Findings

Abstract

The shooting of a film involves coordination of crew members within emerging sub-teams. The author will first describe the scene shooting process, including the rehearsal process taking place just before the actual shooting, highlighting the way crew members coordinate through formal structures. The author will next discuss how a creative team subsequently turns into uncoordinated methods—in the form of informal practices—and more specifically the way an initial sub-team is formed and then develops into a revised sub-team with a different member formation and new roles and responsibilities for existing members, in order to manage job interdependencies and emerging issues, explaining how the dynamic interplay between formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices evolves and the team developmental process unfolds, before finally describing how the revised sub-team dismantles in order for the same process to develop during the shooting of the scenes to follow, emphasizing a cyclical team coordination process.

The shooting of a film involves coordination of crew members within emerging sub-teams. The author will first describe the scene shooting process, including the rehearsal process taking place just before the actual shooting, highlighting the way crew members coordinate through formal structures. The author will next discuss how a creative team subsequently turns into uncoordinated methods—in the form of informal practices—and more specifically the way an initial sub-team is formed and then develops into a revised sub-team with a different member formation and new roles and responsibilities for existing members, in order to manage job interdependencies and emerging issues, explaining how the dynamic interplay between formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices evolves and the team developmental process unfolds, before finally describing how the revised sub-team dismantles in order for the same process to develop during the shooting of the scenes to follow, emphasizing a cyclical team coordination process. Table 4.1 provides detailed information on aggregate dimensions, second-order (emergent) themes and their definitions, and additional examples of first-order data.

Table 4.1 Aggregate Dimensions, Second-Order Themes, Definitions, First-Order Concepts

4.1 Inception and Shooting of a Scene

A movie project is broken down into several scenes that have to be shot individually but then need to have the necessary sequence in order to become part of the complete project. What is important to note is that the shooting of a scene is not a rigid, straight forward assignment. While discussing with the director of the telenovela I got the following description:

“Based on the script you need to envision the scene and then try to materialize your vision. In practical terms however, it is a complicated process because of its creative nature. Working with a group of people aiming to turn a written text into a real life scene entails a high level of complexity for two reasons. First, because there is no clear final point at which you can stop, as you continually consider improvements, taking into account the opinion of other crew members as well as that of the actors. Second, because you have to be flexible while at the same time work under immense time pressure”.

This excerpt clearly shows that although the director may have an initial thought on how to go on about the shooting of a scene that may seem to be clear, “it then develops into a complex creative team project that will be delivered by a team comprised of different areas’ experts whose expertise is complementary, and who at some point will contribute toward the materialization of the director’s vision”. The director’s initial thoughts thus develop into discussions, questions and proposals that highlight the issues that have to be considered, including both the physical creation and sequence of the scenes as well as the synchronization of all crew members during the shooting process. They all form part of a continuous creative build-up process aiming to reach the point which both the director and the production manager consider satisfactory.

This developmental creative process sheds light on the importance of the independent specialists contributing based on their knowledge, expertise and experience, and for those contributions to then be integrated into a final coherent whole via the necessary team coordination.

4.2 Formal Structures

A film crew consists of several members of different expertise fields and levels of experience assigned clear roles. The team is formed by the production manager (PM) and its membership depends on the size and budget of the film. Team members work on the media project on a daily basis, following a weekly time schedule prepared by the PM that contains detailed description of the scenes to be shot, the actors involved, time schedules, locations, and maps. This information is disseminated to all group members well in advance so that each one knows what is expected of them.

In some cases the film director (DR) may be part of a team responsible for the writing of the script and becomes the link between the script writing team and the crew responsible to materialize the envisioned theme. The director-writer then meets up with the assistant director (AD) to discuss the peculiarities of the weekly program and consider well in advance several issues including what needs to be highlighted to actors in relation to their roles and the way they are expected to act on a specific scene. Also, the script goes to the PM who is responsible not only to prepare the weekly program, but also to consider several script-related issues, including whether a scene should be shot either during the day or night as well as the number of different shooting locations.

The reason the PM needs to make a decision on the different locations is that all scenes scheduled to be shot in one location will have to be shot when the crew visit the specific location irrespective of the scene sequence. This means that if scenes numbers five, ten and fifteen are scheduled to be shot at the same location then the weekly program has to take this into consideration and thus the PM needs to plan for the availability of actors, scripts and crew necessary. Consequently, related decisions made by the PM, DR and AD have to be coordinated well in advance to ensure this peculiarity does not affect the scenes’ sequential chain. This creates a major complication due to the fact that the PM needs to ensure that the end of scene number four has to be connected to the start of scene number five amongst other things in terms of day and night shooting as well as actors’ clothing and psychology, even though the two scenes may probably not be shot one after another.

