Grey Check-in Early 2026

Summary

1. Main Topics Discussed

2. Key Points and Decisions Made

3. Action Items and Next Steps

4. Participants and Roles

5. Notable Quotes and Highlights

6. Technical Details and Constraints

Full Transcript

Part 1

The conversation in this audio clip features a man (Speaker 1) and a woman (Speaker 2) conducting a performance or check-in review.

[00:00] Speaker 1: Okay, this is... Grey check-in, 03 2026? [00:05] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:08] Speaker 1: Okay, let's... You filled up the Notion? [00:11] Speaker 2: I did. [00:12] Speaker 1: Okay. Uh, do you have access to Notion? [00:16] Speaker 2: Yes. Let me see. I'm just looking through your questions first. [00:25] Speaker 1: Yeah. So, was there any feedback that you received previously that you've been able to act on? [00:36] Speaker 2: Was there any feedback? What was my previous feedback? Hmm... I don't think so yet. Is it about "more questions"? [00:46] Speaker 2: Oh, sorry! Ignore the "more questions", that was my trackball... I was answering a question. [00:52] Speaker 1: Oh, ha! Okay. [00:54] Speaker 2: Feedback was... Take care of yourself, strive for work-life balance. [01:09] Speaker 2: I guess partially work-life balance, even though there's still a lot of things. [01:15] Speaker 1: Okay. Like, you still find that it's hard to maintain that? [01:21] Speaker 2: More like, separate my mentality from work. [01:27] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. As in like, you don't feel like your self-worth is tied to work anymore. [01:36] Speaker 2: Yeah. [01:37] Speaker 1: I think that is something that... is a challenge, and it affects the best people in this company. And it's a double-edged sword, because the fact that their self-worth is tied to their work makes them strive for excellence, but also it's detrimental to their health, so gotta find that balance. [02:04] Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, for me, anyway, it's long enough and then, I think personally in my mind, I achieved what I wanted to achieve already. So, regarding like, you know... I would say in the past, like, my work is something I am proud of, but I think after NMS, it's just... [02:30] Speaker 1: Hmm? [02:31] Speaker 2: It's hard to strive for balance. I am still proud of our work, but... in a way, maybe it's because also I'm not the one doing it anymore. [02:46] Speaker 2: I think at some point, like let's say NMS... close this one. Um... at some point during NMS, I did want to strive for a certain level, but there were frustrations towards the end. [03:01] Speaker 2: And then, at that point... I felt like, oh, I just want to finish because our team put in so much hard work. [03:12] Speaker 2: And then everyone said, or asked me like, oh, you should be very proud of the output. And yes, I am proud that we managed to complete this. I'm more proud because... on this, this is the team, I'm just proud of the team. That's what I would say. [03:30] Speaker 2: My pride has moved on to another realm. So it's really less about work and then, like you said, it's moving forward to another level. [03:45] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. [03:46] Speaker 2: So I would say pride in the sense that, oh, well the team managed to achieve this and I hope they can be proud of it too, and that'll be enough already. [03:57] Speaker 1: It feels similar to what I feel now. Um, because I'm not the one... you were still doing the work, but you were also nurturing the team and cultivating them in order to achieve what they achieved, so that's just another level of pride, yeah, that you're talking about. [04:20] Speaker 2: Yeah. I do feel the concern, like any T-O. So every time KJ feels the sense... That's why I'm putting this, because we're in the same project, but not on the front. I'm just saying like, uh, for his side to... [04:30] Speaker 1: Expectation control? [04:31] Speaker 2: Like he says, ignore the project, but I think it's really expectation control also... towards what makes it manageable. Because in a sense he... I feel that he might worry that it would affect us as artists, because you know, like... [04:50] Speaker 1: He is an artist also, so he feels strongly about how you guys feel. [04:54] Speaker 2: Yeah, but actually in my mind it was like, hmm, I mean, if we survive, yay! I don't have the mental, like... "oh why didn't we do the best that we can do anymore?" It's more like, oh, this is... I mean, this is the amount of time we have, and whatever we use that the team can survive... [05:14] Speaker 1: Yeah. [05:15] Speaker 2: ...and I'm still doing part of the work, but a lot of time was... I really... I told you yesterday, I really don't have time to look at it at the end of the day. [05:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. Just because you got your leadership stuff and then new things... project supervisation could take the whole day. [05:32] Speaker 2: Yeah. [05:33] Speaker 1: Yeah, um... I think ultimately we also... it's a tough "ugly duckling" stage right now where you are both doing the execution and the... the administrative tasks of a lead. Eventually we really hope that you can nurture people and leverage on freelancers to push the quality, so you are the gatekeeper, basically. Nothing below a certain quality goes out. If anyone has issues with achieving that quality, you go in and show them the way, like how to do it more efficiently. If there's anything that, you know, needs to be interpreted from the client or from the bosses, you're there to be able to interpret it for the junior staff. Yeah, that's the hope. So that your ability is multiplied through these surrogates. Yeah. That's why we want to raise you up, to have like a multiplier effect. Yeah. [06:53] Speaker 2: Okay. I think moving within the team... it depends on the projects they are... they are having right now. Um, it's really the project that they are on that could, you know, like multiply the growth. I think the way Nie Hoe and I grow was also we experienced a variety of projects. [07:18] Speaker 1: Yeah. [07:19] Speaker 2: And I think earlier on, I was in a lot of good projects also. [07:27] Speaker 1: You started with Bison and Daniel? [07:29] Speaker 2: Bison was my second project. [07:31] Speaker 1: Second project, yeah. [07:33] Speaker 2: Yeah. Like, it started big and then it was just that way. But... I feel like this is something I need to talk to you with Jenny also, because we did the team review last week. [07:44] Speaker 1: Yeah. [07:45] Speaker 2: Yeah. So, we'll be having more of that talk because I don't know when... [07:49] Speaker 1: Maybe we have a separate meeting for that because we're going through check-in now. Yeah, you can use that time. [07:56] Speaker 2: Yeah. [07:57] Speaker 1: Yeah. But you have everything all typed out already. [07:59] Speaker 2: For the team? Yeah. We have summaries. [08:03] Speaker 1: Okay. [08:04] Speaker 2: After we review together, usually we will touch base on... [08:07] Speaker 1: You do it on Notion? [08:08] Speaker 2: Yeah, on personal Notion. [08:10] Speaker 1: Okay, good, good, good. Nice. That's what I'm doing also. Yeah. [08:15] Speaker 2: Yeah. [08:16] Speaker 1: Okay. Um, the... I know that the project is on hiatus now... I just want to bring up the DG... what's it called? [08:34] Speaker 2: DG, yeah. [08:35] Speaker 1: DG project, like... expectations was not as high as what you provided. [08:45] Speaker 2: Honestly, and then they... yeah, at first I thought it was like the explanation part and then we did the styleframe, they provided another styleframe. [08:58] Speaker 1: Yeah. But we got to... if let's say it goes beyond the scope, like what you've already defined as the amount of hours that you can work on, if it goes beyond that, then we have to sound off to them. [09:12] Speaker 2: Okay, the hour part for that project... I thought it was... when Xena said 100 hours for you guys, I thought it was a figurative speech thing because it was too low for that project. Like 100 hours... [09:27] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think we got to talk about what can be done within the 100 hours. We got to tell the client what can be done. We cannot just... "oh, there's not enough time for that quality, then no choice, I just take it." [09:43] Speaker 2: I would say like the way the man-hour was applied very loosely and vaguely at the beginning of the project also. I didn't even know the man-hour was really like that 100 hours until like middle of the project and then she started to say, "oh we already used 100 hours".

