YOUR GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED - Filmmaker Software

YOUR GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED

web: www.filmmakersoftware.com email: [email protected]

filmmakersoftware™ Guide Printed May 4, 2000 – Page 2

...filmmakersoftware™ was designed toprovide the independent filmmaker withan inexpensive way to manage his/herfilm...

...You can use filmmakersoftware™ forscheduling, budgeting, contacts, dailyreporting, and much much more...

...This guide will provide you witheverything you need to know to getstarted. But before we discuss the nuts &bolts, we urge you to take a moment toopen up the filmmakersoftware™program (double-click on FilmMakr.FP3)and explore. Click with your mouse onthe many buttons and tabs to get ageneral idea of all thatfilmmakersoftware™ has to offer. Thencome back to this guide, and we will walkyou through filmmakersoftware™ step-by-step. If you prefer to skip to specificsections, click on the appropriatebookmarks to the left.


I. What You Will Need

The full filmmakersoftware™ package offers two essentialprograms:

1. the Production Board module, which handles yourscheduling, and…

2. the Budget, Contacts & Reports module which handleseverything else.

In order to run each part of filmmakersoftware™, you will needthe following:

filmmakersoftware™ for MAC OS Minimum RequirementsPRODUCTION BOARD

(requires Microsoft Excel 5.0 or later)BUDGET, CONTACTS & REPORTS(no longer requires FileMaker Pro)

•Mac OS (preferably 68040 or faster).•8MB or more of RAM.•12 MB or more free HD space.•Excel 5.0 or later.

•Mac OS (preferably 68040 or faster).•8 MB or more of RAM.•12 MB or more free HD space.

filmmakersoftware™ for WINDOWS Minimum RequirementsPRODUCTION BOARD

(requires Microsoft Excel 5.0 or later)BUDGET, CONTACTS & REPORTS(no longer requires FileMaker Pro)

•Win 3.1, NT, 95 (486 or faster).•8MB or more of RAM.•12 MB or more free HD space.•Excel 5.0 for Windows or later.

•Win 3.1, NT, 95 (486 or faster).•8MB or more of RAM.•12 MB or more free HD space.

A familiarity with FileMaker Pro® and Microsoft Excel® isrecommended.

We also recommend some film-production experience. While itis our goal with this guide to explain the nuts & bolts of filmscheduling and budgeting—our hope is that with just thisguide you will be able to understand most of the importantconcepts involved—we can only stress that the moreknowledge and experience you have in scheduling andbudgeting films, the easier it will be for you to understand howto maximize the utility of this program.


If you intend to use the Production Board module offilmmakersoftware™, you will need to have a script. If youhaven’t printed it yet, don’t.

Filmmaking should be fun, and hopefully withfilmmakersoftware™ it can be. Good Luck!


II. Getting Started

For filmmakersoftware™ to work optimally, you will needto prepare your script as follows:

A. Scene Numbers & Page Numbers

Make sure each scene and each page in your script isnumbered sequentially from beginning to end accordingto the method explained in this chapter (The numbersyou assign to each scene will be called Scene Numbers,and the numbers you assign to each page will be calledPage Numbers.)

1. The Importance of Scene NumbersScene numbers are like ID numbers for the scenes inyour script. They distinguish each scene from all otherscenes. Most feature-film scripts are comprised of manyscenes. Everyone involved on your production will relyupon Scene Numbers when referring to the scenes inthe script.

2. How to Number ScenesNumbering scenes is easy. Simply put a number at thebeginning of each scene. Respectable screenwritingprograms such as Final Draft® can automatically numberthe scenes in your script. They typically assign a numberto each scene heading (or slugline). However,determining where a scene changes (or where to put aslugline) can be much more difficult. And noscreenwriting software is yet savvy enough to do that.Software relies on the screenwriter and/or the producerto determine where to put the sluglines. How does thescreenwriter and/or the producer decide? This issomething that can only be accomplished by careful


reading of the script. It’s a dark and lonely job, but notone to be taken lightly. Intelligent scene ID-ing is key toeffective scheduling.

The standard rule of thumb for detecting a scene changeis to look for any change in location and/or cast. Eachlocation change or cast change typically means a scenechange, which means a new slugline, which also meansa new Scene Number.

3. Dividing Pages into EighthsAfter you have finished identifying and numbering yourscenes, print a fresh hard-copy of your script and markeach script page with seven horizontal lines dividingeach page into eighths, like this:

Put SceneNumbers in themargins like so.Some peoplelike to have themin both the leftand rightmargins.

Put your PageNumbers atthe top of eachpage.


This is standard procedure for breaking down mostscripts. You can accomplish making the eighths-of-pages lines on your script in many ways, but here arethree suggestions:

1. Use your word processor (if it will allow you) tocreate a watermark of lines dividing each page intoeighths for when you print your script.

2. Use a graphics program to create the lines, and thenprint or photocopy it multiple times and use it asyour paper stock when printing your script.

3. Use a ruler and pencil and make your linesmanually.

Once your script is divided into eighths and your scenesare numbered, you are ready to enter your sceneinformation onto the Production Board.

4. Lock Your ScriptAfter your pages and scenes are numbered and yourscript is printed and broken down into eighths of pages,you must “lock” your script. This means that any pagesand scenes that you have already assigned page


numbers and scene numbers to must never bereassigned new numbers. For example: If you need toadd text to the bottom of Page 32, any spill-over must betyped onto a new page called “Page 32A”. It must not beadded to the top of Page 33. Likewise, if you need to adda new scene between Scene 10 and Scene 11, the newscene must now be called “Scene 10A”. If you delete anentire page or an entire scene you must retire thenumbers associated with either the page or scene. Youmust never use the same numbers for any two or morescenes or any two or more pages.

The reason for locking script pages is to minimize thenumber of pages you must reprint when distributingscript revisions to your crew and cast. Most productionsuse different colored paper for each new set of revisions.This helps cast and crew distinguish from those pagesthat have not been changed.

Scenes are locked to avoid a potential schedulingdisaster. As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, SceneNumbers are the ID numbers for each scene. If you altera scene’s Scene Number, all previously recorded anddiscussed references to that scene are no longer valid.Then, if you were to assign another scene that scene’sID number, you may find yourself preparing for onescene using the information of another.


III. Production Board(Open “PrdBoard.XLS” • Requires Excel 5.0 or higher)

A. Your PasswordTo have your project name appear on all ProductionBoard printouts, open up your Production Board(PrdBoard.XLS). Click with your mouse on the “Help”Tab at the bottom of the screen so that the Help Screenappears.

Then type in the name of your project (typically the titleof the film) in the Project Name field. (Leave thePassword field as is.)

Password?freedom

Project NameCrack Potz (Example)

Crack Potz (Example)

When you click back to the Production Board, bypressing on its tab at the bottom of the screen, you willsee the name of your production in the top left corner ofyour board. You are now ready to start working with yourProduction Board.

Type in theName of yourProject here.

Leave this fieldas is.


B. What is a Production Board?The Production Board is used by film producers andproduction managers as a tool for scheduling andmanaging films. Informed and skillful scheduling can bethe key to keeping your production on time and underbudget.

If time and money were not an issue, most directorswould probably choose to shoot the scenes of their filmsin the order in which the scenes appear. A productionmanager must never lose sight of this. However, theproduction manager’s first priority must be to schedulethe shooting of scenes in the most efficient order.Efficiency hinges primarily on the minimization ofvariability. This often means shooting similar scenes(those with the same location, same cast and crew, orsame props) consecutively. Typically, location is thebiggest concern. This is because each location changeoften involves a full company move and a tremendousdrain on crew, cast, time, and funds.

It’s also important to try to minimize time-of-day changes,exterior/interior changes, cast and crew changes, andequipment and prop changes.

What makes scheduling most challenging are thenumerous constraints that need to be considered, suchthings as location availability, cast and crew availability,equipment and prop availability, union rules, labor laws,holidays, weather, and hours in a day.

The Production Board provides a concise, easy-to-read,graphical representation of what each of your scenesrequire. It also provides you with a simple way tomanipulate the order of your scenes so that you can


effortlessly determine the shooting schedule that is bestfor you.