Once this is done the DR together with the PM join the rest of the crew to start the shooting process. Crew members have clear distinct roles within the team, each one knowing what is expected of them. It is worth noting that because many start their careers at the position of crew assistant (CA) and gradually progress to all different roles, they are well aware of all different jobs (Bechky, 2006). Also, although roles are distinct, they are not totally and completely separated (Bechky & Okhuysen, 2011) which can sometimes be an advantage during the actual shooting. Consequently, the role structure becomes more visible to all members as they have already crossed roles by assisting in a variety of functions, and learned not only the expectations of that role but also how the roles relate to each other. Thus, crew members become aware of the expectations of different roles by interacting with each other and watching others perform their roles. This inter-organizational career progression therefore creates a generalized role structure that provides crew members with an understanding of the function of each position that generalizes across projects (Bechky, 2006). According to the AD of the Telenovela “I started my career as a wardrobe supervisor (WS) which is what I studied at the university, but then in my second job assignment I was requested to work as a make-up artist (MA). In my third job assignment the PM suggested I take the role of AD as I was considered to have the potential to fulfill the role. Consequently, I know all three jobs, as well as what is expected of each one, really well. This thorough understanding helps me deal with the issues arising during the shooting”.

This in-depth understanding is vital as crew members need to deal with new issues arising fast due to the fact that they are always under immense time pressure to keep up with the time schedule. According to the director of photography (DOP) of the TV series, “on top of the fact that our job is very demanding due to the need to create, we also have to deal with immense time pressure. Creativity requires time which we do not have as the PM is always under pressure to keep up with the weekly time schedule”.

What is also important to note is that this clear role structure is responsible for a team hierarchy according to the description of a cameraman (CM) of the telenovela “the team may operate in a way that makes an outsider think that no specific job limits and boundaries exist, however in reality we all know that there are limits to what we can and cannot do, and I guess subconsciously, of the team hierarchy that exists. We all know for example that when necessary, the PM will get involved and give solutions to any outstanding issues”.

A key issue regarding role structure is that all roles are assigned and specified by the PM in a formal manner. More specifically, the PM assigns all roles to crew members at the start of the project, clearly designating responding duties and responsibilities. As the DOP of the TV series explains “Before the start of the new project I was approached by the production manager in order to discuss what was expected of my-self. This was helpful as I had already worked with him in the past and thus I knew the way he expects people to operate. This is not always the case as in previous job assignments, working with different production managers, my duties and responsibilities were never made clear to me and as a result did not have a clear understanding of my job tasks”.

4.3 Informal Practices

During the shooting of a film project several issues arise that need to be handled by the crew within the expected time limits. As the DR of the TV series explains “the DR together with the AD initially meet up and discuss about the scenes to follow in order to identify the issues they need to highlight to both the actors and the crew. This way all people involved are clear about what is expected of them during the shooting. However, these issues relate to specific details in relation to the script and not the artistic vision necessary for the actual materialization of a scene, which is something you cannot plan in advance. When you go to the specific shooting location several issues will arise which have to be handled on the spot”.

During the data analysis the author came up with three stages that make up the coordination process taking place namely the initial sub-team formation, handling of job interdependencies, and dealing with emerging new issues.

4.3.1 Forming Initial Sub-team

Once the shooting of a specific scene commences, the PM together with the DR need to consider the scene’s initial creative and technical issues arising. In order to do so, they form an initial sub-team consisting of only some of the film production crew members. The PM then breaks down the shooting process by delegating responsibilities, and subsequently the sub-team members start discussing the way to handle the initial emerging issues in an informal flexible manner, allowing for the process to unfold and collapse into smaller parts. This way the process becomes simpler and clearer to all sub-team members, contributing toward an all-round team understanding. A key feature of this process is that sub-team members can get involved with issues relating to duties and responsibilities of their teammates, express their opinion and thus contribute, always bearing in mind that most of the times this process will end up with the PM together with the DR making final decisions based on team discussions. It is also worth noting that this process helps improve team understanding by triggering new thinking, which at first leads to the discovery of job interdependencies.

According to the PM of the Telenovela “when you arrive at the shooting location and try to follow the script you have in your hands, it soon becomes clear that aiming to create reality out of a written story is not easy as you need to cope with things you never thought of in advance, and thus never considered the way they can be managed. This is the point when you need to create an initial sub-team in order to handle these issues in the most creative way bearing in mind the immense time pressure you are under, otherwise the sun will go down and you will not be able to shoot all day scenes!”.