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)## Part 2

This is a transcription of the provided audio clip.

Speaker 1 (Female): Yeah. And then that one, it was like, okay, now we need to chop the scope. But like something like MVP, we roughly know the hours at the end of the project. But now you talk about hours, it's almost like days we spend on the project. Yeah. And then the man hours and manpower we were given and how many days we have for the project also. If at the beginning, giving us a better scope, so during concept, we can adjust accordingly. But this is kind of—it's kind of odd that it was very vaguely informed to me at first.

Speaker 2 (Male): So the problem is it was vaguely informed?

Speaker 1: I mean, if this is the first project and it's established, we want to talk about expectations, it should be clear from the start. Like, I understand it's really just slot in the project, but then—

Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there needs to be communication on both ends. So if you feel it's too little, then...

Speaker 1: So let's say it's really—I feel it was my bad, 100 hours. So I thought, okay, shouldn't spend too much effort. That’s what I think. But I didn't really know 100 hours is really 100 hours. So to be honest, throughout the project, I thought, okay, can I get a range of everyone's hours now? So I know who is on what. But to be honest, so far, we have a budget of a project in hours form. For now, the producer is trying to balance those hours also, right? I prefer something to be discussed first, like, especially if the budget is not very high and the style cannot be fixed. Like even if the client changes later on, we need to—

Speaker 2: You need to feed back to the client that you can't change it, because the client can ask for anything. The client will just bring up, "Oh, I want like Pixar animation," but you didn’t pay for it.