C. Conventions of this Production BoardThe conventions of this Production Board are slightlydifferent than most production boards. We believe youwill find this board BETTER. It incorporates the critical-schedule features typically used by city planners andconstruction companies to keep track of massiveprojects that require careful coordination. Unlike otherproduction boards, the filmmakersoftware™ ProductionBoard requires no breakdown sheets. Withfilmmakersoftware™ you enter all your sceneinformation directly onto the Board. Below is an exampleof what our Production Board looks like:

Enter your firstElement here

(col C, row 11).

Each Striprepresents aScene.

Use Dividersas an aid toarrange yourstrips

X If an element isneeded in aspecific scene,X the scene(strip) on therow of thatelement.

13 Element-Category

Buttons


Now, to explain how our Production Board works:

D. Breaking Down your Script

1. Making StripsFor each scene in your script you must create a strip onyour Production Board.

To create a new strip, open your Production Board(PrdBoard.XLS), then click with your mouse on the“Production Board” tab at the bottom of your screen sothat the “Production Board” screen appears.

Click with your mouse on the button under theword “STRIP” in the top left corner of your screen.

The “Strip Entry” dialog box appears.


The “Strip Entry” dialog box prompts you to enter yourscene information into the following fields:

A. Scene #What is the Scene Number? In order to break down yourscript properly, you will need to have already assignedeach scene in your script with a Scene Number. (Seechapter III)B. PagesHow many pages (in eighths) is this scene? Say Scene 1is one and four eighths pages. Instead of typing 1 1/2,Type in:

C. LOCATION (or Divider Info)Where does this scene take place? If the location for thisscene is one that you have already entered for an earlierstrip, you can click on the pop-up menu to the right ofthis field to select the name of that same location again.

1 4/8

Use Dividers asan aid toarrange yourstrips. Enteryour Divider infointo the“Location” field,

Click here toclear info froman existing strip.

Click here tocreate your newstrip.


If you are creating a Divider, this is the field you use totype in your Divider information. Dividers are explainedlater in this chapter (Chapter IV: Arranging Your Strips).

D. DescriptionWhat is the main action in this scene? Enter a shortsentence.

E. Day/NightWhat time of day does the scene take place? Choosefrom either Day, Night, Dusk, or Dawn by clicking on theappropriate radio button.

F. Ext./Int.Does your scene take place inside (interior), or outside(exterior)? Choose from either Ext. (exterior), Int.(interior), or E/I (exterior and interior) by clicking on theappropriate radio button.

G. Script DaysIn the continuity of your film, what is the amount of timethat passes during this scene?

When you finish entering all the information you want tofor this strip, click with your mouse on the “Okay”button, and your new strip will be created. Or, if you wantto create another strip, click on the “Make Another”button.


You will need to create a new strip for each scene.

2. Listing ElementsAfter you finish creating all your strips, you must then goback to the beginning of your script and carefully readeach scene to form a list of ELEMENTS.

A. What is an Element?An element is any person, place, thing, or animal thatbrings dimensionality to a scene. For scheduling andmanaging your production, it is crucial not only toidentify each element that appears in your script but alsoto determine in which scenes each element appears. Ifan element is not accounted for in advance, it may not beavailable on the day you plan to shoot a scene thatrequires it.

Imagine throwing a big beach barbecue for all yourfriends, and they are all starving because they’ve beensaving room in their stomachs all day for the big mealyou’ve promised them. You’ve got tofu dogs, soyburgers, potatoes, etc.. You’re about ready to light upyour grill and start cooking, when you realize you forgotto buy charcoal. No problem, right? You just get in yourcar and buy some more, right? But, now...imagine you’reon Mars. Now, also imagine that the people you’veinvited are not all your friends. Sound crazy? Well,maybe a little, but you’d be surprised where movie crewsfind themselves without things they need. The point is,even if you aren’t on Mars, trying to pull things togetherat the last minute while you are in the middle of shootinga film is a drag, not to mention a waste of time, money,and effort. That’s why you want to account forEVERYTHING in advance.


Elements are categorized on the production board asfollows:

•Cast•Stunt•Bit•Atmosphere

•Effect•Sound•Prop•Vehicle

•Wardrobe•Makeup•Equipment•Location

•Note

Identifying most elements in a script is simple. But someelements are not so simply identified. Take a look atExample Scene 25 below. All that our screenwriter writesis:

25. EXT. BASEBALL DIAMOND - NIGHT

Joe makes the pitch.

From this seemingly simple scene, there are likely to bemany elements to keep track of. Two obvious elementsare the baseball diamond and Joe. However, there aremany elements here that are not so obvious without abetter knowledge of the script. For starters, one mightask: Who is Joe making the pitch to? The object of hispitch may be an element to track, yet what he is pitchingmay not necessarily be. If Joe is proposing to hisgirlfriend, she is certainly an element to track. However,his pitch, in this case, is simply a string of words, whichare typically not considered elements, unless of coursethey are sung, in which case they typically are, especiallyif the song is copyrighted or accompanied by music.Let’s assume we know Joe is actually pitching abaseball, and it’s the tenth inning of the World Series,and the opposing team’s homerun king is up at bat. Inthis scenario, there are multitudes of elements toconsider. They may be as micro as Joe’s glove, cap, anduniform or as macro as the other players, the officials,


the fans, the scoreboards, etc. They may all be elementsthat you need to consider for your scene. Your job is todetermine what elements will be essential to capture themoment you are trying to create and to present the storyyou hope to tell.

B. Entering the ElementsColumn C on your Production Board is where you listyour elements (starting at row 11).

When you come across a new element in the script,simply add it to the bottom of your list of elements. Youcan do this by either manually scrolling to the bottom ofyour element list, or by clicking with your mouse on the

button under the word “Element” in the top leftcorner of your screen.


When you get to the bottom of your elements list, type inthe new element.

When a scene in your script calls for that element, clickwith your mouse on the cell that intersects that element’srow with the column of the scene (or strip) that you needthe element for. Then, press the [ ` ] key (above the [TAB]key) on your keyboard.

An “X” will appear at these coordinates. The “X” marriesthe element to the scene. For example, say we areentering information for Scene 1 of our script. It takesplace in Joe’s backyard, and Joe is hanging out with hisfriends. First we will need to add Joe to our list ofelements (in Column C). Then, we will need to indicatethat Joe will be needed in Scene 1. To do this, we mustlocate the Scene 1 strip and then scroll down the strip to


where it intersects with the row that we entered Joe’sname on. The intersection is where we place the “X”(click with your mouse on the intersecting cell, thenpress the [ ` ] key). Now, whenever you look at theProduction Board, you can quickly see that Joe will beneeded in Scene 1. If you make a mistake, you can pressthe [ ` ] key again, and the “X” disappears. Navigatedown a strip by pressing the [RETURN] key. Navigateacross scenes by pressing the [TAB] key.

It is important to be aware of the fact that the scene inyour script in which an element is first cited is notnecessarily going to be the first scene in which thatelement appears. Nor should it necessarily be the FIRSTscene to have that element listed on its strip. ExampleScene 25 (above) reads that “Joe makes the pitch”. Whatif in Scene 26 it says that Joe throws a strike, then kisseshis lucky ring. Chances are, Joe’s lucky ring was alsopresent in Scene 25, and therefore should be includedon Scene 25’s strip. That lucky ring may have never beenmentioned before Scene 26. However, it is theproduction manager’s duty to consider whether or not itis supposed to be in previous scenes. Joe’s lucky ringmay be with Joe throughout the film. That means, Joe’slucky ring should be available for any scene that Joe isin. Indicating this is easy with this Production Board:simply scroll forward or backward across the board,looking for all the scenes that Joe is in and marking “X”sin the “lucky ring” rows.

3. Categorizing Your ElementsCategorizing your elements makes them easier toidentify and sort. You can categorize them at any time.Simply click with your mouse anywhere on an Element’s


row, then click on the appropriate category button in thetop left corner of your screen.

C St B A Ef S Pr V

W M Eq Lo No

Now, on that element’s row, whenever you press the [ ` ]key, the identifying abbreviation for the category youhave chosen will appear, instead of an “X”. You canrecategorize an element at any time.

