How to Break Down a Script for Film Production Scheduling

Reminder - Writers can now import their script from Final Draft into The Reel Production Calendar.

Source - eHow by msmarymac

To know how many days a film shoot will be and to schedule it accurately, you must first do a script breakdown. This is a very important step to complete as soon as possible in pre-production, as it will keep you organized throughout your planning and your shoot.

Step1 - Read the script at least once, preferably several times.

Step2 - Assign each scene a number and draw a horizontal line across the page at the bottom of each scene.

Step3 - Measure each scene by its page count and by dividing each page into eighths. Generally, the rule of thumb is that each inch of text equals 1/8. For example, a scene that is one page long and spills over onto the top of the next page would be identified as a scene that is 1 and 1/8 pages in length.

Step4 - Next, highlight each specific component of the scene, such as interior or exterior, day or night, number of characters, wardrobe needs, special equipment, etc.

Step5 - Assign a number to each speaking role in the script. Once this number is established it is important that it never change, as the character will be identified by this number in all schedules that follow. Generally, assign the character with the most scenes #1, the character with the second most number of scenes #2, etc.

Step6 - Transfer the information you have gathered on each scene to its own Breakdown Sheet and make sure you have one sheet for each scene. This will help keep you organized as you continue on with your scheduling. Include on this sheet everything you will need to shoot this scene. This includes the characters, the page count, the location, whether it is interior or exterior, day or night, wardrobe, props, makeup needs, effects needed and anything of importance.

Tips to Manage Time from Reader's Digest

According to recent data -- and most people's experience --the workweek is expanding and leisure time is evaporating, not only for top-level executives but for the average person as well. Most experts advocate organization as the key to getting a grip on time. They suggest you start by asking what your real goals are for yourself, your family, and your career. With goals established, break your time down into manageable segments.

1. Use a monthly personal calendar for short-term scheduling and a 6-month calendar for long-range scheduling. Note all things that pertain to your goals, including classes you want to take (learning a computer program for your job or mastering the piano for fun), regular exercise sessions, social events, and family time.

2. On a daily action list, categorize tasks: those that need immediate attention (you had better do them yourself), those that can be delegated (you can hire a teenager to mow the lawn or to clean the garage, for example), and those that can be put off. To avoid procrastination, tackle the toughest jobs first, breaking them into smaller, less daunting components.

3. Free up time for the things you really want to do by simplifying your life. Let go of activities (your third church committee assignment or polishing the car every week, for example) that don't contribute to your goals.

4. Reduce the waste - and frustration - of everyday delays. Wherever you go, take reading material or a portable player with music you want to hear. Then when you have to wait, you can make good use of or enjoy the time.

5. Set aside a half-hour toward the end of the day to worry. Psychologist Roland Nathan believes that having a formal worrying time cuts down the amount of worrying you do.

Source - Reader's Digest

Starbucks Sets New Employee Schedules for Baristas

The Wall Street Journal reported that Starbucks has changed its system of scheduling employees to have fewer workers on shift for more hours.
The company's new employee schedule is aimed at reducing labor costs and improving sales by fostering greater familiarity between customers and a smaller group of employees. This change in employee scheduling is part of a broader plan to revive Starbucks amid a slowdown in sales that has prompted the coffee retailer to shut many stores and curb its expansion.
Starbucks management believes that these new employee schedules with Baristas working longer hours will encourage better relationships between employees and customers.

"The customer's favorite experience is when the people behind the counter know them," said Craig Russell, Starbucks vice president for U.S. store services. Baristas ... will "be able to get you going faster by knowing what you already want."

Blogger Puts Posts on Schedule

Google's Blogger service opened up a new feature, scheduled posting, to automatically put up blog entries at a future time.
Blog readers always appreciate seeing their favorite destinations post new content on a regular basis. A regularly updated blog carries a feel of professionalism, even for the most casual of topics.
It's taken a while for Google's service, Blogger, to match other blog platforms in providing a scheduling mechanism. That finally arrived as the Blogger Buzz site noted.
Post scheduling debuted for all Blogger users, rather than being rolled out gradually to users. Bloggers will find the feature in the Post Editor screen; under Post Options, a date and time field can be edited to a point in the future.

Post scheduling benefits those who need to take a break but don't want to fall behind with their audience. Small business owners who have embraced blogging can use scheduling to keep the entries popping up regularly to help boost their brand, after writing their posts in off-hours.
Perception matters in branding, and those regular blog entries encourage people to think well of the blogger and the company. Since blogging costs little but time, scheduling makes the time investment more valuable.

Source - WebPro News

The Calendar Planner is a Smart Buy for Nonprofits in a Tough Economy

(Press Release) – Nov 13, 2008 – Effective immediately, Reel Logix Inc is offering nonprofit clients a 20% discount off The Calendar Planner scheduling software. With roughly a quarter of their sales coming from those looking for nonprofit software, the company felt that this was an appropriate discount to show their gratitude to clients in tough economic times.

"The Calendar Planner scheduling software continues to be extremely well received by churches, schools and government agencies, needing help scheduling events, resources, people and projects," says Reel Logix Inc CEO, Randy McGowan. "The fact that The Calendar Planner scheduling software can stand alone or complement larger more complex systems already in place, is seen as a really significant advantage for larger nonprofits."