Speaker 1: No, we're not in the—at least from my position, I'm not in the authority of telling the client like...

Speaker 2: No, you might not tell the client directly, but it should be discussed with the producers or directors, then we can find a solution together.

Speaker 1: But again, I mean, in any case, this should be discussed, especially if the budget is very tight. This standard has to be clearly projected at first. And just in case a scenario where the client wants something else along the way, then everyone on the team needs to be informed.

Speaker 2: Okay, so with the development of the staff range, right? The client might come back with a counter-proposal or "I want it to be even more realistic," blah, blah, blah. Then we have to—that's what I said, exactly—then we've got to say, "Hey, no, let's discuss."

Speaker 1: Yes, but then the thing is so far, the way we work is like an artist. As an artist, I'm just like, "Oh, the task, the client wants this..."

Speaker 2: That's the thing. You're not an artist anymore. You are...

Speaker 1: No, I get it. But I'm saying that at first, we need to be solid about standards and everything.

Speaker 2: Solid to the client or solid to the team?

Speaker 1: Solid to the team. We're just gonna go with this. Because the team was not—I would say it was vaguely put at first.

Speaker 2: I okay. I feel like this early discussion had to be done properly. But now, okay, this was maybe you weren't sure about the hours, you might have thought it was just a figure of speech. But in the future, you will be given the hours, you'll be given the reference, and then you have to voice out whether it can be done or not. So for future projects, let's just ensure—

Speaker 1: I mean this should happen on any project.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. MVP still remains to be seen because it's a long project, but I think the next short-term project, I think we've got to ensure that it's all follow-up. Okay. Any areas you'd like some guidance or perspective on? Like leadership? Any issues with leadership?

Speaker 1: I guess leadership in general. I mean, me and Cammy are like baby stepping into this role without any specific guidance, like throughout discussions and stuff. We're still trying to figure things out on our own. I don't know how to jump into the role without like a specific structure or anything. It's very impromptu.

Speaker 2: So we want to ensure that you guys don't face the same issues that he faced when he jumped into the role. I think we want to ensure that you guys have an opportunity to ask us questions whenever you need. So whenever you need, just message us. Me and Josh, or me, Josh, and Dion. I think so far we haven't had much questions coming from your side. The other—like Jared and KJ—they have been bombarding us with questions and we've been replying them. So the thing is that being a leader, there’s so much in this curriculum of being a leader that we can isolate certain things and educate you guys from time to time, let's say through the leads meetings and all that. But ultimately, you'll learn better on the job when you face issues, and then you maybe you come out with a solution and then maybe you can check with us like what we would do in a certain situation and then we'll try to impart as much as possible. So try to keep the door open with me and Josh. You and Cammy can keep asking us questions whenever you'll face issues. Because we also don't know what you don't know. There might be some blind spots that we think is simple, but we have been doing this for so long already, so we think it's simple, but actually to someone new to leadership, it might be very difficult. But we don't know, so you've got to tell us when you face an issue.

Speaker 1: I mean for now, I mean everything is blank page also. I want to talk to you today also because my contract is still "Senior." If there is any like particular promotion, we need to discuss that.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's in the pipeline. I think we discussed this during your review.

Speaker 1: And Josh said it would be—because you guys are planning for me to co-lead with Cammy, right? So that is what is happening right now. So I think this is the time that I should check back with you on that already.

Speaker 2: Okay, I will discuss with the team on that.

Speaker 1: I think Jared and KJ, they have like an earlier kickstart because being a lead... maybe their review already went through with you and then with you guys. And then they're already in it for I guess a month or two? For the 3D team, not exactly, we just have discussions with each other like... I think earlier of the month? Yeah, and then job description and everything. So I would say like maybe tomorrow or Thursday? I think so. Like even contract and job description in general, we really want to clear that first before we are fully submerged into the role. Right now we are receiving the responsibility as—I wouldn't say temporary—but like without official confirmation. Sometimes I was like, am I really the lead?

Speaker 2: I think there’s a ramp-up to this role also. So as you take on more of these responsibilities, please do ask us questions and then hopefully at the part of the year, you guys can go in full speed ahead and then we can talk about the roles, the job description and everything.

Speaker 1: But I mean for both of us, we are going into the role already. At least for my case, I would want a proper contract promotion because I am doing the job.

Speaker 2: Noted, noted. I will discuss with Josh about this. Yeah, I'm also a bit puzzled as to why you're not lead role yet, but we will discuss and I'll discuss with him and get back to you.