PLEASE NOTE: At the bottom left corner of yourProduction Board Screen is a “Help” tab.

If you ever need a quick reference to any button’sfunction, and/or keyboard shortcuts for thefilmmakersoftware™ Production Board, click with yourmouse on the “Help” tab.

4. Exporting ElementsEach element on your Production Board typicallyrepresents an expense to your Budget.

When you have finished breaking down your script andhave listed all the Elements, you are ready to export yourlist of elements to your filmmakersoftware™ Budget sothey can be transferred into Butget Line Items.

To export your list of elements, click with your mouse onthe button.


The exporting may take a few minutes. You will be asked,more than once, to save your export file as“Impline.TAB”. Click on “OKAY” each time. Be sure tosave it in the “SupBoard” folder inside your “FilmMakr”folder.

When the exporting is finished, open up FilmMakr.FP3. Inthe Main Menu that appears, click with your mouse onthe orange “Import Prod. Board Elements” button at thebottom right of the screen.

Then, follow the prompts from there.

Once your elements are successfully exported from theProduction Board and imported into your Budget, see


Chapter V on how to budget for these elements, whichare each now a line item in your budget.

Each exported element will automatically receive an “X”in Column D of your Production Board. Then, if moreelements are added later, you can export the new oneswithout re-exporting the old ones.

To re-export an element, remove the “X” from Column Dbefore you click on the button. You canremove “X”s using the [ ` ] key on your keyboard.

5. Exporting Scene InformationThe Daily Reports you generate during the course ofyour production (such as call sheets and dailyproduction reports) rely on the scene information youenter onto your Production Board strips.

When you have finished breaking down your script andhave created a strip for each and every scene, you areready to export your scene information to yourfilmmakersoftware™ “Scene Information” file, to be usedin your Daily Reports.

To export your scene information, click with your mouseon the button.


The exporting may take a few minutes. You will beasked, more than once, to save your export file as“ImpScene.TAB”. Click on “OKAY” each time. Be sure tosave it in the “SupBoard” folder inside your “FilmMakr”folder.

When the exporting is finished, open up “FilmMakr.FP3”and at the Main Menu, click with your mouse on theorange “Import Prod. Board Scene Info” button at thebottom right of the screen.

Then, follow the prompts from there.

Each exported scene will automatically receive an “X” inRow 8 of your Production Board. Then, if more scenesare added later, you can export the new ones without re-exporting the old ones. To re-export a scene, remove the


“X” from Row 8 before you click on the button. You can remove “X”s using the [ ` ] key on yourkeyboard.

6. Arranging Your StripsOne of the key functions of any Production Board (if notthe key function) is its ability to allow the order of itsstrips to be rearranged so as to plan a shootingschedule. Excel makes this a snap. To move a strip to anew location on your board, select the column headingof the strip you wish to move, so that the entire column(or strip) is highlighted.

Then, while pressing down on the [SHIFT] key on yourkeyboard, drag your mouse to either the left or right edgeof your strip so that your mouse icon becomes a thinblack pointer (instead of a fat white plus sign). Then,click and drag. The column will remain highlighted. But,as you drag, a faint verticle gray line appears. When youget the gray line situated where you want the selectedstrip’s new location to be, unclick the mouse. The stripwill soon appear in the new location, and the other stripswill shift right or left to make room for the moved strip.

PLEASE NOTE: It is extremely important to keep yourfinger on the [SHIFT] key while you are arranging yourstrips. By keeping the [SHIFT] key pressed, you areinstructing the computer to simply move the selectedstrip. Not holding the [SHIFT] key down instructs the

Each Strip hasa ColumnHeading.

Hold down the[SHIFT] Key.Then Click onthe Edge of theStrip.


computer to replace one of your other strips with theselected strip (you will probably never want that). We willtake this opportunity to remind you to save your workfrequently.

7. DividersDividers are black strips (about the same width as yourother strips). However, unlike your other strips, they donot each represent a scene. The purpose of Dividers isto aid you in grouping your scenes. For instance, sayyou want to arrange your scenes based on the days youplan to shoot them. If your plan is to have a five dayshoot, you would make five dividers: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3,Day 4, and Day 5. You would then shift all the strips ofthe scenes you plan to shoot on day 1 so that they lineup after your Day 1 Divider. Do the same for day 2, day 3,day 4, and day 5, and, soon, your Production Boardbecomes much easier to read.

To create a Divider, click with your mouse on the button under the word “STRIP” in the top left corner ofyour screen.


The “Strip Entry” dialog box appears.

If you want to label the divider, type the label text into the“LOCATION” field before pressing the ‘Divider” button.For example, you may want your divider to say “Day 1”.Type it in as shown below.

Click with your mouse on the “Divider” button at thebottom right of the dialog box.

Another dialog box will appear, showing you yourDivider label. Make sure it reads the way you want it to,then click on the “Okay” button.

8. Printing Your Production BoardWhen you are ready to print your Production Board, werecommend you take a moment to define some of yourExcel® Page Setup parameters. Select “Page Setup”from the File Menu at the top of your screen.

Day 1


In the “Page Setup” dialog box, click with your mouse onthe “Sheet” tab.

The first field in this section is labeled “Print Area”. Hereyou will determine the area of the Production Board thatyou would like to print. Excel® allows you to go to yourProduction Board and, by clicking and dragging, selectthe area that you would like to print. Before you decidewhat your print area is, look below the “Print Area” fieldto the “Print Titles” section.

The “Print Titles” section allows you to decide whetheryou want certain rows to appear at the top of each pageand certain columns to appear along the left of eachpage. For example, if your Production Board is too big tofit on one page, you may want to subdivide the printedboard so that the Scene Numbers and their descriptionsappear across the top of each page and that the


Elements and their categories appear down the left sideof each page. To do this, type in (exactly as you seehere):

Rows 3 through 10 will appear across the top of eachpage, and columns B through D will appear down the leftside of each page. By including these rows and columnson each page, each page will be able to be readindependently of the other printed pages. If you chooseto include these rows and columns on each page, youwill not need to include them as part of your print areaselection. If you do not choose to have these rows andcolumns on each page, then you will most likely want toinclude them as part of your print area.

Another Page Setup option to consider is whether youwant to print your board in color or black & white. If youhave a fast color printer, we highly recommend you printin color, otherwise, print in black & white. If you have ahigh quality black & white printer, you might choosegrayscale.

Click on the other tabs in the “Page Setup” dialog box tosee if you would like to modify any other parameters. Werecommend clicking with your mouse on the “PrintPreview” button to take a look at your layout before youprint.



IV. The Budget(Open “FilmMakr.FP3”)

filmmakersoftware™ is designed to aid you in creatingand tracking your film’s budget.

Film budgets are typically made up of a varying numberof Line Items, each representing a specific expense.More often than not, anything that goes into the makingof your film, represents an expense. A cast member is anexpense. A crew member is an expense. A prop, a pieceof equipment, a location permit, insurance, a pencil, anda photocopy are all expenses that need to be accountedfor as line items in your budget.

By entering projected-cost information for each one ofthese expenses (or Line items) into thefilmmakersoftware™ Budget database, you will soon beable to determine the budget for your film.

A. The Main MenuWhen you click open “FilmMakr.FP3”, you will begreeted by the filmmakersoftware™ Main Menu:


If you are in any section of the Budget, Contacts &Report module and wish to return to the Main Menu,simply click with your mouse on the “Script” pop-upmenu at the very top of your screen, scroll down, andselect “Main Menu”.

ShortcutsScriptMaker™...Main Menu 1Open Budget 2Open Contacts 3Open Reports 4

You will be brought back.


(From the “Shortcuts” pop-up menu you can also godirectly to your budget, your contacts, or your reports.)

B. General Production InformationYou may want General Production Information such asproject name, production company name, address,phone numbers, start date, finish date, and date of scriptto appear on your production printouts.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on theorange “Enter General Production Information” button.

The screen that appears will prompt you for the name ofyour project, its start date, its finish date, and the date ofyour script. You can also fill in your productioncompany’s name, production manager’s name,production address, and phone numbers.

