Planning a Project

There are three essential questions to consider when planning a multimedia project:

• What is my deadline?
• What is my budget?
• What is the scope of my project?

It is recommended that when you draw up your specs for the project that you include everything and the kitchen sink to start. If necessary, you can scale things back to meet your budget and timeline. Sometimes, you end up with a better product by paring things down.

The scope of a project can be determined by answering the following questions:

• Who is the target audience?
  • Is your audience professional colleagues, employees or the general public?
• Where is your target audience?
  • Local? National? International?
• Why is this project being created? What do you hope to accomplish with your message?
• How will the information be distributed to the target audience?
  • Private viewing in a meeting setting?
  • DVD distribution?
  • Internet or cable broadcast?
• What content must be produced?
  • Graphics, narration, videography, photography, printed items?
• What content is being provided to Visual Clarity?
  • Sometimes it is better not to reinvent the wheel. You may already have everything you need in terms of photos, videos clips and graphics. The story is evolved from how those elements are reworked and edited together.
• Do you need to obtain copyright permissions or release forms to use the image of a person, place or object in your project?