The following excerpt exemplifies the PM’s comments and the process described above. The PM discusses with the DR during the shooting of a scene where they need to “create” rain on what turned out, contrary to the weather forecast, to be a sunny day.

PM::

How will the cameras film sun light during a rainy day?

DR::

As usual, the weather people got it wrong because they forecasted rain so this is the reason why we had planned to shoot this scene today.

PM::

First, we need to consider how to get actors wet, always making sure they do not take any risk of catching a cold!

DR::

This is not a problem as we have brought the machinery we usually use to “create” rain.

PM::

What about the buildings around? Do they not need to be wet? How are we going to do this?

DR::

We will ask the gaffer/grip (GG) to wet these buildings then. This has to be done for all buildings that will “play” within the scene.

PM::

What about the sun that will “show” in the cameras? Let’s talk to the cameramen (CM) to see how this can be handled. They will probably either need to cover up the cameras or use rain lenses. We may need to change location for this scene in order to be shot in a shaded place, which will make it easier for the cameras to roll without any sign of sun.

The above example illustrates the way the PM together with the DR start to form an initial sub-team that can deal with issues arising during the beginning of the specific scene shooting. What becomes apparent is that only some crew members need to join this emerging sub-team because at this initial stage they need to deal with the scene’s initial creative and technical issues. Consequently, only members who have the necessary knowledge and expertise join in. This initial discussion leads to the discovery of job interdependencies, which forms the second part of the analysis.

4.3.2 Handling Job Interdependencies

While discussing the initial matters that need to be handled at the beginning of the shooting process, sub-team members start to realize the existence of job interdependencies. According to the AD, “crew members depend on each other while performing their duties and responsibilities. This becomes obvious for example during the materialization of a creative idea where crew members in charge of the creative part need the technical support of crew members in charge of the technical part of the shooting. The DR may have the most creative idea but it cannot materialize if for example it may not be possible to provide the necessary light and camera support”.

Initially sub-team members become aware of job interdependencies, and then understand their job implications. Each member needs to comprehend the necessity to work with each other in order to reach the best possible outcome during the shooting, and more specifically comprehend how job interdependencies affect the group creative process. The PM of the telenovela described several job interdependencies that became obvious during the shooting of a night scene between himself, the GG and the DOP.

PM::

We will need to make sure that water flows through the main village tap located at the fountain of the village square where we will shoot the night scene.

GG::

I need to check if the tap functions properly as it is very old.

PM::

What do we do if there is no water flow through the tap?

GG::

We will have to check if there is any chance to connect the tap to a nearby building.

PM::

What if this is not possible?

GG::

We will probably need to consider changing location.

PM::

Ok, I understand, however I would prefer to find a solution as this location is perfect. We also need to consider the lights of the scene as this is a night scene, which according to the script dates back to 1945 when there was no electricity supply in the village.

GG::

We thus have to consider carefully not only where to place our lights but also the type of light covers we have to use. If the village square is very small we may be in trouble as we may not have enough space to position all necessary night lights.

PM::

What do we do in such case?

GG::

We will probably need to place all our cameras close to each other and in the same location within the village square.

DOP::

This will not be good enough but if this has to be the case I will need to know in advance in order to make all necessary planning for the cameras necessary for the shooting.

The above excerpt demonstrates how different jobs are interdependent, and that these interdependencies need to be clarified, understood, and their implications be taken into consideration leading to compromises between sub-team members.

More specifically, the above dialogue shows that job interdependencies lead to sub-team members flexibly adjusting their original ideas. The PM is prepared to change location based on the GG’s opinion that this might be necessary for technical reasons, thus resolving the issue arising through an open discussion with the member of staff dealing with the technical part of the shooting. Although this is a compromise, the PM is willing to be flexible as long as this will not lead the creativity level to fall below the acceptable level.

In addition, job interdependences can contribute toward a better understanding and thus handling of the matters involved, something that became obvious during a discussion between the PM and the production sound mixer (SM) in the scene described above. The PM explained that “during the preparation of the night scene I had to discuss with the SM the part of the scene where the actors would first have to fill in their water jars from the village tap and then throw good luck coins to the fountain just before exiting the scene. I told the SM that I was worried about the sound effects as I would like the sound of the water running, the voice of the actors, and the noise of the coins falling in the fountain to have “separation” and be heard clearly. At that stage I was worried about the way this would be done. However, the SM explained how he would manage this, indicating the actors’ positions and the timing of the movements for this to materialize successfully”. Once the PM understood how this would be done he flexibly adjusted the actors’ movements to account for the SM’s suggestions and as a result coordinate team efforts.

