6.1 Planning the execution of multimedia project

Planning the execution of a multimedia project means deciding, before any filming or designing starts, what will be produced, for whom, by whom, with what resources and by when. A multimedia news project brings together text, photographs, graphics, video, audio and animation, often made by different people, so without a plan the parts do not fit, deadlines slip and costs rise. A written plan also lets the editor approve the project and track its progress.

Example: a digital news team plans a two-week multimedia special on youth unemployment: a long-form web story, three short video profiles, an animated data explainer, a podcast episode and social media clips, all launched on the same day.

Elements of a multimedia project plan

• Objectives: what the project must achieve, for example to explain a new policy or to show its effect on a particular community.
• Target audience: who the project is for (age, location, language, devices and data access), which shapes the style and formats.
• Scope and deliverables: the exact list of items to be produced, such as one web story, two videos of 2 minutes each and five social media cards.
• Platforms: where each item will be published: website, social media, broadcast, podcast platforms or messaging apps.
• Content outline: the main story angle, the sources to interview, the data to gather and the locations to film.
• Team and roles: who reports, shoots, edits, designs, animates, writes captions and approves the final work.
• Schedule: the timeline from research to publication, with milestones and deadlines for each deliverable.
• Budget: costs of transport, equipment hire, data, software licences, music and any paid contributors, in Ksh.
• Equipment and software: cameras, drones, wireless microphones, recorders, tablets, laptops and the editing and design software to be used.
• Legal and ethical checks: consent from interviewees, permits for drone flights where needed, copyright clearance for music and images, and protection of vulnerable sources.
• Risk plan: what could go wrong (equipment failure, a source cancelling, bad weather) and the backup for each risk.

Steps in planning the execution

1. Receive the brief and hold a planning meeting with the editor and the team.
2. Research the subject to confirm the angle and the facts already available.
3. Define the objectives, audience and list of deliverables.
4. Assign roles and agree who approves each stage.
5. Draw up the schedule, working back from the publication date.
6. Prepare the budget and get it approved.
7. Book equipment, locations and interviews, and arrange any permits.
8. Set up shared folders and a file-naming system so every team member can find the material.
9. Agree how progress will be tracked, for example through a shared task board or a short daily check-in.

Planning tools

• Gantt chart: a bar chart showing each task against the calendar, so overlaps and delays are easy to see.
• Task boards: online boards such as Trello, Asana or Microsoft Planner show tasks moving from "to do" to "done".
• Shared calendars and cloud storage: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 keep schedules and files in one place for the whole team.
• Checklists: equipment and shoot checklists make sure nothing is forgotten before going to the field.