At the bottom of the “General Production Information”screen, you may import your company logo. This logowill be printed on all the checks you cut usingfilmmakersoftware™ (See Chapter VIII). For computerperformance and print-quality purposes, we recommendkeeping the graphic element of your logo as simple aspossible.

After you enter information into these fields, click withyour mouse on the “Main” button and you are back tothe Main Menu. General Production Information can beedited at any time; simply repeat the steps outlinedabove.


C. Budget Numbers ExplainedEach Budget Number in filmmakersoftware™ is 5 digitslong. The first two digits indicate the CATEGORY towhich the Line Item belongs. The last three digitsindicate the SUBCATEGORY to which the Line Itembelongs. CATEGORY digits are consistant for allfilmmakersoftware™ Budgets. They are as follows:

ABOVE - THE - LINE10000 Script & Rights11000 Producer12000 Director

PRODUCTION13000 Cast14000 Prod. Dept.15000 Crew16000 Equipment17000 Art18000 Location19000 Stock & Transfer

POST20000 Editing21000 Sound22000 Lab

OTHER23000 Office24000 Overhead


While different production companies vary in theirbudget numbering schemes, Budget Categories tend tobe relatively standard from production to production.

In filmmakersoftware™, SubCategory digits can bealtered, and new SubCategories can always be added.While we recommend that you stick with theSubCategories provided in the Line Item Library(explained below), there may be situations when creatingnew SubCategories are necessary.

D. Budget Line ItemsTo determine your film’s budget, you will first need todetermine what your expenses will be. This can bedifficult, since most films comprise a multitude of varyingexpenses. It is your job to predict all your expenses andthen translate them into Line Items. While this process isnever easy, filmmakersoftware™, at least, makes iteasier—and hopefully a lot more enjoyable.

1. Start at the Library (the Line Item Library)The hardest part of putting a film budget together isgetting started. Usually, it’s the confusion. There are somany things to consider, its hard to know WHERE tostart. We created the Line Item Library to offersuggestions of typical budget items to consider. Clickwith your mouse on the “LIBRARY” tab.

The Line Item Library will then appear.


Just below the “LIBRARY” tab is a pop-up menu of allthe categories in your budget.

Select one of the categories from this menu. The list thatappears down the left side of the screen is the list of LineItem possibilities from the Line Item Library for you tochoose from for this category. Down the right side of thescreen is the list of Line Items you currently have in yourbudget for this category. If you see a Line Item in the left


list that is applicable to your film, “X” it by clicking on thered box to the left.

Check out all the other categories. When you havefinished “X”ing your selections, click with your mouseon the “Import Xs” button.

In a moment, your selections will be imported into yourBudget. They will all appear in list view.

If you prefer, you can import entire categories or theentire Line Item Library. Do this by clicking with yourmouse on either of the two orange buttons at the bottomright of the Line Item Library screen.

filmmakersoftware™ will indicate with blue “X”s whichLine Items in the Library have already been imported intothe budget. However, you can import any Line Item fromthe Library as many times as you want.

2. Importing the Elements from your Production Boardinto the Budget

If you created your Production Schedule using thefilmmakersoftware™ Production Board, you may stillneed to import your elements. Follow the directionsoffered, earlier, in Chapter IV.

Blue “X”s onthe right sidesignify LineItems that havealready beenimported toyour Budget.

Mark the LineItems you wantimported toyour Budgetwith an “X”.


3. Entering Specific Budget InformationAfter you have imported your Line Items from the LineItem Library and you have imported the elements fromyour Production Board, you are ready to enter budgetinformation for each Line Item.

Each Line Item (or expense) has its own Record in thefilmmakersoftware™ Budget database.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the“Entry” tab

so that the “Budget Entry” screen appears.


Make sure the full population of your Line Item recordsare currently being browsed. You can do this bychoosing “Find All” from the “Select” menu at the top ofthe screen.

SelectFind All JFind OmittedModify Last Find RPerform FindOmit MOmit Multiple... MView as FormView as List


Also, make sure you are on the first Line Item record. Youcan do this by dragging the lever—which indicates therecord you are on—as far up as it will go. Like so:

Then, use the [TAB] key to navigate through the fields ofeach record.

To complete the information needed for each Line Item,we recommend that you navigate through the EntryProcess as follows:

A. Budget TypeHow should the Line Item be accounted for? Forinstance, is it a cast member, an employee, a purchase,or a rental? Choose among:

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.


• Cast• Stunt• Xtra

• Employee• Purchase• Rental

B. Position/Item/RoleWhat is it? This field asks you to define what your LineItem is. If it is an employee, what is his/her position? Iss/he the gaffer, the director, the producer, an assistant? Ifit is a thing, is it a prop, a practical, a dolly, a crane? If it isa cast member, what role is s/he playing? When you tabonto this field, a list of choices appear. This extensivelist is from the Line Item Library. There are times, such aswhen you are entering a cast member’s role, when youwill actually need to type in your entry. If you press the[ESC] key on your keyboard, the list disappears, and youcan begin typing.

C. Name/DescriptionDescribe it? This field asks you to give a shortdescription of your Line Item. For example, if it is a dolly,what kind of dolly? Is it a doorway dolly or a wheelchair? Many productions call for two or more differenttypes of dollies, and you will want a way to distinguishamong them. This field enables you to do that. This isalso the field where you enter the names of cast andcrew members.

D. FoodIf a crew or cast member Line Item requires food, youmust check this off. For each day this person works(determined later), food money will be automaticallybudgeted to him/her.

E. Cost/RateHow much????? If the Line Item is a purchase, you mustdetermine how much it will cost. If the Line Item is a


rental, an employee, or a cast member, you mustdetermine what his/her/its rate will be. The next field(Type) will enable you to specify whether it is a Daily rateor a Flat rate.

F. Type (Rate Type)If the Line Item is a rental, an employee, or a castmember, you will need to specify whether his/her/its rateis a Daily Rate or a Flat Rate. A Daily Rate will bemultiplied by the number of days this Line Item is in use.A flat rate will carry over, as is, to your totals.

G. Qty (Quantity)How many of this Line Item will you need?

H. Taxes & FringesYou have three sets of fields to enter in percentages,such as taxes and fringes, which then get applied toyour Line Item’s total.

I. DaysYou have three fields to enter in the number of days yourLine Item will be in use. There is a field for days beforethe Shoot (Pre), days of the Shoot (Shoot), and days afterthe Shoot (Post). For the days of the Shoot, you caneither enter in the number of days directly, or you canhave filmmakersoftware™ add up the number of daysfrom your Day-Out-of-Days (discussed later in thischapter).

H.I.

J.


J. NoteThis field is for you, for making any further notes aboutyour Line Item. It can be a useful place to write informulas. For instance, say you have to determine howmuch film you will need and how much it will cost perfoot. It may help to record this process here so you canrefer to it later.

K. Contingency (optional)You have two entry fields for contingency. The firstcontingency field (“Item Contingency”) is for assigning apercentage contingency for the specific item. Thesecond field (“Global Contingency”) is for assigning apercentage contingency to the entire budget. Thispercentage will show up the same in each record. If thereis a number entered into both contingency fields,filmmakersoftware™ does not compound the twopercentages. Instead, it applies only the larger of the two.

Once you have filled out the fields above, your Line Itemis almost complete. There are just a few more things left:

4. Assigning Budget NumbersIn order for a Line Item to be accounted for accurately, itneeds to be assigned a Budget Number. While the LineItems you import from the Line Item Library come withBudget Numbers, the elements you import from yourProduction Board do not.

To narrow down what Budget Number to assign to aparticular Line Item, it helps to have the Line Item’sBUDGET TYPE and POSITION/ITEM/ROLE field filled out.

K


If they are, take a moment to look at the bottom of your“Budget Entry” screen, to the dark gray area.

This is your reference area. It contains three differentlists:

1. A list of Line Items from the Line Item Library thatmatch the Position/Item/Role of your current LineItem.

2. A list of Line Items from the Line Item Library thatmatch the Budget Type of your current Line Item(applicable only for Cast, Stunts, and Extras)

3. A list of Line Items from your Budget that match thePosition/Item/Role of your current Line Item.


These lists are designed to help you determine whatBudget Number to enter into the Budget Number field. Inmost cases, you will want to categorize similar itemstogether, i.e., assign them the same Budget Number.