4.3.3 Dealing With Emerging New Issues

The discussion described above led not only to the discovery of job interdependencies but also to emerging new issues that had to be dealt with by the sub-team members. While discussing the materialization of the scene several questions and subsequent new issues came up as sub-team members kept questioning things and evaluating different options, always bearing in mind both job interdependencies and the script’s creating vision. The following excerpt from the scene described above taken from a discussion between the PM, the DR, the GG and the DOP demonstrates the way sub-team discussions led to the development of new questions and the management of emerging new issues during the unfolding of the specific scene.

PM::

It seems that there is no water running through the tap.

DR::

I was told that there would be water running through the tap when I spoke to the village council members some time ago. As usual you cannot trust them!

PM::

What do we do now? How can water be supplied and run through the tap?

GG::

We may need to find out the starting point of the water pipe and see if we could connect it to a hose which we can then extend all the way to the tap.

PM::

But then, how do we cover it up to make it “disappear” from the scene?

GG::

Shall we use clothes of the same color as that of the building?

DOP::

The cameras should only focus on the tap and not the water running otherwise the hose might “play” in the scene!

PM::

And what about the sound? How do we make sure the sound is that of water falling down from a tap and not a hose?

DOP::

There is a way around it. The cameras will “zoom” on the actors’ faces so that the GG can insert the hose in the tap and the SM can approach as close as possible to the fountain and capture the sound.

PM::

I do not mind as long as the scene is according to the script and the shooting is not affected negatively in any way. We have to make sure that the audience can understand the plot and we can therefore communicate the messages included in the script successfully.

This discussion shows how the sub team is initially formed, its members begin to realize the existence of job interdependencies and the way they affect them, and then how new issues keep emerging that need be resolved, always within the boundaries set by both the script and the creative level considered satisfactory by both the PM and the DR.

As new issues arise, and different difficulties and challenges surface, sub team members position themselves in order to contribute on the best possible way to manage emerging issues based on their experience and expertise. This process seems to unfold informally, where sub team members discuss an issue, try to understand its different aspects, ask questions, suggest and consider different alternatives, confront limits set by the job tasks of other team members, and do so by always referring to the script. The same process repeats itself during the emergence of a new issue. The peculiarity is that, unlike in many other organizations, sub-team members can follow several different routes to reach the same final point (shooting of a scene), but what is important is to discover the route that will lead to the creation of the scene that will become very popular with the audience and as a result achieve high ratings.

During the shooting of the same night scene (described above) for example, the following discussion took place between the DOP, the PM, the GG, and the DR.

DOP::

We need to consider the shadows appearing because of the crew working on the scene, as the only light in the scene must be that of the moon.

PM::

We thus have to place the lights in such a way to ensure we eliminate all shadows.

DR::

This is very important as the audience may mistake them for ghosts and get confused!

PM::

What about the shadows of the actors? They need to “follow” the moon light.

DR::

Also, we need to consider the street light, surely in the 40’s there were no street lights!

GG::

We may either need to cover the street light up or keep in the scene and make it look like the moon light.

DR::

Guys, the script expects the audience to get stressed and worried in a night scene showing terrified actors, we therefore must ensure this is the “feeling” captured.

DOP::

In this case we need to have our lights “move together” with the actors to make sure the same moon light appears during the complete shooting.

GG::

This probably means that we will have to place our lights in all four sides of the scene’s location and at the same time follow the actors with some extra moveable light.

DR::

We are not supposed to make a horror movie, just need to focus on the terrified faces of actors without making the audience feel horrified.

According to the excerpt above, sub-team member discussions lead first to the discovery of job interdependencies and then the emergence of new issues that have to be handled by the sub-team while always aiming to uncover the way that can lead toward the shooting of a scene that can capture the audience. What is important to note is that the uncertainty on the best way forward leads to complications that will probably require flexibility in order to be handled appropriately. More specifically, changes within the initial sub-team may become necessary in order to answer the questions raised and face the difficulties arising. This can be achieved through a sub-team restructuring and a subsequent enrichment of the team with the needed expertise and experience which is the theme of the section to follow.

