FEATURE GUIDE

Getting Started

Create your account and set up your first project in minutes.

1. Click Get Started Free on the landing page, or navigate to /signup.
2. Sign up with email and password (minimum 10 characters, with uppercase, lowercase, and a number), or use Sign in with Google for one-click access.
3. Once logged in, you'll land on the Dashboard. Click New Project in the project selector (top-left) to create your first project.
4. Give your project a name and optionally upload a project logo (shown on call sheets and PDFs).
5. You're ready to start adding crew, budgets, schedules, and more using the navigation bar.

Search Everything (Cmd+K)

Press Ctrl/Cmd+K anywhere (or tap the search button in the top bar) to search your whole project — crew, cast, scenes, locations, equipment, props, shots, tasks, and budget lines — or jump straight to any tab. Arrow keys to navigate, Enter to go.

Take the Tour

New here? The guided tour walks you through the app on the real interface — click the ? button in the top bar (or "Take the Tour" in the mobile menu) any time. It navigates tab to tab, highlighting each part of the workflow from script to call sheet.

Undo & Redo

Every edit you make is undoable. Use the undo / redo arrows in the top bar or press Ctrl/Cmd+Z (Shift+Z to redo). History is kept per project, survives a page refresh, and is team-safe — if a teammate changed the same record after you, Production Slate won't clobber their edit.

Install as App

Production Slate is a progressive web app — install it on your phone or computer for faster access and a native-feeling experience, no app store required.

• iPhone / iPad: Open in Safari → Share button → Add to Home Screen.
• Android: Open in Chrome → three-dot menu → Install app.
• Desktop (Chrome / Edge): Click the install icon in the address bar, or browser menu → Install Production Slate.

Dashboard & Tasks

Your project hub showing key metrics and a task system for tracking every to-do across production.

Project Overview

The dashboard shows at-a-glance stats: total budget vs. actuals, equipment daily cost, shoot day count, scene and shot totals, crew count, location count, equipment count, and art/props count. Switch projects using the project selector in the top-left corner.

When no project is selected, the dashboard shows an all-projects view with project cards and an aggregate task list across every project.

Analytics Cards

When a project is selected, the dashboard shows analytics cards below the stats:

• Budget Overview — Horizontal bars by category showing estimate vs. actual spend, color-coded for over-budget items.
• Task Breakdown — Donut chart showing tasks grouped by status (not started, in progress, blocked, completed).
• Schedule Progress — Progress bar showing completed vs. remaining shoot days.
• Recent Activity — Feed of recently completed tasks.

Task List

Tasks are organized by production stage — matching the real phases of a production:

• Internal — Admin, equipment maintenance, marketing, training
• Pitch — Client meetings, concepts, proposals, budget estimates
• Pre-Production — Script, budget, crew, locations, equipment, casting, art, schedule, permits
• Production — Shoot days, dailies, on-set tasks
• Post-Production — Edit, color, sound, VFX, graphics, review
• Delivery — Export, QC, delivery, archive

Creating & Managing Tasks

Click + Add Task. Each task supports title, description, stage, status (Not Started → Completed), priority (Low → Urgent, color-coded), assignee, due date, tags, 7-color labels, checklists, threaded comments, an activity feed, recurrence (daily/weekly/monthly), module links (Budget, People, Locations, Equipment, Art, Schedule, Call Sheets), and task dependencies.

Views & filtering

Switch between List, Kanban, and Calendar views. Quick filters: My Tasks, Overdue, This Week, plus stage/assignee/search. Save any filter combination as a named preset (bookmark icon) and reload it later.

Task templates

Create reusable task sets for common workflows (pre-production checklist, post-production workflow, etc.) and apply to new projects in one click.

Script Import, Reader & Tagging

Import a FinalDraft (.fdx) or Fountain (.fountain) screenplay to auto-populate scenes, characters, locations, and props across your project — then read the screenplay in-app with full formatting and tag additional breakdown items just by highlighting text.

Importing a Script

1. Navigate to the Script tab and click Import Script.
2. Upload a FinalDraft .fdx or Fountain .fountain file (up to 10MB) — Fountain covers Highland, Fade In, Slugline, Beat, and Celtx exports. The parser extracts scenes, characters, and locations (plus tagged breakdown items from FDX TagData).
3. Review the extracted data in the Preview step. Toggle individual items on or off across four tabs: Scenes, Characters, Locations, and Breakdown.
4. Breakdown extraction is opt-in — enable it in the Breakdown tab. Items are read from Final Draft's tagging data (props, set dressing, stunts, music, animals, etc.).
5. Click Import to populate your project. Characters go to Cast, scenes to Schedule (with time of day), locations to Locations, and breakdown items to Art.

