Tools for Production

Christine Chen - April 1

3 Great Tools for Production

Making movies or film production is a notoriously costly and time consuming endevour. A single film production can involve hundreds of people working tirelessly for months to create a single project. In an industry where time is literally money and funding for projects is few and far between, filmmakers and producers must learn how to stretch a buck. Here are some tools that are commonly used on set that can help to make things quicker and easier to stay organized for your next filmmaking project.

Ezides

Sides. One of the most critical aspects of any film production is the script, which serves as the blueprint for everything that happens on set. A film producer named Mattia Ferrante has just launched a software that generates daily script sides from the pdf script, completely automatically, through the website www.ezsides.com. This revolutionary system will increase productivity on film sets and help film producers around the world.

Context. The EZsides software is a game-changer for the film industry. It is an automated system that takes a PDF script and generates sides from it. This process was previously done manually, which was time-consuming and prone to human error. The EZsides software eliminates these problems and allows producers to focus on other aspects of the production process. This system is accessible to everyone and is entirely at the service of the community.The process of using EZsides is straightforward. To generate sides from a PDF script, all you need to do is upload the script to the EZsides website and click a few buttons. The software then processes the script and generates the sides automatically. The sides can be downloaded.

Benefits. First and foremost, it saves time. Generating sides manually is a time-consuming process that can take hours. With EZsides, the same process takes only a few minutes. Another benefit of this software is that it is accessible to everyone. Previously, only larger production companies had access to automated systems like EZsides. With this software, even independent producers can take advantage of the benefits of automation, leading to a more level playing field in the industry.

Casper

The next blueprint of a film set is the CALL SHEET. The AD department, specifically the 2nd AD spends copious amounts of time editing and maintaining this important document. The callsheet is the set bible. It notifies everyone on set what is to be expected on the day of filming. From what time to arrive on set, detailed to specific times by department, to which order the scenes will be shot in, to weather, and addresses, the call sheet is arguably one of the most important documents to a production.

Production Changes Often. Unfortunately, due to the ever changing nature of a film set, call sheet information changes often.Anyone who’s worked in production knows that logistical details are always in flux, and errors on traditional manual-entry Call Sheets can potentially cost your project tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, manually, entering information can be extremely time consuming. Casper is a Google Sheets template that has hard coded formulas that enable a trickle down effect for changing information quickly. Instead of inputing and changing call times individually, when everyone's call times are affected, entering the information into one global location, trickles down into the rest of the call sheet.

Showing making procedure is a good way to guarantee product quality

Automated. G-Casper is more than your average cloud-based sheet, it has unique automated tools designed for film productions of all sizes.

On the Cloud. With G-Casper, everyone on your production team can access your most updated logistical info at all times.

Production Reports. Casper automatically creates daily Production Reports based on your Call Sheet that leave space for manual edits

Canva

Visual elements like maps and safety documents are often a requirement for productios to distribute. Creating these can be time consuming. However, Canva's user friendly and free tools do just enough to make everything look clean and pro.

Get Reelisms is also a great tool to educate new filmmakers on set

Make it easy to be new on set. Don’t assume everyone on set knows what they are doing. Sometimes, there are plenty of new folks and it is up to patient pros to show them the right way to behave and treat others on set. Sets are usually highly stressful and there is often rarely time to stop and educate. Give a newbie the gift of GET REELISMS to go through the basics of film set lingo and walkie etiquette!