4.4 Team Developmental Process

4.4.1 Restructuring Initial Sub-team—forming Revised Sub-team

Both the PM and DR are in charge of forming the initial sub-team responsible for the shooting of a specific scene, based on the crew members’ expertise and in accordance with the script break down. Initial discussions between sub-team members lead to the discovery of job interdependencies, and subsequently the emergence of new issues and resulting challenges, questions and difficulties, pointing to the need for new members who possess the knowledge and expertise necessary for the shooting process to advance. New members may need to join the initial sub-team while some of the existing members may need to drop out, leading to a dynamic transformation of the initial sub-team toward the formation of a revised sub-team will aiming to manage emerging issues.

In the following excerpts taken from the shooting of an outdoor scene that includes the killing of the main actress, the initial sub-team is faced with questions and difficulties that existing members cannot deal with, and thus dynamically alters its formation in order to handle emerging complications.

DR::

We need to ensure that the main actress is positioned at the correct height before running toward the edge of the hill and committing suicide.

DOP::

The key issue is to capture the change in height as the actress falls.

PM::

Would it be a good idea to zoom in the feet of the actress and not the whole body?

DR::

We also need to decide about the use of either a stunt man or a puppet.

DOP::

guess that while the actress plunges to death it is important we also decide on the position of the sound mixer to ensure we record the actress’s feelings.

DR::

I believe we also need to talk to the MA as we need to know how she intends to make the actress up while lying dead on the ground as this will have an effect on her “positioning”.

PM::

We also need to know how long the SM would like the run of the actress to be before falling off the cliff in order to be able to record all related sounds.

MA::

The blood on the actress’s body will need to be analogous to the run and the fall so both the distance of the run and the height of the fall need to be taken into consideration. Also, if you shoot stones falling off the cliff this will also have an impact on the actress’s make-up.

SM::

Ok, but in this case I would prefer to break-up the scene into three parts, the run toward the cliff, the fall, and the actress lying on the ground.

DOP::

If we decide to go down this way we will need to place our cameras in such a way to ensure they can follow the actress in all different actions and capture all three different parts as a result.

PM::

This seems to be the best way of shooting this scene, let’s go for it guys.

This excerpt demonstrates how the sub-team discussion on the specific scene revealed job interdependencies leading to the emergence of new issues, and then a dynamic change in formation and the creation of a revised sub-team. This was triggered by existing members realizing that the initial sub-team formed could not handle all emerging issues, hence the need for an initial team restructuring.

Another issue that arose during team member discussions was the way things unfold when crew members join in group discussions and try to contribute on issues that are not within their area of expertise. While discussing the moves of the actress before committing suicide, the GG got involved in a discussion of issues outside the boundaries of his technical expertise, according to the excerpt below:

GG::

Would it not be better to zoom in the actress’s face during her running toward the cliff and then in her body while lying on the ground? This would add drama and increase the build-up of tension.

DR::

I do not think that this would be in accordance to the script. In any case, this could be a good idea from a technical but not a creative point of view because breaking-up this scene would affect continuity negatively.

GG::

I guess you are right! In any case, I cannot really evaluate the creative side of things, it is not even my job to do so, I should not be getting involved I guess.

DR::

No, you can express your thoughts as this could trigger new ideas, but then my job is to evaluate all ideas from both a creative and technical point of view.

The above discussion demonstrates a very interesting point regarding the structuring of the revised sub-team. New members make a case for joining the team only to be pushed aside when their involvement is not considered to add value. It seems that during the dynamic transformation of the initial sub-team, changes in team formation can only occur when new members can make a positive contribution.

4.4.2 Formal Role Extension of Initial Sub-Team members

Another interesting point coming out of this dynamic transformation of the initial sub-team relates to temporary changes to the members’ duties and responsibilities, where roles flexibly extend in order to facilitate a smooth team functioning. More specifically, formal role boundaries are relaxed and initial sub-team members cross over each other’s formal duties and responsibilities. This is possible because, according to the data collected, crew members are assigned different roles in different media projects during the progression of their career which helps them broaden their experience and expertise. What seems critical is that team members recognize that this formal role extension is necessary for the successful shooting of the scene under immense time pressure. Team members are therefore willing to cross over role boundaries as part of a creative process where their involvement in duties and responsibilities that fall outside the boundaries of their formal roles enables discussions of different options, working solutions, and as a result a refinement toward the final decision on the shooting of the specific scene.

What is interesting is that the relaxation of formal role boundaries is done informally, not organized in any formal manner, and this process seems to be spontaneous and unfold on the spot while the team aims to manage emerging issues. Whenever team members were not willing to make the cross over both the PM and the DR would assist by triggering the discussion, expressing ideas and asking questions, thus pushing sub-team members into a dialogue that would lead to a broader discussion of different possibilities that expanded beyond their formal roles and responsibilities.