Reading the Script In-App

After import, the Script tab gets a Read Script button. Click it to open the screenplay in a formatted modal — scene headings bold, dialogue indented, character cues centered, transitions right-aligned. It reads like a printed script.

1. Scene headings, character names, locations, and tagged props render as clickable pills. Non-editors click to jump straight to that entity's tab.
2. The sidebar lists scenes as chapters — click any scene to scroll the body, expand to see which people / locations / props appear inside.
3. Press Esc to close the reader; everything else in the app keeps the scroll position.

Tagging While You Read (editors only)

Found a prop or costume the parser missed? Select it in the text.

1. Highlight any word or phrase inside the script body — the sidebar's Add Tag panel fills with your selection.
2. Pick a category (Props, Wardrobe, Set Decoration, Special Effects, etc.) and click Create Tag. A real art item is created in your breakdown with the scene number auto-detected.
3. If an art item with that name already exists it's reused — no duplicates.
4. Click any existing tag in the script to edit it: rename, change category, open its tab, or remove it from the script.
5. Prop renames cascade to the Art row; character renames cascade to Cast; location renames cascade to Locations. Scene properties stay editable in the Schedule tab.

Re-importing (Script Revisions)

1. Add new only — imports items not already in the project. Existing data is untouched.
2. Merge — matches scenes by heading content (not number), so inserting a scene mid-script won't shift data. Updates character info while preserving your notes, contact details, and rates. Locked scene numbers are honored, and your shot list is never touched — shots stay attached to their scenes through any merge.
3. Replace all — clears existing scenes, cast, locations, and art, then imports fresh. Use for a complete reset from a new draft.

Script Supervision Log

The Script tab has two views: Breakdown (the standard overview) and Supervision. Supervision is the script supervisor's take-by-take log — separate from the camera log but auto-populated whenever a take is entered there.

1. Open the Supervision tab inside Script.
2. Rows appear automatically as the AC adds takes in the Camera Log. Each row carries scene, shot, take, and an "Auto" source badge.
3. The script supervisor edits dialogue changes, script notes, pages covered, and overrides take status (Print / NG / Hold / Wild). Once a row is edited, the Source badge flips to "Edited" and later camera-log changes can no longer overwrite it.
4. Filter by scene, shoot date, status, or "Manual edits only" — filters compose so you can drill straight to "today's prints in scene 5".
5. Click + Add Manual Entry for wild lines, ADR markers, or MOS pickups not in the camera log.
6. Pick a single date and click Export Daily Report to download the standard Daily Script Supervisor's Report PDF.

Auto-lining the Script

When you mark a shot complete in the Shot List, Production Slate automatically lines the linked scene — color-coded by the shot's coverage type. Open Read Script and the scene chapter cards in the sidebar show colored stripes (one per shot lined). Expand a scene to see the Lined-by badges.

1. Mark shots complete in the Shot List as you cover them on set. Lining rows write themselves; re-toggling produces one row, not duplicates.
2. Coverage colour mirrors the shot type: Wide → blue (WS), MCU/CU → amber (CU), Medium / Two-shot → green (MS), Insert → purple (INS).
3. For fine-grain coverage (partial scenes, OS, MOS pickups), open the script reader and switch the sidebar to Lining mode. Select text in the body, pick a shot, choose the coverage type, click Mark Covered — the lining record gets the exact character range you selected.
4. Click any colored badge in the scene chapters to edit a lining (shot, coverage, notes) or remove it.

From Script to Set

The script reader is available beyond the Script tab, and lined coverage flows back into the supervisor's paperwork:

1. The Shot List and Schedule tabs each have a Read Script button — open the screenplay reader mid-planning without switching tabs.
2. In Lining mode, after selecting text you can create a shot directly from the selection — the selected text becomes the shot description and the selection's length lands in the notes in page eighths.
3. Lined sections draw as colored vertical lines through the script text itself, like a hand-lined page — alongside the stripes on scene chapter cards.
4. The Supervision Log suggests Pages Covered from each shot's lining (shown as ≈ values) — the supervisor confirms instead of measuring. Suggestions carry into the Daily Report PDF until confirmed.

Crew & Cast

Manage your crew, cast, and contacts across projects. People you add here flow into budgets, schedules, and call sheets automatically.

Crew Management

1. Navigate to People in the navigation bar.
2. Click + Add Crew and fill in name, role, department, email, phone, and daily rate.
3. Crew members are organized by department (Camera, Grip & Electric, Art, Sound, HMU, Production, PAs, etc.).
4. Each crew member's daily rate automatically creates a linked budget line item — so your budget stays in sync with your crew list.
5. Removing a crew member also removes their linked budget entry.