To the left of each item in your lists is a round graybutton that, when clicked on, will take you to the entryscreen of that particular Line Item in case you want tocheck out the rest of its information.

To the right of each item in the lists referencing the LineItem Library is a round red button that, when clicked on,pastes the referenced Line item’s Budget Number intothe Budget Number field of your current Line Item.

If you prefer, you can enter the Budget Number for yourLine Item directly into the “Budget #” field at the top ofthe screen, or choose a Budget Number from the pop-upmenu next to the “Budget #” field.

5. Supplier/PersonnelThis red section is linked to your filmmakersoftware™Contacts File.


It lists the pool of available suppliers or personnel foryour Line Item. The top left field of this section isreserved for the supplier or person whom you determineto be the top contender for the job. Names of employeesand cast members entered into the “Name/Description”field above this section are automatically entered into thetop contender field. In order to enter these names intoyour “Contacts” File (See Chapter VII for more on Cast,Crew & Contacts), you must click with your mouse onthe orange “Enter” button.

Clicking on the light-red button to the right of each listedcontact makes that listed contact the top contender.

By clicking on the gray “Goto” buttons to the left of eachname in this section you can go to a particular contact’sentry screen (See Chapter VII for more on Cast, Crew &Contacts).

Suppliers or other contacts that relate to your Line Itemcan be entered directly into this list. Each entry creates anew contact in your contacts file. However, you will needto go to each contact’s entry screen in order to enter ormodify anything beyond the contact’s primary phonenumber. In order to do so, click with your mouse on thegray button to the left of each name.

6. DefermentsOn low budget films, it is not unusual for crew members,cast members, or vendors to accept deferred payment

This Pop-upmenu listsalreadyentered

This Field isreserved forthe Top

This is the listof potentialsuppliers orpersonnel.


for the goods and/or services they provide. A deferred-payment employee or vendor is defined as someonewho agrees not to receive payment for his or her goodsor labor until the production turns a profit.

In order to account for this type of arrangement, click onthe light-green pop-up menu marked deferment.

From the menu, choose whether you want the deferreditem to be entered into the budget or not. If you choose“D - DON’T BUDGET”, the item will not be entered intothe budget. If you choose “d - BUDGET” the item will beentered into the Budget. The projected total cost of “D -DON’T BUDGET” Line Items will be calculated in brownbut will not be calculated in your Budget totals.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have completed a Line Item.When you are done entering the other Line Items, let’stalk about food.

E. Your Food BudgetDetermining your Daily Food Budget PER PERSON canbe very tricky. Unfortunately, it is something neitherfilmmakersoftware™ nor any other budgeting programcan figure out for you. It often requires doing researchon local food prices (both at restaurants and grocerystores) and developing an understanding of what peoplelike to eat when they are working and what they considera full meal. You will need to strike that delicate balancebetween what your cast and crew truly need and whatyou can afford. Furthermore, it is always important to


remember that on a low budget film (and even a not-so-low-budget film), food can make the difference between ahappy, productive crew and an unhappy, dysfunctionalcrew. Talk with other independent producers andproduction managers who have been in charge offeeding casts and crews and find out what they havedone to make this very important aspect of filmmakingwork. Try and get “in-kind” deals with local restaurantsand stores. That is, they give you bargains on food for anend credit in your film. Find a way to nickel & dime onother things so you can afford to do less nickel & diminghere.

Once you have determined your Daily Food Budget perPerson, and once you have entered in the amount ofdays each person on your production is working,filmmakersoftware™ makes calculating your TOTALFood Budget costs very easy.

1. Entering the Daily Food Budget Per PersonFrom the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the“Food” tab, so that your Food Budget screen appears.

You may need to wait a few moments as your computermakes a few calculations. The number that finallyappears in the bottom right of the dark gray boxes maysurprise you, but that is the Total Number of Daily FoodRations Needed for your Production. Say Tim works 10days, Bob works 8 days and Eliot works 20 days, Thesum of all their days, 38, is the total number of daily foodrations that will be needed to serve these people during


the entire shoot. So, when you determine the amount ofmoney you will need to spend per person, per day, enterit into the entry field in the center of the Food Budgetscreen.

It will then be automatically multiplied by your TotalNumber of Daily Food Rations Needed, giving you yourTOTAL Food Budget.

In the example above, your daily food costs per personis $12, and the Total Number of Daily Food RationsNeeded is 344. So, your Total Food Budget calculates to$4,128.00.

F. Day-Out-of-DaysInstead of directly entering the number of Shoot Days aLine Item is needed into the Shoot Days field of yourBudget Entry Screen, you may prefer to schedule certainLine Items in a Day-Out-of Days table, especially if youare interested in printing out Day-Out-of Days schedulesfor members of your cast and crew.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the “Day-Out-of-Days” tab so that the “Day-Out-of-Days Headers”screen appears.

4.0

7.0

4.0

10.5

39.9

5.8

42.0

279.0

23.0

344.0$12.00


1. Day-Out-of-Days HeadersOn the “Day-Out-of-Days Headers” screen you can editthe Day# and Date fields. These edits will be madeglobally for all of your Line Items, representing the daysof your shoot.

2. Day-Out-of-Days EntryIn the white boxes, enter the specific Day-Out-of-Daysschedule information for the current Line Item.

When you tab (using the [TAB] key on your keyboard)onto each white box, filmmakersoftware™ provides apop-up list of code letters:

R - RehearsalS - StartW - WorkC - On Call

H - HoldT - TravelF - FinishX - Break

The numbers following each letter in the pop-up listrepresent the portion of the day for which the Line Item isbudgeted to be used. For example, if the Line Item isscheduled to work a full day, you would enter a “W1”, orif s/he is rehearsing for half a day, “R.5”. The numbersyou enter here will be totaled in your “Shoot Days” fieldin your Budget Entry screen.

Enter CodeLetter andPortion of DayHere.

Enter DayNumbers here.

Enter DatesHere.


PLEASE NOTE: Numbers entered directly into the“Shoot Days” field on your Budget Entry screen overrideyour Day-Out-of-Days calculation. So, to calculate yourDay-Out-of-Days information in your totals, you mustdelete any numbers you might have entered into the“Shoot Days” field.

3. Day-Out-of-Days ListsTo view your Day-Out-of-Days Lists, click with yourmouse on the red buttons with the ranges of days onthem.

If you prefer, you can enter each line item’s Day-Out-of-Days information in the List views.


V. Daily ReportsUse filmmakersoftware™ Reports to create Call Sheets,Daily Production Reports, and Script SupervisorReports. To get the most functionality and informationout of filmmakersoftware™ Reports, we recommend thatyou have your Scene Information and BudgetInformation already entered.

A. Entering Your Scene InformationYour Scene Information can be entered in two ways. Youcan enter it directly, or you can import it from yourfilmmakersoftware™ Production Board.

1. Importing Scene InformationIf you have already Imported your Scene Informationfrom your filmmakersoftware™ Production Board, yourScene Information is already complete. If you used thefilmmakersoftware™ Production Board, but have not yetimported your Scene Information, you can do it now.(Read Chapter IV to learn how it is done.)

2. Entering Scene Information DirectlyEnter your scene information directly by using thefollowing procedure: From the Main Menu, click withyour mouse on the big gray “Scene Information” buttonat the bottom left of the screen so that the “SceneInformation” window appears.

With your script at your side, create a new record foreach scene, and use the [TAB] key on your keyboard tonavigate through each record. (Read Chapter III on howto break down your script.)


B. Have You Finished Entering Your BudgetInformation?

Many fields in the filmmakersoftware™ Reports sectionhave Pop-Up lists and automatic entry that rely on theinformation you have entered into your Budget.Therefore, if your Budget is not complete, the Pop-Uplists and auto-entry fields will be less useful. We stronglyrecommend completing your budget before continuingwith your reports (See Chapter V).

C. Filling Out Your Reports

1. The Call SheetOn most Productions, before each shoot day, each crewand cast member is typically issued a Call Sheet. The callsheet is similar to an itinerary. It informs cast and crew ofthe what, when, where, and how of the upcoming shootday so everybody can be as fully prepared as possible.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the light-orange “Call Sheet” tab in the center left of your screenso that the “Call Sheet•General” screen appears.

