if it's not just their skillset, but their ambition, their passion, and that, I think that motivates people to do more. Now let's go to the not so nice parts of project scopes wherein a client wants changes or additions to a project that weren't initially planned. And we know that happens from time to time. So how do you communicate these changes to the client professionally?
King: 6:03
They always say that a client or the customer is always right in this case. Going back to the first few questions that you asked, by having a Bible, we always use that as a reference. Now, once we have that reference. And we agreed during the project kickoff, we call it a project kickoff when the client signs, the quote is already ready. So the client already understood from day one that these are only the specifications that they need or they expected. Now, if there are changes, definitely we can accommodate it, but there's a but. So, it might be costly, it might, you know, extend the time. If they are willing to do both, then there's no problem, as long as we can accommodate it. Now, if there is an issue with the timeline, and especially with the cost, then that's the time that we get to discuss with the client of the different changes? And what's the purpose? And is this something that's very important and critical? It's like a blocker before they, you know, release their project to the public. Is this something that they really wanted? Then, we have to agree at some point that, you know this is a change, this is identified as a change and definitely, it will be costly. Normally, we provide them with quotes, and we have a series of discussion. And if in case, if at some point they will agree, we normally provide them also with the work around. And since if they're very particular with the cost, then we talk, because that's how you retain the client.
Aileen: 7:55
I love how the Bible comes in to save everyone's time. It saves the day all the time. So that's good. It really highlights how much you need to spend on your foundations, that it has to be strong. Now, you talked about certain other stages in the animation production process. So, what else is, what else are the other stages that is part from the initial concept to the final product? What are these crucial considerations to ensure success at each stage?
King: 8:31
Like any other project, I've been into a game development industry back then for nine years. It's basically the same, pre-production, production, and postproduction and then the last one is the distribution. The distribution normally is being done by clients from my previous experiences but at some point, for some of the clients that we worked with recently, we also do the distribution. So, for the animation, so for the pre-production, everything happens there. It takes like 80% of the work, 60 to 80 percent of the work, wherein we do the concept first and then the writing, the scripts, the story, the storyline, storyboard, animatics, voice. Actors are also in that stage and putting everything together to create an animatic. So, when I say putting everything together, meaning there's already background sounds, voice acting, the animation itself, that's what animatics look like. If there's a huge change, we have to go back to the storyboard storyline and the script and everything else. So, in every stage we present it to the client and ideally, we have a conference call to let them understand that this is already the finished product for the pre-production and let them approve. And again, going back to what I've said, the Bible and all the scripts and all the documentation that we've presented to them, we itemize it, we discuss it, and then once they approve, then we go to the next phase. So we have to make sure that each stage is signed off by the client and understands that once they sign off, there's going to be a cost if there will be changes along the way. So, once it goes to production, it's let's say 20 percent or 30 percent of work. It's basically just doing everything what it says in the animatics. It's applicable to both 2D, 3D, and stop motion animation. But at some point, for stop motion animation during the production, one of the challenges that we have is how we move the characters in such a way that it won't look awkward or it, it will look like it's really animating or it's really moving because we are only using 12 frames per second or 12 FPS. We normally add probably shot list within the production space. And then after that, the client won't be able to see the production per se. They can only see the behind the scenes which they, you know, they love. Looking at behind the scenes it assures them that, oh, it's really progressing, we're moving forward. So, for the postproduction, they have to make sure that they also know how to act in real life. Because that's how they'll be able to convert the animation from real life to the digital animation. So, it's very crucial that we have once the postproduction is initially rendered, we show it to the rest of the team. Not to, you know, not to belittle anyone or belittle his work, but to improve. If it's something that we've missed, this part is supposed to be a fight scene, why are they so lame, so stuff like that. Once postproduction is done, then we give it to the client for final approval. And if there are no issues, then it's done. In the distribution, usually we just give all the information or the data to the client or the finished product. But for some cases, for some of our clients, We normally create for their social media for their-- specifically for Instagram or YouTube. And then sometimes we also create blogs for them. So that's the whole process.
Aileen: 12:55
That's a, that's quite a journey. Thank you for mapping that out from the beginning up until the end. And I think a lot of people don't realize how much work goes into developing a game. It doesn't matter what kind of medium you're using. So thank you for that. And thank you for sharing your experience or your expertise with us today. Can you tell people how to find you, where they can contact you if they have questions or if they want to book your services?
King: 13:21
Oh yeah, sure. So, you can find us at or visit our website fizzbuzz.ph or follow or look for FizzBuzz Inc at Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Aileen: 13:37
All right. Thank you for that, King. Thank you for sharing all your skillset today and for giving us your time today.
King: 13:43
No problem. Thank you so much, Aileen.
Aileen: 13:48
Thanks for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our series on Game Development Experts on the Arise Plus Philippines YouTube channel.