Crew Directory & Connections

Your organization's crew directory persists across all projects. Click Save to Directory on any project crew member to add them, or Import from Directory to pull people into a new project.

When you add someone whose email matches a Production Slate account, they receive a connection request. If they accept, their profile photo and display name appear in your directory. If they decline, they stay as an external contact with your manually-entered data. Contacts without an account are simply listed as external.

1. Directory contacts show three statuses: Connected (accepted, profile shared), Pending (awaiting response), or External (no account or declined).
2. Connection requests appear on the Notifications page with inline Accept and Decline buttons.
3. Each organization sends independent requests — accepting one does not affect others.

Cast Profiles

The Cast page is a dedicated view for cast members (department = Cast). It surfaces character-specific fields that aren't relevant for crew:

1. Add character details: character name, description, age range, ethnicity, physical traits, personality traits, and story arc.
2. Upload a headshot and link a release form URL.
3. Link talent to scenes in the schedule so you know exactly who is needed on each shoot day.
4. Manage wardrobe per character per scene — track costume descriptions, sizes, notes, and scene assignments from the Cast page. Sizes live on the wardrobe entry so the costume department knows what to pull before fittings.

Budget

Industry-standard budget tracking with category breakdowns, estimates vs. actuals, automatic linking to crew and equipment, and multi-format import/export (PDF, Excel, CSV) with Movie Magic Budget compatibility.

Budget Templates

Click Templates to choose a category structure tailored to your production type. Six industry-standard templates are available:

• Feature Film — Expanded above-the-line (Story & Rights, Direction), VFX, and Transportation categories
• TV Series — Per-episode structure with series regulars, day players, and episodic post
• Commercial / AICP — Full AICP bid form structure (A through H sections) used by agencies and production companies
• Documentary — Lightweight structure with archive licensing, research, and interview categories
• Short Film — Simplified feature subset for short-form narrative work
• Music Video — Focused on talent, locations, camera, choreography, and post

Preview a template's full category structure before applying. If your budget already has items, you can merge the template alongside existing categories or replace the structure entirely. The template choice is saved per-project.

Budget Categories

By default, budgets are organized into standard film production categories: Above the Line, Production, Post-Production, and Other. Applying a template changes these sections and categories to match the selected production type. You can also rename individual categories in project settings.

Adding Budget Items

1. Navigate to Budget and click + Add Item within any category.
2. Enter the item name and the estimate as Qty × Units × Rate. The Units multiplier covers multi-instance bookings — e.g. 3 rooms for 7 nights is 7 days × 3 units × rate. It defaults to 1, so simple lines stay simple.
3. Optionally link the item to a crew member, equipment piece, or art department item — the actual cost auto-populates from the linked source.
4. The budget summary updates in real time showing total estimate, total actual, and the variance.

Itemised Estimates & Actuals

Each line has a Quick / Itemised toggle on both its estimate and its actual side. Quick is the single Qty × Units × Rate formula. Itemised opens a ledger where you add one entry per day, city, or anything else — each with its own amount, date and location — and the line total becomes the sum of the entries.

1. Shooting four days across four cities? Switch the actual to Itemised and log what each day actually cost.
2. Know the rates differ up front? Itemise the estimate too — plan Day 1 and Day 2 at different rates instead of one blended number.
3. The toggle is reversible: switch back to Quick and your entries are kept, not deleted — just set aside.

Automatic Budget Linking

Budget items are created automatically when you add crew, equipment, art items, or locations to a project. The budget stays connected — updating a crew member's rate or an equipment day rate updates the linked budget entry. Removing a crew member, equipment item, or art item also removes its budget entry.

Contingency & Production Fee

Set a contingency percentage (typically 10%) and a production fee / markup percentage. These are calculated on top of your subtotal and reflected in the grand total and profit breakdown.

Globals & Fringes (Team plans)

Movie Magic-style budgeting power, opened from the gear icon in the Budget toolbar:

1. Globals are named variables — define SHOOT_DAYS = 10 once, then type SHOOT_DAYS or a full expression like SHOOT_DAYS*1.5+2 into any qty or rate cell. Change the global and every referencing line and total recalculates instantly.
2. Formula-driven cells show their computed value with a small ƒ marker. Plain numbers still work everywhere — formulas are opt-in per cell.
3. Fringes are percent or flat add-ons (payroll tax 22%, workers comp 3.5%, a flat P&H amount). Define them once, attach any combination to any line with checkbox chips, or apply one to a whole category in a click.
4. Each category shows a fringe subtotal, and the topsheet carries a fringes line — contingency and production fee compound on the fringe-inclusive subtotal, matching Movie Magic behaviour.
5. Don't need fringes on this job? Toggle them off per project — definitions stay saved for the next one.