Speaker 1: Yeah, that's my main concern right now. Because as of my contract and everything, I'm still Senior. And to me, this is even when we discussed earlier for my annual review, I did mention that I have certain salary expectations, that's why Josh brought up the lead thing, which is a role that I don't mind trying out. So yeah, but for me, it's another discussion. So if I'm in the role, then it must be a proper promotion discussion. I cannot just do the work.

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)## Part 3

This is an accurate transcription of the audio provided.

Speaker 1: (Likely an artist/senior employee) Speaker 2: (Likely a manager/supervisor)

[00:00] Speaker 1: Hello, and good night.

[00:02] Speaker 2: Mm. Okay, okay, if you insist on that.

[00:07] Speaker 1: Yeah, and I do need another responsibility as an artist role.

[00:11] Speaker 2: Yeah. And you and Kenneth feel that way, right?

[00:14] Speaker 1: For me, I mean, as much as my contract is senior, so he's the lead contract and he's responsible for his contract. It's a separate discussion with you guys, but like job description-wise, we will still discuss on Thursday or so. We have an official... so we have a line of job descriptions and everything. This one we haven't officially talked with also, because it's lined up, you know, clear our job description and everything.

[00:43] Speaker 2: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Let me check the previous... Ah, Josh says at this stage we are looking for you fulfilling the role well first. I think I think it's a ramp-up, right? We're not throwing you headfirst into this project, into this role. Uh, I think we might want to review mid-year. Yeah. Then then we'll see whether we can give you that promotion.

[01:32] Speaker 1: Okay, so this is sort of like a probation?

[01:35] Speaker 2: Sort of, sort of. Yeah. Do you feel strongly against it?

[01:41] Speaker 1: I feel a bit itchy because I am doing the lead task right now.

[01:45] Speaker 2: Okay, okay. I will talk to Josh about it.

[01:48] Speaker 1: Okay. Because whether I am taking it fully or not, I am doing the bulk of the job.

[01:57] Speaker 2: Mm. Okay.

[02:01] Speaker 1: Will it be like a scenario like Jared? Did he ramp up because...

[02:07] Speaker 2: Uh, Jared, we actually promoted him three years ago. Yeah. And then he did not want the job after a year. And then he went on a hiatus for two years and now we promoted him again.

[02:22] Speaker 1: Okay. So I mean in my mind it's like in a scenario where if [one] couldn't carry out the job as far as not suitable or you guys find it not suitable for the role, then demoted?

[02:35] Speaker 2: Okay. Yeah, we want to avoid that. So, uh...

[02:38] Speaker 1: But I mean there's always two scenarios from your side, right? Whether I'm not suitable, and then from my side, after like months like Jared's experience also. Because again, you think there's a fairer way of doing things, uh, is there? For me personally because I am doing the job. Be it the promotion or like probation or not, in this period I will still be doing the job as well.

[03:13] Speaker 2: Okay. Okay, I'll get back to you on that. Okay, next. What is one thing that would help you perform better or feel more supported at work in the coming months other than the job title change?

[03:32] Speaker 1: Mm, well for me and Kenneth, we were still, uh... well, we were still just like, I would say, hmm, yeah, I mean if we start at a blank canvas, right? Unless you have trouble coming up, then of course we will definitely reach out to you guys and ask. Yeah. But usually when things are flowing too smoothly, we're not aware of like really banking into some project. We could really start with anything.

[03:59] Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.

[04:00] Speaker 1: If there's no major uh occasion happen, we wouldn't know that we're doing things the right way also. It's usually the silent point that's scarier than like when things happen.

[04:12] Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, when you actually see it happen, you only know after the fact that everyone's wondering why you never changed things, why you never do things when the ship was happening.

[04:22] Speaker 1: Yeah, also the silent point is, shit, now we are in the silent point, like we're just like, ah, are we doing... I hope we're doing it right.

[04:30] Speaker 2: That's where the stand-ups help hopefully, checking with the team, ensure that they are they're working fine. Yeah. Just some check-ups lah.

[04:43] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I do have some level of concern for the manpower and the man-hour because it's something I've never done before. Ah, even with experience like to confidently say like oh, this project is probably this amount of weeks or this amount of days... we cannot gauge also. We would still, uh, usually what happens is we were given a timeline and then we would just, as artists, we'll adjust our expectation within it and then usually during the project then we're like, "oh shit," things could go off.

[05:27] Speaker 2: Hmm. This was during the timeline era lah, it wasn't... it's not the man-hour era yet.