If you want to create a new Call Sheet, click on the “NewCall Sheet” button in the bottom left of your screen, anda new Call Sheet record will appear.


A. Filling Out the Call SheetTo fill out a Call Sheet completely, click on each gray tabfrom left to right and fill out each screen as completely aspossible. Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard tonavigate through each screen.

B. Printing the Call SheetOnce you have filled out each Call Sheet Screen ascompletely as possible, click with your mouse on theorange “Print” button at the top right of the screen.

filmmakersoftware™ will show you a preview of the CallSheet, at which time you can adjust your Page Setup.When you’re ready, click on the “Continue” button onthe center left of your screen to Print.

Your call sheet is two pages.

TIP: With each Call Sheet, we recommend your providinga map with directions to each location for that ShootDay. If you have access to the World Wide Web, checkout MapQuest® “www.mapquest.com”. If you give


MapQuest® two addresses in the USA, MapQuest® willgenerate maps and written door-to-door directions forgetting from one address to the other.

2. The Daily Production ReportAt the end of each Shoot Day, you will want to fill out aDaily Production Report to keep track of film stock,sound stock, cast and crew hours, scenes completed,and weather. filmmakersoftware™ makes filling out aDaily Production Report very easy.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the light-orange “Daily Report” tab in about the center of yourscreen so that the “Daily Report•Scenes Completed”screen appears.

A. Filling Out the Daily Production ReportEach shooting day’s Daily Production Reportinformation is entered into the same record thatcomprises that day’s Call Sheet Information. Flip throughyour Records to get to the Shoot Day you are reporting.

As on your Call Sheet, in order to fill out the DailyProduction Report, click on each gray tab from left toright and fill out each screen as completely as possible.Use the [TAB] key to navigate through each screen.


On the “Daily Report•Scenes Completed” screen, youwill see the same lists of scenes you made up for yourCall Sheet. Simply check off the scenes you completedfor this Shoot Day. If you completed scenes from yourAdvance Schedule or your Cover Set Schedule, checkthose off too.

When you get to the “Daily Report•Top” Screen, you willnotice some yellow highlighted fields, which are globalfields, NOT navigable with the [TAB] key. You can enterinformation into these fields on any Daily Report record,and they will be made the same for all your Daily Reportrecords. These fields are provided for your reference andshould be filled out as completely as possible. They areas follows:

1. The Scheduled Days Fields

All the scenesyou hadscheduled toshoot on yourCall Sheet willbe listed here.

Click in thewhite boxes to“X” off eachcompletedscene.


Enter the breakdown of scheduled Production Days interms of what type of day each day of your Production is.How many Rehearsal Days are there? How many StudioDays? How many Location Days, etc. You can alsofurther break down your Scheduled Days by Local Workand Distant Location Work. When you have calculatedhow many Scheduled Days you have of each type, enterthe information into the yellow squares.

2. The Page and Scene Information Fields

If your Scene Information File is complete (by this point itshould be), you can automatically import the Total Pagesand Total Scenes information by clicking with yourmouse on the buttons above the two yellow highlightedsquares.


3. The Stock Label Fields

These fields are prelabeled for the typical film project.However, your project may require different labels.

PLEASE NOTE: The “Daily Report•Top” screen will takea few moments to appear on your screen as the numbersare calculated. So please be patient.

B. Printing The Production ReportOnce you have filled out each Daily Report Screen ascompletely as possible, click with your mouse on theorange “Print” button at the top right of the screen.

filmmakersoftware™ will show you a preview of the DailyProduction Report. Here, you can adjust your PageSetup. Then, when ready, click on the “Continue” buttonin the center left of your screen to Print.


Your Daily Production Report will be three pages.

3. The Script Supervisor ReportThe Script Supervisor Report can be filled out on thecomputer, but it is meant to be printed blank and given toyour Script Supervisor at the beginning of the day forhim/her to fill out and make notes. At the end of the day,collect it, signed, from him/her so you can fill out the topportion of your Daily Production Report. As you enterthis information into your Daily Production Report,filmmakersoftware™ will simultaneously enter it intoyour Script Supervisor Report Screen.

Your Script Supervisor Report will be one page.


VI. Cast, Crew, Contactsfilmmakersoftware™ Cast, Crew, Contacts is a contactdatabase designed specifically to be used in connectionwith your film project. It will probably seem similar toother contact databases. However, with it, you canquickly and easily generate Cast Lists, Crew Lists,Contact Lists, Cast and Crew Deal Memos, LoanoutAgreements, Rental Agreements and Travel Forms.Meanwhile, it is integrated with your Budget for easyaccess to and from related Line Items.

A. Entering & Editing a ContactFrom the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the red“Entry” tab, two thirds of the way down on the left side ofyour screen, so that the “Contact Entry” screen appears.

1. Creating a New ContactIn order to create a New Contact, click with your mouseon the light-gray “New Contact” button at the bottomcenter of the screen.

Navigate through the Entry screen using the [TAB] keyon your keyboard.

You can also create New Contacts while creating yourBudget. (See Chapter V.) However, you will need to go to


the contact’s Entry screen if you wish to fill in more thanjust the Contact name and phone number.

2. Integrating Contacts with Budget Line ItemsTo attach a contact to a particular Line Item on yourBudget, click with your mouse on the white pop-upmenu at the top right of the “Contact Entry” screen to geta list of your Budget Line Items.

Then, unclick on the Line Item you would like to attach itto. You can attach your contact to more than one LineItem (simply press and hold down the [SHIFT] key onyour keyboard as you click on the Pop-Up Menu Bar toselect your next Line Item, then unclick). The first LineItem chosen will be the only one that shows on yourContact Entry, however you can verify that both (or all)Line Items are selected by looking through the list againto see if they have been checkmarked. When you clickon the orange “BUDGET” button next to the Pop-UpMenu Bar, you will be transferred to all the Line items inyour Budget that are linked to that contact.

B. Cast Lists, Crew Lists, Contact Lists, andQuick Lists

Once you have entered the information for all yourContacts and have Integrated them with their appropriateBudget Line Items, viewing and/or printing your lists iseasy.


1. Cast ListIf you want to view your Cast List, click on the “CastList” tab.

2. Crew ListIf you want to view your Crew List, click on the “CrewList” tab.

3. Contact ListIf you want to view your general Contact List of outsidevendors, etc., click on the “Contact List” tab.

4. Quick ListIf you just want to view a simple quick list of phonenumbers for all (or a specific subset) of your contacts,click on the “Quick List” tab.

5. Printing ListsIf you want to print any of the lists above, click on theorange “Print” button.

filmmakersoftware™ will give you a print preview. Here,you can adjust your Page Setup. Then click on the“Continue” button on the center left of your screen toPrint.


C. Contractsfilmmakersoftware™ helps you generate four differenttypes of Contracts:

•Actor Deal Memo •Loanout Agreement•Crew Deal Memo •Rental Agreement

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the red“Contracts” tab at the center right of your screen.

filmmakersoftware™ will automatically select a ContractEntry screen. If you wish to switch to another contract,click on any one of the “Contract” tabs.

1. Filling Out a ContractTo fill out a contract, navigate through the entry screenusing the [TAB] key on your keyboard and filling outeach field as completely as possible.


2. Printing a ContractTo print a contract, click with your mouse on the orange“Print” button.

filmmakersoftware™ will provide you with a preview ofthe printed contract. Here, you can adjust the PageSetup if you need to. Then click on the “Continue”button on the center left of your screen to Print.

PLEASE NOTE: The Contracts provided infilmmakersoftware™ are basic contracts. We recommendthat ALL CONTRACTS you plan to execute be lookedover carefully by an attorney and that ALL CONTRACTSbe printed and signed by all parties involved.

D. Travel FormsThere may be times during your production whentraveling will be necessary. Use the filmmakersoftware™Travel Forms to keep track of and account for allscheduled trips.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the red“Travel Forms” button in the center of your screen.


Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard to navigate throughthe “Travel Form” screen, making sure to enter thestarting point and destination point into the “From” and“To” fields respectively.

