What would Sun Tzu say?

Aug 27, 2003- Permalink

There’s an old military axiom that says, “No battle plan survives its first contact with the enemy.”

Certain things are in place:

You have intelligence on the people you face.
You know approximately where they’ll be and when they’ll be there.
Your prioritize your targets.
You allocate your resources.

That may sound like the check list from a military analyst on CNN, but it was what I was doing yesterday when the offical programme guide for the 28th Toronto International Film Festival came out.

Every year, a week before the festival, thousands of festivalgoers line up outside the box office to buy the 400+ page guide and pick up the magazine that lists all the screenings. The “civilians” then head off to the nearest coffee shop to plan their first and second choices for every screening they want to attend, as they prepare to submit their ticket orders.

My strategy is different. I need to prepare a schedule for ten 18+ hour work days. I’m not armed with all the info I need yet, as the press conference and press screening list isn’t released until the day before the festival starts. Until then, I scour the public screening schedule looking for all the red carpet photo ops that I and my other photographer will need to attend.

As I sit there, I realize that two people can’t be in four places at the same time. You have to prioritize. They didn’t mention that so-and-so is attending, but they really need the publicity boost so maybe they will stroll carpet? Do I shoot this 6:45 screening with this veteran performer or do I go out of my way by 7 to shoot this unknown with the buzz? Or do we both shoot elsewhere and hope that we finish in time to be somewhere else?

The battle plan starts to take shape, but will it survive its first contact with the celebrity?