[05:33] Speaker 1: Yeah, but yes, but that's... we have a mentality. Yeah. So when you say like oh we switched to the hour era, it's not like we're trying to work in a way to see what works right now also for that hour era. But I'm saying because we've been practicing the timeline mentality for so long, for us now to dictate like oh, man-hour for... probably yes, because I work with the team, but at least for myself, like whoever is present in the JC, quite often I know their skill level or their strengths and weakness. But regarding man-hour, like for us to determine like oh this project probably like four weeks, five weeks, without any benchmarks, without any guides, it's a bit risky. We're drawing it from experience, but we didn't have this experience on drawing out timelines.

[06:33] Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, um, the other alternative is to depend on the producers entirely for that and then that raises another question also because the producers are not the ones doing the work.

[06:48] Speaker 1: And that's the point I'm asking, is will there still be a producer data because even though they're not doing the work directly, they are proposing this timeline for the past I don't know eight years or more. Yeah. So at least they have some base level and then of course I think it's also true to the budget of the project also. You can only afford this many days on that project. So at least we have a starting line. If we have a starting line, it's easier for us to flag what's the gold part, what's the red part, rather than like...

[07:24] Speaker 2: But do you think this is a forever problem or do you think this will be resolved itself over time?

[07:31] Speaker 1: I think it can be resolved over time. It's just my concern is we need a baseline to start somewhere. We cannot just like, let's just say, uh, five weeks, seven weeks.

[07:44] Speaker 2: Yeah. Uh, then I think I think you guys and the producers have to meet up and agree on a base timeline.

[07:55] Speaker 1: Hmm. That's for me from their experience that oh this type of project only took this much. And then when me or Kenneth or other leads going in, we understand the breakdown factor then we can flag during that flagging point and we know like which part would take longer, shorter, and then we'll adjust upon that. Yeah, rather than because right now we're not in traffic yet also, so whatever I heard from AJ so far is more of manpower suggestions more than a man-hour. But I'm actually more concerned of our man-hour as well.

[08:33] Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that is the tricky part. I mean, we are trying to tame chaos because there's chaos right now. We're trying to tame chaos to something a bit more understandable and at least something more targetable, at least we got a range of targets to hit, rather than previously we just... just work whatever you like, just do it. And the hope is that um it's better for the artists also because that limits the amount of time that you work on it. Because you can get carried away with polishing it and stuff like that lah. So we want to have a company-sanctioned way for you to know when to stop, you know. Yeah. I know this will affect the quality in... but uh hopefully as time goes by, we work together to make the timelines more accurate.

[09:39] Speaker 1: Nice. Okay. So two concerns: quality is one thing. Personally from my position now, again we're talking about pride, uh yeah.

[09:50] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[09:51] Speaker 1: I do concern for the team. I mean, as senior as me, some will, you know, still take pride and work honestly, why they do this job. So...

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)## Part 4

This audio recording captures a conversation between two individuals, likely a team lead or project manager (Speaker 1) and an artist or junior manager (Speaker 2), discussing artificial intelligence in their workflow, project budgeting (man-hours), team reviews, and leave planning.

Transcription

[00:00] Speaker 2: ...the AI is another problem. So I'm sure it's affordable. I can manage it with teams, the teams. It's a hard-to-talk topic. It's not like you can enforce an AI propaganda on people, you know? It has to come from one's own enlightenment, but sort of like, I just adapt to that fact. But I think partially because of my role right now also, but I will mention... so I'm a junior artist and I'm a mid-level artist, and all these AI... not replacing my job, but it is replacing part of my job. And then I don't feel proud to, you know, say like, "Oh, I did this fully..."

[00:21] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

[00:22] Speaker 2: ...it’s like slightly AI-generated content, you know? Like there's a lot of those things coming into the job. So that's a morale problem.

[00:30] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[00:32] Speaker 2: The other things are with the man-hours. I think a couple of years ago I did say something about budget transparency. I wouldn't mind knowing all these numbers, like, why we make such decisions, why we go that route, right? I don't mind knowing all that. It's just, how do we make it reasonable? This is what I experienced in DT. Let me just... yeah. I saw the number, it's like, "Wow, who made this number? It's so unreasonable that..."

[00:59] Speaker 1: That's why you see, the producer made the number is not... you feel it's not correct, right? Then you have to counter.

[01:07] Speaker 2: Correct. So in a sense that eventually, I think it's a growing pain during these years, it will definitely be a struggle for us. There will be certain standards drops and stuff. Other than that, at the end of the day, I expect we will have almost like a standardized quality for budget types, or like standardized quality for durations that we have also. So yeah, we have something to fall on. We've so far been doing things like, given the brief and some reference, and then it was our luck to have such creatives overall the standard and stuff also. Now, if this is the case, if you want to structuralize things, right? Yeah, it will have to be in a scenario where, oh, you have a fixed standard for a fixed budget for a fixed duration.

