Concept and How It Started

For those of you who wondering what Shuffle is supposed to be about, (and mind you, I'm not going to tell you everything), it is zombie horror. But besides that, it is going to be an adult dramatic cartoon. You see, I sell comic books and one of my customers and I got to talking about how some of these would make great cartoons and that we want to watch these. So, him and I decided we were going to try to do just that.

I never expected to get past the bullshit talking about stage.

So, after we came up with a concept, I started talking to people, mostly customers, who I thought had talents that would behoove the project. I first started with people I hung out with. This is the part many people don't tell you, how to put a team together. You do it much in the same way you get dates. You ask. You ask a lot of people and you get rejected a whole lot. By starting with people I already knew, no one's expectation was that high and it kept it fun. I didn't know anyone in the film-making or animation industry. None of us had ever done anything like this before, and no one had taken any classes to do this either.

So, after I had a couple of writers and an editor together, we decided on a meeting place an time and we met every two weeks.

Things went quickly for a while. Things got written and there was a bunch of excitement.

This is another thing people don't often say. How painfully slow things get and how hard it can be to get work out of people. Things will get slow and nothing will get done for the longest time. Also, people will start showing up to meetings sporadically. The method I used to counteract this is bugging the shit out of people. Don't be afraid to be annoying and call. Also, when you do call, don't be angry. No one likes to work for a dick. Ask people what is going on with them, first. The people who have talked into working for you want to feel respected and cared about by you. If they ask why you are asking, tell them the truth. You want to know why they haven't been doing what you ask of them and/or why they haven't shown up for meetings lately. Remember, if people are working for you, their problems are your problems. Help them if they need it and if they need a leave of absence to take care of something, let them. Think about how your favorite boss acts and emulate it. If you don't have a favorite boss, think about the biggest prick you have ever worked for and avoid everything they did.

Not being a dick gives you an added bonus when it comes to working with people (and yes, I realize what I am about to say is rather dick-ish). When you do get upset (and you will, eventually), it matters and it means something. The people you have working for you will know that you have done everything to make things run smoothly for them and to see you get upset (not angry) or hurt or disappointed in them is something they do not want to see and will work to avoid. Think about the people who care about you. Doesn't it hurt to see them upset? Won't you do anything to set things right when they are? If you actually take the time to care about the people working for you, they will feel the same when they let you down.

If anyone that is working with me reads this, I really do care about what is going on with you, whether you wish to believe that or not.

James