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Tracking for Pre Production

Michael Gallagher

July 17, 2009 23:21

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I work for a company that is not purely special fx oriented. We need to be able to track all aspects of our projects from pre-production all the way to post. I see the potential in Shotgun but I'll need some tips on how to  best implement it with our workflow.

Pre-production is first on the list. I am currently needing to log scripts(pdfs), track revisions of those scripts, track contracts and when they are signed, upload production reports, log call sheets and keep track of casting. Budgets are also a big one we need to track.

Also, wondering if it would be best to keep all projects that are currently in prepro or production separate from projects that are in post. Is there an easy way to sort this?

So far I haven't used assets, sequences, shots or versions. I'm wondering, since we're not entirely special fx driven, if these pages will be useful to me in the future. We are mostly in need of assigning general tasks to artists and communicating with management the work we have done and are doing. Hopefully you guys can give me some advice on this. Thanks.

 

Mike

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2 comments

• 0
  
  Mark Ainslie November 03, 2009 22:53

  Have you gotten an answer for this Michael?  I'm wondering about using Shotgun for this kind of thing as well.

   

  Mark

• 0
  
  Nephi Sanchez November 11, 2009 16:01

  Hi Michael,
  
  I'll take a shot and give you some suggestions.  There are many ways you could track all of these pre-production items, of course, but I'll give you some specific ideas that hopefully you can run with and make your own.
  
  Starting with scripts.  A quick and simple solution would be to upload the .pdfs using the 'File' entity, and under the 'Type' field put 'script'.  Then you can create pure script pages (or tabs in dashboards) by filtering a Files page for 'Type' > 'is' > 'script'.  Now, a more involved option, but one with more possibilities, is to use a custom entity.  To do this, go to the Site Preferences page inside the Admin section, and activate a Custom Entity and call it 'Script'.  Then create custom fields on your new 'Script' entity for everything you want to track: writers, date, revision, distribution list, etc., and a field of type "File/Link" which will be used to upload the actual pdf.
  
  Contracts.  You'll want to be very careful with this one, because although there are permissions, we don't recommend using Shotgun for data that is confidential among your users (like payroll data & contracts).  However, disclaimer made, you could track Contracts much the same way as Scripts:  either as Files of type 'contract' or by using a Custom Entity.  Either way, you probably would want to adjust permissions so that only Admins can see Files of type 'contract', or the Custom Entity.  In this case, I would strongly favor using the Custom Entity, simply because of security:  if you use the File entity and forget, or delete, the 'contract' value, it would expose it to being seen.
  
  Production Reports.  If these are docs external to Shotgun, you could once again, use the options already discussed (File or Custom Entity).  However, there may be some production reports that are simply Shotgun pages that have been filtered, grouped and summarized to report what you need.  However, Shotgun pages like these are 'dynamic', and I realize that many times you want to store a report at a specific point in time.  To do this you could simply print a Shotgun page to a .pdf, or screenshot the page, and then upload it as a file.  Depending on your needs and the complexity level you want to get to, you could export certain data from Shotgun and massage/make reports in excel, then upload those as files, or you could also use Shotgun's API  to create your own reports using Custom Entities to hold 'snapshot' data and stats, or using external charting/graphing software.   We've seen Shotgun users do a lot of cool things in this area!  Perhaps some of them will chime in here too!
  
  Call Sheets.  This could be a good place to use a Note or Ticket, of type 'call sheet', because of the email notifcations they both have.  You could create a Group called 'Cast' and add everyone you want to get the call sheet, and then just address the Note (or Ticket) to that Group.  Then they'll have the option of receiving an email notification of the call sheet, and they'll have it in their Shotgun inbox (My Notes or My Tickets) as well.  Of course if you are interested in just storing a record of call sheets, you could just upload them as a File.
  
  Budgets.  Same disclaimer/deal here as Contracts.  Most Shotgun studios that I'm aware of that do track budgets within Shotgun, do it in the form of 'days' or 'weeks', instead of dollar amounts.
  
  Keeping Projects in Categories.  You can group these into any category you like using the 'Status' field on Projects.  Notice that the big 'Projects' menu (the little box of horizontal lines to the right of the 'Projects' section in the left navigation panel) will group your projects according to these statuses.  If you want to add/change the statuses available, go to a Projects page, right+click on the 'Status' header, and then click 'Configure Field'.
  
  Using Assets, Sequences, Shots or Versions is not mandatory.  You'll probably get a lot of mileage just using Tasks, Notes and all the *other* things you need to track.
  
  Hope this helps, let us know how it goes!

   

  Cheers,

  Nephi