[03:01] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think at the end of this year we will have something like that.

[03:05] Speaker 1: Hopefully, hopefully. Considering that, I mean, our projects are so wide and varied. The 3D that you're doing could be for video, could be for interactive now also. So, I mean, we can try, we can definitely try. But there's, yeah, it's how you split up the units, right? I mean, you could have a preset for this particular type of project, but then another project comes with a totally different set of things. So we might want to identify, like, you know, certain parameters that can change or whatever, and maybe you can feed it into AI and then it can sort of like agar (estimate), create a new calculation for you. Yeah.

[03:51] Speaker 2: Yeah, I understand. Yeah, variety of projects also. But there's certain level, I mean, there's certain repeated project we're facing also. Those familiar projects we can start to like standardize it into certain level. But also need your help to do that.

[04:10] Speaker 1: No, no, I'm saying it's a bulk of everyone. Everyone has to do their part. Yeah.

[04:16] Speaker 2: Even like smaller, like even people's part. Even like now you're doing like, "I should do man-hours for this person, this for another person." I pull it from thin air, I need to ask, I need to consult them, "Do they think it's right?"

[04:29] Speaker 1: Yeah. And then we need to find the balance also, because we also can't just increase it out of nowhere.

[04:37] Speaker 2: Yeah, no, but it's more like for me, it's like, I preferably it to be discussed and then we find a solution together. Let's say if you really need 10 hours, but I can only give you 5 hours, but that's something to be discussed first. And then could there be a way or could there be a way that we can do things faster or like certain parts... you think it should be done this way, but it could have been simplified or managed. But all these I think it cannot be just like throw out there like, "Oh, you have this set of hours, just do it." I'm very scared. This is what I experienced so far. So new projects coming, if the hours are thrown out, I talk to Kenny also, I say, "Oh, I cannot pull this number out of thin air, I will have to consult them." Yeah, if they find the number right...

[05:30] Speaker 2: ...then it fits them perfectly. If it need more hours and we start to discuss how to manage the scope.

[05:36] Speaker 1: But also, you have to provide some insight also. Yeah, because sometimes artists they always ask for the longest time also. And then you have to manage and make sure that they don't, you don't give them like a thousand hours.

[05:52] Speaker 2: Certainly. We have to provide like the brief scope of the project every time we come to an artist. You ask them, "How are you doing this? Oh, it's like some brute force way. Okay, no, maybe there's a simpler way. You know, the background you make it 2D" or whatever. Yeah.

[06:09] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[06:10] Speaker 2: I find that a lot in DT also. This isn't the first time we do concept and then more and more discussion, we change the way we do things.

[06:18] Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay. All right. Do you have any other things to bring up? Like you want to bring up any important things that stand out about your team members or what?

[06:31] Speaker 2: I think further... so we did the team members' review, right? I don't know how we should translate it to you guys and how you did it last time also, like you consult with the guys?

[06:44] Speaker 1: So usually you guys will find out like what are the important stuff to note and then you convey that. Not just a summary—summary should be just like the whole thing condensed—but I think more of the important parts that you think could be great ideas or very big issues, and then we bring up to us and we discuss how we can solve this issue.

[07:12] Speaker 2: Okay. Like you don't have to go individual specific, it would just be an overview of the team.

[07:18] Speaker 1: Yeah, overview of the team. I mean, it can be individual if a particular individual has specific problems. Yeah.

[07:26] Speaker 2: Because currently, we only interview the full-timers that we work with, but the team, there's Ben, there's Jeremiah...

[07:37] Speaker 1: So you guys are not doing reviews for...

[07:39] Speaker 2: Yeah, because they are doing full-time review. Yeah, yeah. I mean, just like the list that you saw, the professional part. Generally, it's something that we would want to do with the whole team too. As we're coming to this new position, we really want to understand...

[07:57] Speaker 1: I mean, the other team members, if they are not full-timers and you guys are not able to dedicate time to talk to them, you can send them the questionnaire and then they fill it up.

[08:10] Speaker 2: But preferably we would want to talk to them. I think from my experience with Patience... she said there's a lot of talk. There's a lot of things you don't know about your members until you really sit down with them. It’s not just work-and-just-work.

[08:23] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[08:24] Speaker 2: So I do want to find time to talk to the rest of the team also.