Export (PDF, Excel, CSV)

Click Export and choose your format. PDF generates a polished budget document with your project logo — ready for client delivery. Excel creates a 3-sheet workbook (Top Sheet, Budget Summary, Budget Detail) that can be opened in any spreadsheet app or imported into Movie Magic Budget. CSV exports a flat file of all line items. All three share one layout: multi-day costs total correctly, every category carries a subtotal at the foot of its group, itemised entries list under their line, and you can hide $0 lines. All formats support estimate-only, actuals-only, or estimate vs. actual with variance columns.

Import from Spreadsheet

Click Import to bring in a budget from an Excel, CSV, or XML file. The importer auto-detects the format — it recognises Production Slate exports, Movie Magic Budget exports, and generic spreadsheets. You get a preview table showing every row with color-coded mapping confidence. If a category can't be matched automatically, just pick it from the dropdown. Choose whether to add items alongside your existing budget, skip duplicates, or replace everything.

Movie Magic Budgeting: Export your budget using File → Export → XML (Advanced), then upload the resulting file. Native .mbd files are not supported.

Equipment

A complete equipment management system with a master library, per-project equipment lists, equipment sharing between companies, investment tracking, and rental income logging.

Overview: Five Tabs

The Equipment page is organized into five tabs:

• Equipment Inventory — Your gear that persists across all projects. All equipment belongs to an organization.
• Project Equipment — Gear assigned to the current project with daily cost tracking.
• Purchases — Investment tracking for gear you own, with co-ownership splits and rental income.
• Shared With Me — Equipment lists shared by other users or companies.
• Rental Requests — Incoming and outgoing requests for equipment rentals.

Equipment Inventory

Your equipment inventory is every camera, lens, light, grip item, and accessory you own or regularly rent. It lives outside of any specific project and serves as the source you pull from when building a project's gear list.

1. Click + Add Item to add gear to your inventory. Enter name, category, daily rate, quantity, replacement value, serial number, and vendor.
2. All items belong to your organization and are shared with org members when auto-share equipment is enabled. If you belong to multiple organizations, use the org selector dropdown to choose which org the item belongs to.
3. Items are grouped by category (Camera, Lenses, Lighting, Grip, Sound, etc.) with per-category subtotals for daily rate and replacement value.
4. Use the checkbox next to each item and click Add to Project to import selected gear into the current project. You can also click the individual + Add button on each row.
5. For items with quantity > 1, use the qty stepper to choose how many to add to the project.
6. Each item shows a Payoff column — if the item is linked to a purchase (by serial number), you'll see the payoff percentage and a progress bar.

Project Equipment

Each project has its own gear list. Items are imported from your equipment inventory or added manually. The project view shows a summary header with total items, quantities, daily cost, and replacement value, plus a Daily Cost by Type breakdown bar. Adding equipment to a project automatically creates a linked budget entry.

Every item is tagged with an equipment type:

• Owned — Gear you own. No external rental cost.
• Rental — Gear rented from a rental house or vendor.
• Sub-rent — Gear rented from another user who shared their equipment list with you.

The daily cost bar at the top visualizes the split between owned, rental, and sub-rent costs so you can quickly see where your equipment budget is going. Inline editing lets you update day rates and quantities directly on the list without opening an edit form.

Equipment Sharing

Equipment sharing is designed for production companies that regularly work together and allow each other to use their gear for a rental fee. For example, Company A and Company B both have equipment lists — they share access so either company can browse and add the other's gear to their own projects.

1. Click Share on the Equipment page to open the sharing modal.
2. Share by email: Enter another user's email to give them browse access to your equipment list.
3. Public link: Generate a shareable URL that lets anyone view your gear list (no account needed).
4. You can also manage shares from Settings > Organization > Equipment Sharing.

Using Shared Equipment

1. When someone shares their list with you, their gear appears under the Shared With Me tab, grouped by owner.
2. Browse their equipment and click + Add to pull items into your project. Items from shared lists are automatically tagged as sub-rent.
3. The quantity cap prevents you from adding more than the owner has available.
4. For a more formal process, submit a Rental Request specifying pickup/dropoff dates, project name, and notes. The equipment owner receives a notification to approve or deny the request.

Purchases & Investment Tracking

The Purchases tab tracks equipment you own as business assets, separate from any project budget. This is where you monitor how your gear investment pays off over time through rental income.

