Prep, scheduling, and the call-sheet math that runs the day. Written by people who have run prep.
Movie Magic set the standard. StudioBinder put it in a browser. Now AI-native tools are showing up too. Here is what each one actually does, what it costs, and where AD PrePro fits, including what it does not do yet.
A sixth consecutive day does not look different on the call sheet. It is a real premium for everyone on it, and it started with a schedule nobody checked for the run.
Everyone claps when the last scene wraps. The AD department still has a checklist: a DOOD that has to reconcile, a wrap notice, and a call sheet that has to go out anyway.
Sides look like a simple export: pull today's scenes, print, done. The part that actually keeps a set running is the manifest, the revision stamp, and knowing who gets which copy.
AI script breakdown really does save hours. It also really does miss things. Here's exactly which categories to trust, which to check, and the review pass that catches the rest.
One-eighth of a page is the unit your entire shooting schedule runs on. Here's how to count it, write it, and turn it into a day that actually finishes.
One missed hour of rest is a forced call, and a forced call is real money. Here is the SAG turnaround math, plain, before it shows up on a cost report.
Your producer wants a DOOD before you've finished your coffee. Once you know the codes, cast down the side, days across the top, it takes ten minutes, not an hour.
A stripboard is one strip per scene, color-coded and arranged into shoot days. Here's how to read it, build one, and the constraints that decide whether it survives Day 1.
A call sheet looks like a list. What it actually is: call times worked backward from the first shot, under a deadline, with fifty people's mornings riding on the math being right.
The producer breaks down a script for the budget. The AD breaks it down for the schedule. Here's the method: what to tag, the color code, and the 20% AI can't catch. Plus a free template.
The official answer leaves out 90% of the job. Here is the full one: breakdown, stripboard, DOOD, the language of the set, and the part no job description mentions.
Turnaround is the rest between wrap and the next call. The math is simple. It is the NIGHT-to-DAY swing that quietly turns into a forced call.
The work that happens before the first shot: reading the script, tagging it, building the board, and getting a call sheet the crew can act on.
Tag the script so the schedule has something to stand on.
AI script breakdown really does save hours. It also really does miss things. Here's exactly which categories to trust, which to check, and the review pass that catches the rest.
The producer breaks down a script for the budget. The AD breaks it down for the schedule. Here's the method: what to tag, the color code, and the 20% AI can't catch. Plus a free template.
Stripboard, DOOD, and the constraints that decide the day.
One-eighth of a page is the unit your entire shooting schedule runs on. Here's how to count it, write it, and turn it into a day that actually finishes.
Your producer wants a DOOD before you've finished your coffee. Once you know the codes, cast down the side, days across the top, it takes ten minutes, not an hour.
A stripboard is one strip per scene, color-coded and arranged into shoot days. Here's how to read it, build one, and the constraints that decide whether it survives Day 1.
Turnaround is the rest between wrap and the next call. The math is simple. It is the NIGHT-to-DAY swing that quietly turns into a forced call.
Back-timed calls the crew can trust at 7pm.
Sides look like a simple export: pull today's scenes, print, done. The part that actually keeps a set running is the manifest, the revision stamp, and knowing who gets which copy.
A call sheet looks like a list. What it actually is: call times worked backward from the first shot, under a deadline, with fifty people's mornings riding on the math being right.
The show is up and the clock is running. The rules, the rest, and the job of holding a shooting day together.
Turnaround, rest, and the rules that cost real money.
A sixth consecutive day does not look different on the call sheet. It is a real premium for everyone on it, and it started with a schedule nobody checked for the run.
One missed hour of rest is a forced call, and a forced call is real money. Here is the SAG turnaround math, plain, before it shows up on a cost report.
What the job actually is, from prep to wrap.
Movie Magic set the standard. StudioBinder put it in a browser. Now AI-native tools are showing up too. Here is what each one actually does, what it costs, and where AD PrePro fits, including what it does not do yet.
The official answer leaves out 90% of the job. Here is the full one: breakdown, stripboard, DOOD, the language of the set, and the part no job description mentions.
After wrap: what production hands over, and the paperwork that closes a show out.
Closing out a show: final paperwork, reports, and the handoff to post.