[08:34] Speaker 1: As long as you're able to find time, but I leave you guys to manage your time. Okay.

[08:42] Speaker 2: Okay.

[08:43] Speaker 1: Anything on your internal family side? All okay?

[08:50] Speaker 2: I mean, the work-from-home that I... yeah, I haven't talked to them yet. Okay.

[08:58] Speaker 1: Okay.

[09:00] Speaker 2: As I mentioned, usually it’s the time where I feel the safest. Yeah, but I do plan to... end of the year, maybe like a week or two in August and then a week in January. Yeah. These things... August because after NDP (National Day Parade) then I feel it's the safe period. Even if it's opening up a new project, it's still relatively safe.

[09:29] Speaker 1: Safe, okay.

[09:31] Speaker 2: Yeah, if it’s like intensive parts of the project, I would try to avoid. But yeah.

[09:39] Speaker 1: Okay. So I received feedback about, you know, you are also very selective about when you apply your leave. You are not taking these because NDP started.

[09:55] Speaker 2: Yes, but I did propose the five-day thing...

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)## Part 5

This is a transcription of the audio recording. The conversation features two primary speakers: a woman (Speaker 1), who is discussing her concerns regarding work deadlines and her scheduled leave, and a man (Speaker 2), likely in a managerial or senior role, who is offering advice and perspective on project management and work-life balance.

Speaker 1: ...right, I am going to push it right after NDP, so it's the most safest period as I feel. Okay? We've come to a conclusion that I'm going in the next two weeks, but then the deadline changes. That's why I feel I'm very...

Speaker 2: Yeah, you can't help it, you know? That’s why... that's why I propose [this], because it's very unpredictable.

Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why I already proposed to push my five days forward in... after August. That would be safest, but...

Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I didn't grant you that yet?

Speaker 1: No. And then what happened was... so first was initially, the first submission, right? And then we picked a period—I wasn't granted. So I need to apply the five days somewhere and usually I would prefer to work home...

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: So yeah, five days I took 6 to 13, and then the deadline shifted for 18 now. So it's... I understand these things happen, that's why I flag it very early. Yeah, and it still happens, so...

Speaker 2: Yeah. I... I feel like there's always a big project coming up, right? And then if you adjust your leave, if you accommodate your leave based on these big projects, you might never be able to take your leave.

Speaker 1: No, but just so... NDP, I obviously know that it ends in August. So that's why I said okay, two weeks I will just push my five days now, and I go back two weeks right after NDP. That was my plan.

Speaker 2: Two weeks before NDP is also safe to take, I feel.

Speaker 1: Two weeks before NDP? Yeah, because most things are finalized already. Yeah, so that's why I proposed. I keep asking Nisha like, what's the safest period? I thought it's safe but... push forward, I couldn't push forward. That's why now I'm like, I'm traveling, but I'm still questioning like, "Fuck, I have submission on the 18th, I have two days to do that."

Speaker 2: Yeah. When are you traveling? You're 6 to 13?

Speaker 1: 6 to 13 of May.

Speaker 2: Oh, of May. And you confirmed that already, right?

Speaker 1: Yes.

Speaker 2: Yeah, do it. Do it.

Speaker 1: No, that's why I'm saying the problem was I foresee changes, that's why I didn't want to take [leave] during the projects and...

Speaker 2: We're trying to accommodate by me flying out right after the first submission. You got people helping you, right? On this NDP? You're not solo, right?

Speaker 1: Yes, but I mean again, it's still a submission. When I go back, I have two days until the 18th. And because we had an extension of submissions, so of course more things are expected, right? It's like two weeks without me. Of course, to me, I have like a few days left. But yeah, these issues always come up.

Speaker 2: I feel like these submissions that are for presentation purposes... I feel these are opportunities to not push to the maximum yet, because these are where they will come out with a lot of comments and changes. And if you come out with something too polished, it's just a total waste of time for artists especially, because you push so hard to deliver something that's so good, right? That's so polished for a presentation that's not the final.

Speaker 1: I think the... after the animatic, touch wood, it was quite positive. Yeah, so in my part, like chapter we're trying to go for productions—like, we are in production now.

Speaker 2: Okay, but depends... I mean, these are things you got to manage, like the production not rendering at full resolution, upscaling... you know, as long as you squint your eyes it's roughly there, that sort of thing, rather than like fully polished stuff. I'm just reminding... Like the... okay, I wasn't in the Mandai project now, but the... every week there was a submission. It was also because the client was ultra-demanding. Every time we do a submission just for presentation, right, it eats up time.

Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why I understand, I...