1. Click + Add Purchase to log a piece of equipment you've bought. Enter the item name, purchase price, serial number, and purchase date.
2. All purchases belong to your organization and are shared with org members when auto-share equipment is enabled. If you belong to multiple organizations, use the org selector dropdown to choose which org the purchase belongs to.
3. Co-ownership: If you bought the gear with a partner, add co-owners with ownership percentage splits. Search for co-owners by name, email, or organization — selecting a result auto-fills their details. Each owner's investment share and payoff is tracked separately.
4. Org-to-org sharing: Share a purchase with another organization so all their members can view it and its revenue. Search for organizations by name in the sharing field.
5. Rental income: Each time the equipment earns rental revenue, log a revenue line item with the date, gross revenue, and payment status (paid/invoiced/pending).
6. The payoff progress bar shows each owner's percentage of their investment recouped through rentals. Once it hits 100%, the equipment has paid for itself.
7. The portfolio summary at the top shows aggregate stats: total invested, total revenue earned, and average payoff percentage across all your purchases.

Purchases are linked to equipment inventory items via serial number. If an equipment item's serial number matches a purchase record, the Payoff column shows the payoff percentage — giving you investment visibility right from the equipment list.

CSV & XLSX Import

Bulk-import equipment from a CSV or XLSX file. Map your columns to Production Slate fields — including serial numbers, daily rates, replacement values, and categories — and import hundreds of items at once (up to 500 rows per import). CSV import works for both project equipment lists and your equipment inventory. XLSX import is available for bulk purchase records with revenue data.

Equipment Quote PDF

Click Export Project Quote to generate a professional PDF listing all project equipment with daily rates, quantities, and total costs — ready to send to clients or attach to a budget proposal.

Art & Props

Track art department items with scene linking and budget integration. Everything you add here automatically creates a linked budget entry.

Categories

Breakdown items span art department categories (Props, Set Decoration, Construction & Scenic, Graphics, Special Effects, On-Set Art, Wardrobe, Visual Effects) and production categories (Background Actors, Stunts, Music, Sound, Camera, Animals). Each category maps to the appropriate budget line automatically.

Adding Items

1. Navigate to Art in the navigation bar and click + Add Item.
2. Select the category and set the source: Rental, Purchase, Owned, or Made In-House.
3. Enter cost, quantity, vendor, and any notes.
4. Link items to specific scenes so you know exactly what's needed for each shoot day.
5. A corresponding budget entry is created automatically in the matching budget category.

Character Links & Hero Props

Tie an item to the character who carries or wears it — pull up a character and see everything the art department owes them. Flag the pieces that get screen time as hero props; they sort to the top and stand out in lists so the items that can't go missing never get lost among the expendables.

Filtering & Organization

Filter art items by scene, character (shows items from scenes a character appears in), source (owned, rental, purchase, made), or category. Switch the Group By selector between Category, Scene, or Source to reorganize the display. Search also matches scene numbers.

Locations

Scout, manage, and share location details with integrated maps, weather, emergency info, and automatic call sheet population. Adding a location creates a linked budget entry for location fees.

1. Navigate to Locations and click + Add Location.
2. Enter the address — this enables automatic weather forecasts and nearest hospital lookup on call sheets.
3. A static map displays the geocoded address.
4. Set the permit status (Not Required, Pending, Approved, or Denied) and location fee.
5. Add a contact person with name and phone number.
6. Attach a photo URL and files link for scouting reference.
7. Filter locations by permit status or by scene to see which locations are used in specific scenes.
8. Each location card shows scene badges indicating which scenes reference it.

Schedule

Plan your shooting schedule with scene breakdowns, shoot days, stripboard, and day-out-of-days reports. The schedule has three views: Schedule, Stripboard, and DOOD.

Scenes

1. Start by adding scenes: give each a scene number, INT/EXT designation, location, time of day, description, and estimated page count.
2. Link cast members to each scene so you know which talent is needed.
3. Link art items to scenes for art department pull lists.
4. Scenes are the building blocks of your schedule — assign them to shoot days.

Schedule Days

1. Click + Add Day and select one or more day types: Shoot Day, Location Scout, Prep Day, Travel Day, Wrap Day, Day Off, or Other Event. A single calendar entry can be both Travel and Prep, for example.
2. For shoot days, assign scenes — the total page count and scene summary display automatically.
3. For non-shoot events (scouts, prep, travel, etc.), enter an event title and notes. Scenes are hidden since they're not relevant.
4. Assign crew members to the day. Labor costs calculate based on each crew member's daily rate.
5. Set the primary location, and click + Add another location (company move) for any additional stops. Each extra stop carries its own move time so the call sheet shows "COMPANY MOVE @ HH:MM" between location blocks.
6. Set the general crew call, wrap time, and lunch time for the day. Individual crew call times can be customized on the Call Sheets tab.

