My research design follows a qualitative approach in interrogating the complex relationship existing between agile methodologies and world building within the production design context for film and television. This will give the required methodological framework to allow an in-depth investigation of current practices, letting me pinpoint areas that require refinement and devise new frameworks that make the agile techniques more applicable within the industry.

 

In contextualizing this research, I will conduct a comprehensive review of relevant extant literature regarding agile project management and world building. This review will highlight agile practices applied in construction, VFX, and software development. In synthesizing such findings, I will construct a valid theoretical framework that explains just how these methodologies adapt and apply best to the film industry.

 

I will conduct in-depth interviews with practicing professionals; the significant part of my research work involves semi-structured interviews with experienced production designers and project managers. I might get rich, qualitative information about how they experience traditional approaches to project management and discuss their perceptions about what should be done in integrating agile principles in the art of world building.

 

Further on, I will present in detail some case studies regarding my own experiences with the implementation of agile methodologies within film production environments. Such case studies give more practical examples and lessons learned and may also cover the retroactive analysis of some outstanding past projects that illustrate Agile Principles.

 

Thematic analysis will be performed on the data from interviews and case studies to enable me to trace the emergence of themes of recurrent problems faced and strategies that have worked while practically integrating agile methodologies. This will help me understand how these practices can further enrich the world-building approach in production design.

 

In order to realize this framework, I will undertake a pilot project that will test this framework in the actual context of production. This will be informed by three different projects, namely Collect Call (2024), Chaharshanbeh Suri (2024), and Seven Valleys (2024), all in various stages of production-from pre-development into post-production/completion.

 

Qualitative lessons learned in a post-project review at the end of these three projects, whether completed or not, will assist me in future implementations and adaptations of Agile integration into world-building production design processes.

 

Ultimately, this methodology will strive to provide a consistent informative framework from which the production designer can attempt to integrate Agile practices into world building. While this research endeavours to instil a cultural shift in filmmaking project management toward more agile approaches, it concurrently intends to underline the interdependent relationship between world building and production design that furthers collaboration, efficiency, and artistry within the industry.