Speaker 2: But we can take advantage of this because Josh is the boss—I mean, Josh is the client.

Speaker 1: Josh... that's why Josh is trying to limit the amount of [submissions] as well. Yeah. That's why the sudden change, but I mean it was... the timing was like right after my planned leave. Just that I cannot get the ease of mind.

Speaker 2: I feel that as you rise up in your rank, right, these sort of things you have to consider the timeline, but it shouldn't eat at you until when you take your break you cannot stop thinking about it. I know it's easy for me to just say it, but you have to disconnect.

Speaker 1: I know. It's a very unfortunate situation, right? Like if...

Speaker 2: There's always going to be another unfortunate situation. In your mind, you're like, "Oh, if the timeline doesn't change, deadline on the 4th, perfect, I can go off." Timelines will always change. Even this new timeline also, it might change.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: Yeah, so you just got to take it as it comes, because it's never going to be a good time for you to take leave and then you will never take your leave. You'll accumulate, accumulate and...

Speaker 1: I don't want to accumulate. Usually I plan out my leave very early, like half a year I need to plan because I need to book tickets. And even the dates that I proposed right now, I already looked at it for months already.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. Yeah. I'm just saying that for me, I'm saying don't sweat it, right? I don't know whether it helps or not.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Depending on what we finish before I go off.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. You will always... there's going to be another unfortunate timing, right? And every time it stresses you out, right, it's going to chip at your soul.

Speaker 1: Yeah. I've been through so many of these unfortunate timings.

Speaker 2: Yeah, the days before and the days after maybe are going to be hectic because you're going to have to rush. I've gone through those before, yeah.

Speaker 1: But talking about these, like, urgent leaves that all, like, no chance to push, I have to take no matter what, but there's not a good period during. I know June is almost impossible already, like peak of production.

Speaker 2: Yeah, June is more impossible than May.

Speaker 1: Yeah, so we are going with the optimum, but usually my leaves are taken like six months earlier. Usually, I arrange my leave very early. So there is still a point where shit still occurs at that point even though I apply months earlier.

Speaker 2: Yeah, this is what I'm saying: it should not affect your leave.

Speaker 1: No, but I'm saying, like, why is there a scenario even though we already block our leave there... project shouldn't be there, or like the biggest...

Speaker 2: Yeah, but these are external externalities that... the May 18th, what's the milestone for?

Speaker 1: It's for Josh to present to some big, like, military guy.

Speaker 2: He's not going to change his timing for presentation because of your leave, right?

Speaker 1: No, no. I'm not saying because of that, but I'm saying, like, certain times where I already book my leave way early, if I'm on any project in the project that has to be, you know, happening.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. But the producer can't take it into consideration because it is an externality that cannot be moved, right? And so you cannot let that affect your taking of your leave also and also your mindset when you go on your leave. Because there's always going to be this situation. Every quarter when you take your leave, it's going to be a bad time. You plan six months in advance—yes, the producer will try to work around it as much as possible—but there's just these projects where it's on a fixed schedule, external-wise, that is just immovable and then you just have to make do. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Okay. All right. So again, any questions just message us anytime. We'll answer you as much as we can. We've done a lot of that for Gareth and TG.

Speaker 1: Sir. So regarding the team stuff, do we send the summary if we have any issues? Then only then that we flag off, or we should still send a summary to you guys?

Speaker 2: Summary is usually like an overview of what's going on in the team. Like a weekly summary? No, the usual summary of the review, yeah, that you bring up to us if you feel that there's important stuff to bring up.

Speaker 1: Oh, okay.

Speaker 2: If you feel something mundane is important, then [bring it up].

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)## Part 6

Here is the transcription of the audio clip:

Speaker 1 (Male): ...is important.

Speaker 2 (Female): Okay, yeah. But if it's something I feel like—we feel like it could be resolved among us then... should we still report it?

Speaker 1 (Male): You can mention it. You can mention it. And you say what you are doing to... to resolve it. Then... yeah, then there's no action needed from us. It's more of a... for you to keep a report, right? Uh, yeah loh. Just—just mention loh. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (Female): Does it need to be individual specific?

Speaker 1 (Male): No, it doesn't have to be individual specific. If let's say they have like personal issues—I mean, if they're not comfortable sharing with bosses then... you can make it anonymous as well. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (Female): Okay. And my major issue is... I actually—earlier on, I talked to you about contract today.

Speaker 1 (Male): Contract. Okay. I—yeah, okay. I got it. Okay, thank you. Thank you for your time. Thanks.

Transcribed and summarized using Google Gemini (gemini-3-flash-preview)