Meetings (Prep & Post)

Schedule production meetings, table reads, color sessions, and post deliveries alongside shoot days. Meetings live separately from shoot days — they don't take a day number — but appear on the Schedule, Dashboard, and the calendar PDF.

1. Click + Meeting in the Schedule header (or the same button on the Dashboard).
2. Set date, start/end time, title, and an optional agenda.
3. Pick attendees from your project people. Use Select all / Clear for whole-team or department meetings; click rows individually for smaller groups. Selected rows get an accent-tinted background so the count stays clear.
4. Optionally pick a meeting location and add notes.

Real-time Multi-tab Sync

Open the schedule in two browser tabs (or two devices on the same login) and edits flow between them in under a second — no manual refresh, no polling. Powered by BroadcastChannel: a mutation in tab A posts a message that tab B receives and applies to its React Query cache. Works for schedule changes, scene edits, call sheets, tasks, meetings, supervision rows — every collaborative surface in the app.

Stripboard

The stripboard view shows all scenes as colored strips (by INT/EXT and time of day). Drag and drop strips to reorder the shooting sequence within a day. Touch drag-and-drop is fully supported on mobile devices.

Day-out-of-Days (DOOD)

Generate a day-out-of-days report showing which cast members are needed on which shoot days. The DOOD grid uses standard industry codes:

• SW — Start Work (first day on set)
• W — Work (shooting day)
• WF — Work Finish (last day on set)
• SWF — Start-Work-Finish (one day only)
• H — Hold (on call between work days)
• WD — Work-Drop (last day before a 7+ day break)
• PW — Pickup-Work (return after a 7+ day break)

Each cast member shows total work days, hold days, and overall span. This is a standard pre-production document for tracking talent availability and scheduling.

Scene Breakdown PDF

Export a scene breakdown PDF organized by scene or by category — listing cast, art items, locations, and notes for each scene.

Shot List

Build detailed shot lists organized by scene with drag-and-drop ordering, completion tracking, and storyboard view.

Adding Shots

1. Navigate to Shot List and click + Add Shot. You can also create new scenes directly from the shot list using the + Scene button.
2. Select the scene this shot belongs to — the dropdown sorts scenes naturally so "2" comes before "10" and "12A" lands in the right place. Shots are grouped by scene automatically.
3. Specify shot details: shot type (Wide, Medium, Close-up, etc.), framing, camera movement, lens, lighting setup, and description.
4. Assign cast members and equipment to each shot.
5. Upload storyboard images directly from your device with automatic 16:9 cropping, or paste a URL for reference images. Click any uploaded image to open a full-screen lightbox viewer with keyboard navigation (arrow keys to browse, Escape to close).
6. Add notes with inline editing — click to edit directly in the list.
7. When entering a sequence of shots in the same scene, use Save & Add Another in the form footer. It saves the current shot and immediately starts a new one with the same scene pre-filled and the next setup letter (a → b → c) ready to go — no re-clicking required.

Views

• By Scene — Table or card layout grouped by scene, with drag-and-drop reordering within each scene.
• Board — Grid view showing shot reference photos as cards, ideal for visual storyboarding.

Completion Tracking

Mark shots as complete during production to track progress. The completion toggle lets you see at a glance which shots are done and which still need to be captured.

PDF Export

Two export options are available:

• Shot List PDF — Full shot list organized by scene with all shot details for on-set reference.
• Storyboard PDF — A 2×3 grid layout of storyboard images with shot number, type, and description. Ideal for visual pre-production handouts.

Camera Log Tab

Inside Shot List, the Camera Log tab is the AC's per-take tracker — driven by the same shot list you just built so it stays in sync.

1. Pick a scene from the dropdown at the top. Every shot from your shot list for that scene appears as its own collapsible card with takes underneath.
2. Click + Add Take inside a shot section. The new row clones the previous take's roll, FPS, T-stop, lens, and camera (since camera setup rarely changes between takes). Clip name and notes always start blank — they're per-take.
3. Fields save with a dirty-aware debounce: typing in column A and tabbing to column B saves both, and a sibling row's refetch can't stomp the cell you're mid-typing in.
4. Toggle the circle-take button on a take to flag it as a print. The Script Supervision tab picks up the print status automatically.
5. Camera log rows whose scene/shot doesn't match a shot list entry surface in an Unassigned section with a one-click "Reassign to shot →" action — legacy data and typos never disappear silently.
6. "All scenes" view falls back to a flat take table for daily-report review.

Call Sheets

Generate professional call sheets with auto-populated production info, weather, maps, and crew details. Select a shoot day and the call sheet builds itself.