In the Depart” and “Return” sections of the Travel Formscreen, there are three rows available for the travelinformation of three different carriers. Each row allowsyou to enter information for up to three different vessels.Each row in these two sections will ultimately result inthe purchase of tickets. Therefore, the appropriateaccounting information for each of these rows will beautomatically transferred into new records in your“Receipts Log” (The Receipts Log is discussed inChapter VIII.) Prices are not calculated in the “ReceiptsLog” records until you click with your mouse on the graybutton at the right of each row.

If you wish to view related records in the Receipts Log ofany row in your “Depart” and “Return” sections, clickwith your mouse on the gray “Receipts” buttonunderneath the “Price” and “Conf#” fields in each row.


Travel Forms can be printed and used as itineraries bythe persons traveling. To print a Travel Form, click withyour mouse on the orange “Print Form” button at thetop-right of your screen. filmmakersoftware™ willprovide you with a preview of the printed form. Here, youcan adjust the Page Setup if you need to. Then click withyour mouse on the “Continue” button at the center left ofyour screen to begin printing. It is ill-advised to informcast and crew how much you spend for their travel,Therefore, prices are not shown on printed Travel Forms.


VII. Outflows & ReceiptsAs your project moves toward production, and as youstart to incur expenses, you will want to keep track ofyour cash outflows and account for them quickly andaccurately. You will also probably want to issue andkeep track of Petty Cash, Purchase Orders, andPaychecks. filmmakersoftware™ can help you do all ofthis. First, we will discuss regular straightforwardoutflows. Later in the chapter we will discuss Petty Cash,Purchase Orders and Paychecks.

A. Regular Outflows (Food & Non-Food)

1. Food Receipts EntryFrom the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the gray“Receipts” tab at the top center of your screen so thatthe “Receipts” screen appears.

Then click with your mouse on the light-gray “Food” tabnear the center left of your screen.

Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard to navigate throughthis screen. For each new food receipt, begin a new lineat the bottom of the list. The gray buttons to the left ofeach entry row, when clicked on, will take you to that


particular Receipt’s information in the Receipts Log(discussed later in this chapter).

2. Non-Food Receipts EntryFrom the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the“Receipts” tab so that the “Receipts” screen appears.

From here, you must first determine which Line Item youwould like your receipt to be attached to. Then you mustfind that Line Item so that its information appears in thedark gray area at the bottom of the screen. You can dothis by using the orange “Find” buttons in the bottomsection of your screen, or simply by flipping throughyour Records. When the appropriate Line Iteminformation is showing, enter your receipt. Use the [TAB]key on your keyboard to navigate through this screen.For each new receipt, begin a new line at the bottom ofthe list. The gray buttons to the left of each entry row,when clicked on, will take you to that particular Receipt’sinformation in the Receipts Log (discussed later in thischapter).

B. Petty CashFor efficiency purposes, each department is typicallyentrusted with an amount of petty cash to spend at itsdiscretion. Petty Cash expenses are typically small, dailyCASH transactions (usually less than $100) spent bycrew members without prior written approval from theproducer or the production manager. Typically, only adepartment head (director, director of photography,


production designer, etc.) determines how the petty cashin their department is to be spent.

For Petty Cash activities, such as petty cash advancesand envelope returns, you will need to go to the PettyCash screens.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the light-gray “Petty Cash” tab at the bottom left of your screenso that the “PttyCash.FM” window appears.

1. Petty Cash AdvanceBefore giving an employee a Petty Cash Advance, westrongly recommend that you have him/her sign a PettyCash Advance Receipt.

Click with your mouse on the “Advance” tab at the top ofyour screen so that the “Advance Receipt” screenappears.

Click with your mouse on the gray “New PC” button atthe top left corner of the screen.


Fill out the form and print it. Then go to itscorresponding envelope cover sheet by clicking on the“Env.” tab at the top of your screen so that the“Envelope” Screen appears.

Print it. Keep the Advance Receipt for your records. Itshould be signed by you and the employee being issuedthe Petty Cash Advance. Give the employee the envelopecover sheet, a document-sized manila envelope, and thePetty Cash Advance.

2. Returned Petty Cash EnvelopesPetty Cash receipts should be returned to you in thePetty Cash Envelope. Each receipt should be neatlymounted with transparent tape on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, listedin chronological order on the envelope cover sheet, andstacked accordingly. If an employee is reimbursed by theproduction for out-of-pocket expenses, we recommendthat you have him/her sign the envelope on the linemarked “Received By”. When a Petty Cash Envelope isreturned, check to see what number it is, then find itscorresponding record in your Petty Cash database. Clickwith your mouse on the “Env.” tab at the top of yourscreen so that the “Envelope” screen appears.

Use the returned Petty Cash Envelope cover sheet andthe enclosed receipts as your reference to fill out the


fields on this screen. For each food receipt, you will needto choose either “Meal” or “Craft” (for craft service) fromthe “Food?” Pop-up Menu. If the receipt is not for food,you will need to assign it a Budget Number and enter it inthe “Budget #” field. The “Budget #” field has a pop-uplist of all the available Budget Numbers. The informationyou enter here for each receipt will transfer automaticallyto your Receipts Log.

C. Purchase OrdersPurchase Orders can come in very handy in themanagement of your Production expenses. By requiringyour department heads to issue approved PurchaseOrders to vendors before purchasing or rentingequipment, props, services etc., you can anticipateexpenses before they are incurred and perhaps preventunececessary expenses from being incurred. There aretimes when two departments may need the same item,and it may be something they can share. By having eachdepartment filter its orders through a centralized network(you), you can spare the production from making thesame purchase twice. POs also help minimize anypotential confusion between you and your vendors,because, when you hand a vendor a written order, theyknow exactly what you want.

We recommend that you require employees to alwaysrequest POs from production before making any non-Petty Cash purchases or orders.

Select aBudgetNumber for all

Select “Craft”or “Meal” fromthis pop-up listfor all food


1. Issuing a Purchase OrderIssuing a Purchase Order is easy. From the Main Menu,click with your mouse on the light-gray “POs” tab nearthe bottom of your screen.

Then click with your mouse on the “Form” tab so thatthe “Purchase order” screen appears.

You may need to create a new record. You can do this byclicking with your mouse on the gray “New PO” buttonat the top right of your screen.

Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard to navigate throughthe “Purchase Order Form” screen. When the form iscompletely filled out, click with your mouse on theorange “Print” button at the top right of your screen.


A preview of the Purchase Order will appear. At whichpoint, if need be, adjust the page set up and click withyour mouse on the “Continue” button.

D. Time CardsWhether your employees are all volunteer or all paid, it isstrongly advised that time cards for each employee befilled out weekly for the duration of your production.

If your Daily Production Reports are dutifully filled outafter each shoot day, you will most likely have asufficiently detailed record of each employee’s hours.However, what you record and what an employee recallsabout the hours s/he has worked can be conflicting. Byusing weekly Time Cards, it is incumbent upon eachemployee to focus on the hours s/he has worked. So, ifthere happens to be a discrepancy between the hoursyou have recorded and the hours s/he has recorded, itcan be addressed immediately, not weeks (or months)later, when recall is not as reliable.

This is particularly crucial for productions withemployees on deferred payment plans. Typically, adeferred-payment employee is someone who agrees notto receive payment for his or her labor until theproduction turns a profit. In these situations whenpaychecks may not be issued until perhaps years afterthe production, immediate reconciliation between theemployee and producer regarding the employee’sworked hours can help prevent potential, and likely,disagreements later.

filmmakersoftware™ offers two separate Time CardDatabases: a Cast Time Card Database and a Crew TimeCard Database. They are nearly identical, however cast


data must be entered in the Cast Time Card Databaseand crew data must be entered in the Crew Time CardDatabase.

1. Printing Blank Time Cards for EmployeesYou will want to have blank time cards available at alltimes for employees to fill out. We suggest printing agenerous stack of both Cast Time Cards and Crew TimeCards early in preproduction. Each employee should beinstructed to fill out, sign, and turn in a time card eachweek, preferably on a designated day.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on either oneof the Time Card buttons or tabs.

or

To print out a blank time card, simply create a NewRecord by clicking with your mouse on the gray “NewCard” button at the top left of your screen.