The following excerpt highlights the extension of formal role boundaries described above during the shooting of a wedding night scene and more specifically a fight taking place inside a church.

PM::

We need to decide how to shoot the scene unraveling in three different locations: the bus carrying the wedding guests, the steps just outside the church, and the inside of the church during the wedding ceremony.

DR::

We also need to make sure that we shoot in such a way that, according to the script, we do not reveal the faces of the people involved in the fight.

PM::

We thus need camera crew in all three locations I guess.

DOP::

I suggest we break-up the scene into different parts.

DR::

This could lead toward a sequence break-down so I am not sure that this is the best way forward.

GG::

What about night lights? Also, as we must not show the faces of the actors involved in the fight we need to consider their positioning inside the church. We could ask them to stand behind the bride and the groom or we can decide for the fight to take place outside the church and we only “play” the sound without showing what is actually happening.

DR::

The second option could be a good idea as it would create extra suspense, in accordance with the script.

PM::

If the script is not very specific and as a result we have flexibility on how to materialize this part of the scene, we can give it a try.

As this excerpt shows, the GG’s suggestion falls outside his formal role, as it relates to the creative and not technical part of the scene, however it is considered positively by both the PM and the DR. This illustrates that formal role boundaries are informally relaxed on the spot, while different ideas and options are expressed, and that sub-team members temporarily cross over to different roles in order to handle emerging issues arising during the shooting.

To sum-up, the initial sub-team is thus transformed in two ways. Firstly, some of the initial sub-team members expand their formal duties and responsibilities by temporarily crossing over to different roles while some others drop out when they cannot make a positive contribution. Secondly, new members join-in when their experience and expertise is deemed to be necessary. The end result is the formation of a revised sub-team.

4.4.3 Dismantling of Revised Sub-team—members Reverting to Initial Formal Roles

Once the PM and the DR make a decision on the best possible course of action and the scene is shot, the revised sub-team members revert to their initial formal roles. The informal coordination practices leading to a revised sub-team formation are temporary as they only last during the shooting of a specific scene. Therefore, the creative group coordination process in the temporary organization of this study highlights a dynamic interplay between formal coordination structures and informal practices (McEvily et al., 2014).

What is worth noting is that although this coordination process is not formally organized, each scene that is shot represents a small creative project where at all stages everybody seems to subconsciously have at the back of their mind their initial formal roles’ limits and boundaries, as well as the team hierarchy.

Asked to summarize the unfolding of the whole coordination process in order to elaborate on the importance of formal role limits and boundaries during the dynamic interplay of formal structures and informal practices, the DR of the TV series explained: “Once we receive the detailed script and timetable produced by the PM, the AD, according to her formal role, is responsible to talk to the actors about the key issues of consideration relating to the scene to be shot. At the start of the shooting myself together with the PM form an initial sub-team and during the shooting encourage both the crew members dealing with the creative and the technical part to get involved and express opinions, make suggestions and contribute. Initial group discussions lead to changes in the team’s formation based on job interdependencies and the emergence of new issues, while some members temporarily cross over their formal roles’ boundaries. What is important to note however is that subconsciously, and at all stages, sub-team members have in mind their roles’ boundaries as they are aware that after they reach an agreement on how to shoot the specific scene they will all revert to their initial formal roles and respective duties and responsibilities. In fact, I believe that it is vital formal role limits and boundaries exist otherwise the team work chain could break at some stage and I may lose control of the shooting process. The formal job roles are like my safety net. When I feel that I lose control of what is happening I know I can always fall back on my safety net. I obviously understand that role boundaries need to be relaxed as we aim for creativity and that all members should be encouraged to cross over these boundaries, but at the same time I am aware that at the end of the shooting this process will come to an end, the revised sub-team formed will dismantle, and all sub-team members will revert to their initial formal roles. When contemplating the shooting of a new scene this dynamic process will unfold once again in a similar manner, starting with the formation of a new initial sub-team”.

4.5 Emerging Theoretical Model

Based on the findings, the author proposes a model of how formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices dynamically interplay in creative group work via a perpetual team developmental process (see Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1

Emergent Model of Dynamic Creative Group Coordination in a Temporary Organization through a Cyclical Team Developmental Process

First, the emergent model explains how a distinct formal role structure together with a specific role assignment establish formal coordination structures for specialized contributions leading toward the emergence of informal coordination practices, one would expect to be un-coordinating, that enable specialist team integration of efforts. Second, the model explains how informal coordination practices unfold through a cyclical team developmental process.