1. Navigate to Call Sheets and select a shoot day from the dropdown. Crew, cast, scenes, and location data auto-populate.
2. Fill in production info: production company, director, producer, 1st AD, and UPM — with phone numbers for each.
3. Set individual call times for each crew and cast member. Every person defaults to the general crew call but can be overridden with their own time — useful when departments need to arrive at different times.
4. Add logistics: walkie channel, parking, basecamp, and special instructions.
5. Weather, sunrise/sunset, map, and nearest hospital pull from the shoot day's location automatically.
6. Pick a Template and a Color theme from the dropdowns next to the Export button. There are 4 templates (Standard, Compact, Minimalist, Traditional) and 10 color themes (Classic, Mono, Indigo, Crimson, Emerald, Sunset, Ocean, Plum, Slate, Forest). Mix and match — each combination saves automatically per project.
7. Click Preview to see the formatted call sheet with all details. The preview reflects your template and color choices instantly.
8. Click Export PDF to generate a print-ready call sheet with your project logo, weather, maps, schedules, cast, and crew — ready to distribute.
9. Or click Send Call Sheet to email it directly. Pick the crew + cast to include, optionally add a subject and personal note, and send. Each recipient gets their own “Confirm Receipt” link, and the delivery board on the editor page updates as confirmations come in. (All plans — Free is capped at 10 recipients/send and 3 sends per project lifetime; Pro lifts the per-send cap to 25; Team is uncapped.)

Multi-location days & per-scene filming addresses

When a single shoot day crosses multiple locations or different scenes shoot at different addresses than the day's primary, the call sheet renders that automatically — no manual cleanup.

• Company moves — additional locations added to a shoot day appear on the call sheet as warm-tinted "COMPANY MOVE @ HH:MM" rows between the primary location block and the shooting schedule. Each stop carries its name, address, and any notes you added.
• Filming Locations summary — when scenes within the same day shoot at different addresses (e.g. Scene 1 at the studio, Scenes 5-7 at a bar location), the call sheet auto-renders a "Filming Locations" block listing each unique address with the scene numbers that shoot there. Hidden when every scene shares the day's primary location, so the call sheet stays clean.
• The same blocks appear identically in the editor preview, the public-link preview, and the PDF — so what you see is what your crew sees.

Send & track confirmations

Once a call sheet is saved, the Send Call Sheet button appears next to Export PDF. Production Slate sends a branded email with the PDF attached and a unique confirmation link per recipient — no separate mail merge, no chasing the team in WhatsApp.

• Crew + cast assigned to the shoot day are pre-checked. Anyone without an email on file is greyed out.
• Recipients see a clean dark-themed email with the production title, your optional note, and a big Confirm Receipt button.
• Clicking the button takes them to a branded confirmation page — no login required.
• The Delivery status panel below the editor shows a live count (“8 of 12 confirmed”), per-person status badges, and timestamps. It auto-refreshes every 15 seconds.
• Failed or bounced sends are flagged with the error so you can fix the address and resend.

Templates & Colors

Two independent style controls let you tailor the look of your call sheet without rebuilding it. Templates change the structure and typography; color themes change the accent colors. They work in any combination.

• Standard — modern colorful layout with the full stats dashboard. The default.
• Compact — drops the stats dashboard and shrinks table type so more fits on a single page.
• Minimalist — airy magazine-style: borderless headings, no callout boxes, lots of whitespace.
• Traditional — old-school production form: heavy black borders, all-black section bars, dense grid look. Great for productions that prefer the classic industry aesthetic.

Color themes work across all templates except Traditional (which is intentionally always black-and-white). Pick whichever pairing matches your production's vibe.

Logos

Upload your organization or project logo in any aspect ratio — wide horizontal logotypes, square marks, or tall vertical logos all scale and position correctly in the PDF header. Transparent PNGs render with their alpha channel intact.

Crew Payroll

Track crew hours and payroll directly from your call sheets. After a shoot day wraps, log everyone's times and the system calculates pay using film industry OT rules.

1. On a saved call sheet, click Log Wrap to open the timesheet modal.
2. Crew members are pre-populated with call/wrap times and rates from the call sheet. Adjust wrap times as needed.
3. Pay auto-calculates with tiered OT: straight time for the first 8 hours, 1.5x for hours 8–12, and 2x for hours beyond 12.
4. For day rates, the hourly is derived from rate / payhours — a 12-hour day rate uses 14 payhours (8 + 4×1.5). The "Based on" field is adjustable per crew member.
5. Click Save Timesheets to log the data. View all timesheets in the Timesheets tab.
6. Timesheets are grouped by person showing total owed. Expand to see individual day entries.
7. Use batch approve and mark paid to track payment status (Logged → Approved → Paid).