One such satisfied nonprofit user of The Calendar Planner calendar software across multiple departments is Green Acres Baptist Church in Texas. When Debbie Fisher, Church Planner, was looking for a way to manage an ever growing list of offerings including worship services, special events like weddings and rehearsals or classes, she discovered The Calendar Planner scheduling software to help her keep things on track.

In any given week Fisher coordinates more than 50 recurring events. In addition, monthly or less frequent and irregularly scheduled events like missions, leisure trips or concerts add extra scheduling challenges. "We've been using The Calendar Planner for our yearly planning calendar where I take all our ministry events and compile them into one planning calendar. We had been looking for a program to switch to and TCP fits the bill just right," says Fisher.

Another nonprofit client is Scripps Health in San Diego. "I am enjoying working with The Calendar Planner. It took me quite a while to find something as flexible and cost effective. It is much faster and more flexible; easier to update and make changes to or add/delete events," says Kevin Marty.

Create Online Calendars with No Recurring Fees

(Press Release) – Nov 14, 2008 – Version 5.3 of The Calendar Planner scheduling software now offers an affordable alternative to publish online web calendars for schools, churches and other nonprofits that want to share event and scheduling information with the public. This latest free scheduling software update from Reel Logix Inc allows an online calendar to be published in three easy steps from any web site. The best part? There are no recurring fees and with the 20-25% nonprofit discount, customers are enjoying this new capability for under $100.

Unlike traditional online calendar software, The Calendar Planner scheduling software program is installed locally on the user's machine. Calendars are created offline and then published as an online web calendar from any web site.

This avoids two of the biggest drawbacks to existing online calendar software. First, since it is software installed locally, users get all the capabilities they expect in full featured, desktop application calendar software program that online calendar systems simply cannot provide. Secondly, users can customize and publish as many online calendars as needed without incurring monthly fees. "We had many customers needing powerful calendar scheduling features not found in online calendars, but who wanted to publish web calendars. Many of our nonprofit customers did not want, or simply couldn't afford to pay the high cost of some online calendar systems. With a non profit discount and multiple unit savings a team of four would make a single purchase of about $350 compared to as much as $4,000 over the course of a single year for some tools on the market." says Philip Robinson, CTO at Reel Logix, Inc.

The Calendar Planner web calendar option allows users to add links to web sites or files including images and documents; add detailed notes that can be opened from the web and can be customized with images and colors to help brand a company.

The Calendar Planner also provides a wealth of time saving features for quickly creating schedules and adjusting to changes. Features like Recurring Events, Day-Off Management, Show/Hide, Push/Pull, Schedule Rollup, Unlimited Undos, Smart Scheduling, Event Auto-size and more, saves you time and makes you more productive. Says Estel, the event planner at Smoky Hill Vineyard Church in Colorado, "I no longer have to look into 15 calendars to see what is going on in the building."

Some sample calendars generated by The Calendar Planner:
- Yarnell Community Church
- Forrester High School
- New Mexico Potters and Clay Artists

Scheduling Presidential Inauguration Events in Washington DC

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is busy scheduling events for the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009 in Washington DC.

An entire week of festivities are being planned including:

- Presidential Swearing in Ceremony
- Inaugural Address
- Inaugural Parade
- Inaugural Balls and Galas

The theme for the 2009 presidential inauguration will be "A New Birth of Freedom," intended to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
The following resources can help schedule your trip to Washington DC for President Obama's inaugutation:
-About.com Presidential Inauguration 2009
-Southwest Airlines Schedules Additional Flights for Obama's inauguration
-Route and Schedule Information on Inauguration for Washington DC
-10 Things You Need to Know About Scheduling a Trip to President-Elect Obama’s Inauguration

Reel Production Calendar Software now Imports Final Draft!

(Press Release) – Nov 12, 2008 – When Reel Logix Inc. released the latest version of their film scheduling software, it offered a pleasant surprise for users – the ability to import from Final Draft, the world's most popular and comprehensive script writing software on the market today.

In addition to the ability to import script schedules into The Reel Production Calendar, this new version provides a new and unique feature that allows the calendar matrix to grow to accommodate a significantly large numbers of events. This is a feature long requested by clients which provides the clarity and ease of use of a scheduling calendar program with the display flexibility of a spreadsheet.

Combined with existing features like easy web publishing, event filtering, and powerful scheduling features like push and pull, linking and more, The Reel Production Calendar software is truly a unique product designed to meet the needs of all film production professionals from the pro to the novice. This new Auto-Size feature has given added flexibility to individual events as well as to the entire calendar allowing large amounts of text to be added to each event. "We have always tried to pursue solutions for our clients that either aren't available in existing calendar software or are difficult and expensive to come by for most.

The new features added, especially the import of Final Draft, makes Reel Production Calendar valuable for not just the film making pros, but also for aspiring film makers everywhere, who want to import script timelines into their calendar software," says Philip Robinson, CTO and Co-Founder of Reel Logix Inc.

Nik Korda, UPM of The Golden Compass and The Lord of The Rings had this to say about The Reel Production Calendar software, "Reel Logix has designed the calendar program that the film business has been waiting for. The program has been designed from the ground up to meet the heavy demands of 'Tent Pole' feature production. From time management of daily diary through importing shooting schedules, to viewing and printing calendars for distribution to the crew it is a complete tool for all your film production calendar needs". This latest release continues the Reel Logix Inc tradition of providing major software updates to customers for free. Learn more about The Reel Production Calendar.