This model captures the key role of the emergence of a dynamic team transformation, and more specifically the way it is initially formed, then restructured and revised, and finally dismantled, its members reverting to their initial formal roles, capturing the dynamic interplay between formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices within a creative group of a temporary organization.

4.6 Dynamic Interplay Between Formal Structures and Informal Practices

4.6.1 Trajectory from Formal Team Coordination Structures to Informal Sub-team Coordination Practices

The formal crew team structuring is based on a distinct formal role structure and a specific role assignment. Initially, a team of crew members is formed, where its members operate within a distinct role and each one is assigned specific tasks related to their role.

While observing the initial trajectory, two mechanisms lead to the observation (future emergence) of uncoordinated methods in the form of informal practices. 1. The initial trigger consisting of the initial issues arising during the shooting process and 2. The formation of an initial sub-team to deal with the issues, using informal coordination practices.

First, the inter-organizational career progression creates a generalized role structure that provides team members with an understanding of the function of each position that helps them understand and generalize the role structure of the group (Bechky, 2006). Consequently, the distinct formal role structuring of crew members helps ensure each member is aware of their role within the group. This becomes clearer and more explicit through the specific role assigned to each team member relating to specific tasks expected to perform, including specific duties and responsibilities. These formal coordination structures help team members identify the issues they need to deal with during the shooting of a scene as they are all aware of their responsibilities and therefore the way they are expected to contribute. In addition, the awareness of each other’s role allows for a break-down of the shooting process into separate tasks and as a result a clear distinction of responsibilities. This helps members identify the different tasks, relates each member with each specific task, and leads toward an associated mode of contribution that is supported by a hierarchy that exists and which subconsciously prompts boundaries and limits to the contributions of each member.

Across the two media projects investigated when crew members would start the shooting process of a scene, they had a subconscious understanding of their roles, corresponding duties and responsibilities, and a clear expectation of each other’s contribution.

Second, the discussion about the shooting of a specific scene helped define the domains necessary and thus shaped the formation of the initial sub-team that would aim to deal with the initial issues. This disaggregation of the shooting process via responsibility delegation to an informally structured sub-team consisting of specific specialists also provides a clear distinction between the creative and the technical issues that have to be considered, which minimizes at this initial stage the possibility of specialists getting involved with issues outside their domain. Such categorization prompts specialists to enact a corresponding mode of contribution that involves either the creative process of the script or the way it can materialize in a technical manner.

Through this categorization specialists also develop a social awareness of how their contributions are related to those of other members as each member selected to become part of the initial sub-team subconsciously becomes aware of the limits and boundaries of their own contributions within the sub-team formed. Bearing in mind the fact that sub-team members are aware of each other’s role due to their inter-organizational career progress, a lack of clarity with respect to each member’s contribution can be a common problem in such multitask team that can hamper the contribution of its members.

Given these two mechanisms, the relationship between the formal coordination structures and the emergent informal practices can be understood in terms of specialists efforts to first identity and then manage within a sub-team the initial issues arising in such a way to fulfill their responsibility of creative materialization, and more specifically for creatively turning an imaginary scene into reality. Crew members are responsible for turning an imaginary story into a scene, that is creating reality out of a vision, and have to do so knowing that the construction of such a scene will keep evolving up to the point where it is considered to be as close to the written script (writer’s vision) as possible while always being aware that there is no clear end point to be reached. Crew members are thus faced with task uncertainty and know that they need to work together in order to develop a deep understanding of how each one needs to contribute within a sub-team, while their contributions dynamically progress during the development of a scene.

Specialists therefore intensify their engagement together with other sub-team members to identify, comprehend, and integrate all initial issues that need to be considered during the shooting of a specific scene, and do so in a dynamic manner due to the fact that these initial issues will gradually develop as the shooting process progresses. The analysis shows that to this end, sub-team members informally coordinate based on job interdependencies and the discovery of new issues. What is important to note is that although these practices lead the team to de-integrate, and thus would be considered “un-coordinating”, in actual fact contribute toward team coordination.

4.6.2 Trajectory from Informal Sub-team Coordination Practices to the Formal Team Coordination Structures

Two features of informal coordination practices stand out.

First, the sub-team members’ work seems to be shaped by their job’s interdependencies and the discovery of new issues. These two informal coordination practices seem to enable sub-team members manage the dynamic changes taking place as a result of the unpredictable nature of their work by flexibly adjusting through a team “de-integration” that leads to team coordination, even though it would appear to deviate and challenge traditional coordination methods.