Sharing & Collaboration

Production Slate has three distinct collaboration systems, each designed for a different purpose:

Project Sharing

1. Click the Share button on the dashboard, or go to project Settings > Members.
2. Enter the invitee's email. They'll receive an invitation link to join the project. They don't need to be in your organization.
3. Assign a role: Admin (manage members and settings), Editor (full read/write access), or Viewer (read-only).
4. Optionally restrict access to specific pages (e.g., only Budget and Schedule) using the page access checkboxes. Members will only see the pages you've enabled.

Organizations

Every user belongs to at least one organization. Create an organization for your production company and invite team members. You can belong to multiple organizations and switch between them using the org switcher in the header.

When auto-share equipment is enabled, all org members can see and manage each other's org-scoped equipment and purchases. Upload an organization logo that appears on PDF exports (call sheets, budgets, etc.).

Organization owners can transfer ownership to another admin or delete the organization from Settings. Leaving an organization automatically switches you to another org you belong to.

Settings

Customize your profile, preferences, security, organization, notifications, billing, and appearance.

Profile

Update your display name, job title, department, phone, location, bio, and avatar (with image cropping). Change your email address or password (minimum 10 characters with uppercase, lowercase, and number required).

Preferences

Set your preferred timezone, date format (MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, or ISO), time format (12-hour or 24-hour), and default currency. Your timezone is auto-detected but can be overridden — this affects call sheets, schedules, and hours logging.

Security

• Two-Factor Authentication — Enable TOTP-based 2FA with any authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.). Scan the QR code, enter a verification code, and your account is protected.
• Session Management — View your current sign-in method and last sign-in time. Sign out of all devices at once if needed.
• Change Email — Update your login email. A confirmation is sent to both your old and new email addresses.

Notifications

Control email notifications with a master toggle and per-type settings:

• Task assignments — When a task is assigned to you
• Project invitations — When you're invited to a project or organization
• Equipment updates — Rental requests and equipment sharing notifications
• Admin broadcasts — System-wide announcements

Project Settings

1. Upload a project logo — it appears on call sheets and PDF exports.
2. Customize budget category names to match your production's accounting structure.
3. Manage project members — invite, change roles, adjust page access, or remove members.

Organization Management

Organization owners can transfer ownership to any org admin, or delete the organization entirely (with a two-step confirmation). If an owner deletes their account, ownership automatically transfers to the next available admin — or the org is dissolved if no admins remain, with all members notified.

Appearance

Toggle between dark and light themes. Your preference is saved and applies across all sessions.

Export My Data

Download all your data — profile, projects, crew, cast, equipment, budgets, schedules, locations, tasks, notifications, organization contacts, and more — as a single JSON file. Covers 25 tables for full GDPR data portability. The same tab offers Restore: upload a previously-exported file and Production Slate re-creates anything that's missing — restore never deletes or overwrites existing data, so it's always safe to run. Independently of your own exports, encrypted backups of the entire database run nightly to off-site storage.

Billing & Plans

View your current plan, manage your subscription, and access the Stripe billing portal for invoices and payment method updates. Production Slate has three tiers:

• Free — 2 projects, 50 budget items, 15 crew, 5 shoot days, watermarked PDFs, send call sheets to up to 10 recipients per send (3 sends per project lifetime). Invite unlimited project collaborators at no cost.
• Pro — $12/month or $99/year — for solo producers and freelancers. Unlimited projects, budget items, crew, and shoot days. No watermark on PDFs, full Script Preview + tagging, Script Supervision Log + auto-lining, send call sheets to up to 25 recipients per send (unlimited sends), Excel/CSV/Movie Magic Budget import + export, unlimited crew payroll entries with tiered overtime.
• Team — $20/user/month or $199/user/year — for crews and production companies. Flat per-seat pricing with no base fee and no minimums. Every seat gets the FULL Team feature suite: unlimited projects/budgets/crew/payroll, shared project access, in-app Script Preview + Supervision Log + Daily Report PDF + auto-lining, Budget Globals & Fringes, cross-org equipment sharing + partner splits, full equipment accounting, unlimited call sheet recipients & sends, real-time multi-tab sync across teammates, org directory + org-to-org connections, custom org logos on PDFs, Excel / CSV / Movie Magic Budget import + export, priority support. Adding or removing seats prorates against the current cycle; the org admin's card is billed for all seats.

Founders Pricing (legacy — early-access accounts)

Accounts created before paid plans launched (May 2026) carry permanent Founders pricing: 50% off your first year, then 20% off forever. Both discounts apply automatically at checkout — no coupon code to type; billing starts immediately at the discounted rate. (The founders free-access month ran through June 4, 2026 and has ended.) Founders pricing is exclusive to early-access accounts and is never offered to new signups — if you qualify, you’ll see the “You’re a Founder” banner above the pricing cards.