Specifically, identifying and managing job interdependencies involves clarifying, understanding, and handling interdependent knowledge of specific issues, thus enabling sub-team members to understand resulting implications and flexibly look for compromises. Specialists at first conceptualize the web of interdependencies in which their specific job is embedded, thus developing an awareness of how their contributions affect and are affected by those of other specialists while aiming to create. In addition, this allows them to comprehend priorities and consider their efforts at a team level, thus achieving a more complete consideration of the way their efforts can be integrated to the efforts of the group as a whole. This means that members become aware of how their work impacts the work of others, forcing specialists to discover shared tasks and direct their efforts in shaping the dynamic changes taking place within the creative process in such a way that all sub-team members can contribute toward a team objective. Job interdependencies therefore help sub-team members integrate their efforts toward a common aim.

Managing job interdependencies leads also to the identification of new issues resulting from questions, difficulties and challenges that need to be managed. More specifically, the mutual comprehension of job interdependencies assists sub-team members to be creative by flexibly readjusting team work thus allowing for new issues to arise. This enables them to always question their contribution and evaluate it in terms of how it can integrate to that of others, always confronting the limits subconsciously set by other sub-team members’ contributions. In addition, this allows sub-team members to evaluate different options by posing questions to each other and coming up with suggestions while trying to balance between the creative and the technical part on the one hand, and the envisioned story of the script they have to materialize on the other. What the group does is thus stretch the initial cognitive limits by suggesting new ideas and previously unconsidered alternatives, allowing for an initial problem to multiply into a broader discussion of an array of options that move beyond the initial mode of conceptualization. What is interesting is the negotiated order during this process between the sub-team members that centers around the need for compromise and coherence while aiming to arrive at an aggregated creative idea.

Second, informal coordination practices while handling job interdependencies and emergent issues lead to the use of what one would expect to be “un-coordinated methods”, in the form of team “de-integration”, which in actual fact contribute toward team coordination.

More specifically, the informal practices first lead to the formation of a revised sub-team that includes both different members and extended duties and responsibilities for existing ones, and then finally to the dismantling of the sub-team where all sub-team members revert to their initial formal roles within the work group. The need for the initial sub-team restructuring arises from the realization of job interdependencies and the subsequent discovery of new issues resulting from emerging questions, difficulties and challenges that cannot be managed by the members forming the initial sub-team. The need to change the sub-team’s formation may also arise due to the inability of the initial sub-team members in producing such creative ground breaking discussion that can stretch the initial cognitive limits of its members into materializing the envisioned script. In such case, sub-team members may be unable to comprehend the needs of other members and thus build up on their initial thoughts, attempting to contribute on knowledge domains they do not possess as a result.

Consequently, sub-team members are encouraged to collectively reconsider their duties and responsibilities beyond those assumed when the initial sub-team was formed. The inter-organizational career progress provides sub-team members with the opportunity to temporarily cross over their role boundaries and get involved in duties and responsibilities that fall outside their formal roles. This team evolution seems also to relate to the need for sub-team members to both be creative, which can be hampered by the lack of knowledge within the initial sub-team formation, and to complete the specific scene working under an immense time pressure that does not allow for any kind of delay. Moreover, lack of understanding of job interdependencies could hamper the sub-team’s ability to explore outside the standard norms of their roles and build up a creative pattern. This is vital because the compilation of creative ideas is what leads toward the materialization of the final creative product.

In the two research projects the author observed a dynamic transformation of the initial sub-team into a revised one that was triggered by an informal questioning of both the PM and the DR on how the scene could be shot, encouraging team members into a discussion of different options expanding beyond their formal roles. What the author discovered was that constructive comments and questions revealing job interdependencies would spam the sub-team’s boundaries while the team dynamically and flexibly had to adjust into handling job interdependencies at first and then collectively break ground. Questioning, consideration, and then evaluation of different options led to progress toward the final creative product. This structural adaptation seems to be critical for creative sub-team coordination when job interdependencies exist, teams members work under immense time pressure, and the final creative product cannot be clearly evaluated as it does not have a finite, agreed upon form.

What is also interesting is that the initial formal job roles act as a safety net for both the PM and the DM on which they can rely on whenever they believe that the chain of work is in danger of breaking and they are losing control of the sub-team members. This safety net can be used to resolve a possible team lack of coherence caused by the dynamic changes to the formal role structure that leads sub-team members to cross-over their role boundaries and extend their formal duties and responsibilities as a result.