Then click with your mouse on the “Print” button at thetop right of your screen.

filmmakersoftware™ provides you with a preview of theblank Time Card before it prints. Here, you can adjust the


Page Setup if you need to. Then click with your mouseon the “Continue” button at the center left of your screento Print.

2. Yellow Highlighted Fields DescribedBefore you begin entering specific Time Cardinformation, we recommend that you take a moment toenter some general information into the yellowhighlighted fields on your Time Card screen. They arefor general Time Card information: what you enter inthese fields on one Time Card will typically apply for andbe carried over to all of them.

A. You can modify the overtime penalty benchmarks.

Click with your mouse on each of the yellow boxes andenter the appropriate overtime penalty benchmarks foryour production. For example, if your employees areoperating on an 8 hour workday, the number of StandardHours would be 8. Enter 8 into the yellow box under theheading “STD” (short for Standard). If they receive time-and-a-half for every hour worked after hour 8 and up tohour 12, enter 12 into the yellow box under the heading“1.5X”. Follow the same procedure for the yellow boxunder the heading 2X. filmmakersoftware™ does notallow you to enter a benchmark in the yellow box underthe heading 2.5X as it is unnecessary to calculate hoursby anything greater than double-time-and-a-half.


B. You can determine meal deductions in the YellowHighlighted Fields.

Click with your mouse on the yellow pop-up menusunder 1st Meal or 2nd Meal and choose DEDUCT, orleave these yellow pop-up menus blank. By choosingDEDUCT, you are subtracting the first 30 minutes of thatmeal from the employee’s hours. This means that s/hemust be on the clock for 8 1/2 hours to fulfill an 8 hourworkday.

Typically, the rule on Meals is that the production mayonly deduct a total of 30 minutes/person/day. Theassumption is that on a normal 8 hour day, an employeeshould only need one 30 minute period to eat. TheProduction must make sure each employee is served afull meal efficiently, promptly, and completely within 30minutes. Since it is also assumed that a 2nd Meal is onlynecessary if the workday goes into overtime, the foodand the time it takes each employee to be fed is theproduction’s burden to provide. There are some cases(such as when mealtimes require travel) when theproduction may be required to provide its employeeswith meal breaks that are longer than 30 minutes. In yourexperiences, you may find longer meal breaks beneficialtoward ensuring worker morale. However, deductingMORE than 30 minutes from any employee’s paid hoursfor total meals is a no-no.

It is important to enter the actual Start and Finish timesfor each meal break into the 1st Meal and 2nd Meal entry


fields. But, keep in mind that filmmakersoftware™ willnever deduct anything greater than 30 minutes from anyone meal.

C. Below the area where you enter your employee’shours is a miscellaneous reimbursement section whereyou can enter amounts owed to the employee that areseparate from his or her wage.

filmmakersoftware™ allows you to modify the headingsfor this section:

Click with your mouse on each of the yellow squaresand enter the headings of the amounts you wish torecord.

You can also enter tax percentages for the taxable itemsin this section.

If you wish to modify these fields, you can do so at anytime on any card. Whatever modifications you make herewill be reflected on all your other cards. After printingand distributing your blanks for the first time, werecommend that you keep modifications of these fieldsto a minimum; the information your employees provideon their cards may be based on the informationrequested before you made modifications. Even if youprint revised blank Time Cards, your employees may notpay attention to the new changes.

D. You can modify Meal Penalty Increases.


Click with your mouse on any one of the yellow boxes inthe Meal “Penalty Increases” box. Meal Penalties aretypically levied upon a production for delayed employeeMeal Breaks. Meal Breaks are to be granted to eachemployee within no more than six hours after they startwork or finish their last meal. For each 30 minutes that aMeal Break is delayed, the Meal Penalty levy is increased.The amounts you enter into these yellow boxes will beautomatically calculated with the Meal Penalty Hoursabove and will be reflected in your Daily Totals.

3. Entering Time Card InformationAfter you have finished filling out all the yellow fields onyour Cast Time Card and Crew Time Card screens, youare ready to enter specific time and reimbursementinformation for each employee. When you receive a filledout Time Card from an employee, enter it into one of theTime Card databases.

Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard to navigate throughthe fields of this screen. Many fields get automaticallyfilled out based on the information you enter in the fieldspreceding them.

After you have entered information into the “Name” fieldand the “Week Ending” field you are given the option ofautomatically importing the employee’s hoursinformation from your Daily Reports.


Simply click on the long red button with your mouse. Ifyou choose not to have your Daily Report Informationimported, then tab through the hours fields and enter theinformation manually.

After the hours information is entered, use the [TAB] keyon your keyboard to tab through and enter youremployee’s reimbursement information.

4. Time Card TotalsThe totals of each Time Card appear in the top rightcorner.

There is an amount for total wage and an amount fortotal reimbursements.

The small, light-green box in the top left corner of the“Wage” box indicates whether the wage for thisemployee is to be deferred or not.


The information for this box is provided by your budgetinformation. If it is blank, it is not to be deferred. If there isa “d” or a “D” in this box, it indicates that the wage forthis employee is to be deferred. You can edit this box ifyou choose. Whether or not a wage is to be deferred,you may still need to pay the employee’s reimbursementimmediately.

E. Receipts LogAll recorded Receipts—Non-Food Receipts, FoodReceipts, Petty Cash Receipts, and PaycheckReceipts—can be found in the Receipts Log, which listsall your receipts in one place so you can sort them andcalculate them in numerous ways. To view the ReceiptsLog, from the Main Menu, click with your mouse on thelight-gray “Receipts” tab at the bottom of your screen.

Then click on the “Log” tab at the top of your screen.

The “Receipts Log” Screen appears.

Receipts can be entered and modified directly within theReceipts Log. To enter a receipt accurately andcompletely this way, use the [TAB] key on your keyboardto navigate your way through this process.


F. Cutting ChecksTo cut checks using filmmakersoftware™, you will needto have a laser or ink-jet printer.

You will also need to set up a company checkingaccount and purchase blank, prenumbered, pre-MICRencoded computer checks from your bank (or anindependant check printer).

The blank check format you order from your bank mustresemble the sample check provided on the next page(reduced by approximately 50%). A sample of theappropriate accompanying envelope is also shown.

The format is a standard business computer checkformat, which is commonly referred to as the“Quickbooks®-check-stub-stub format”.

We recommend that you have your bank provide youwith a sample check to ensure compatibility.

You can electronically import your company logo (withaddress and phone number information) into thefilmmakersoftware™ “General Production Information”(explained in Chapter V) so that the logo prints each timeyou cut a check. If the logo is mostly text, perhapsaccompanied by a simple line drawing, we encourageyou to try importing it. However, if the logo is intricate,and memory intensive, for best results both in qualityand performance, we recommend you have your logopreprinted on your ordered checks.


Pay to The Order Of

YOUR COMPANY NAMEAND ADDRESS

1001

Dollars

MemoSAMPLE - VOID

1001

1001

PAYEE’S NAMEAND ADDRESS

Your Company’s Bank Name and

Address

$

MICR ENCODED CHECK INFO PRINTS HERE



To cut a check, simply choose the record that needs tobe paid from either the Petty Cash section, the Cast TimeCard section, the Crew Time Card Section or theReceipts section, then click with your mouse on the “CutCheck” tab at the top right of the screen.


Use the [TAB] key on your keyboard to navigate throughthe “Cut Check” screen, making sure to enter a checknumber, a description, the date, and the amount for eachcheck you cut.

From your stack of preprinted checks, locate the blankcheck whose number corresponds with the checknumber on your screen and place it into your printer.Click with your mouse on the “Print” button at the top-right of your screen. A preview of your check willappear. Click with your mouse on the “Continue” buttonat the left of your screen to begin printing.

G. Tax PrepWith filmmakersoftware™, you can prepare and print aneasy-to-read receipts report for use in filling out theSchedule C form of your income tax.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the“Receipts” tab at the bottom of your screen.

Then click on the “Tax Prep” tab.

At this screen, click with your mouse on the gray “TaxCategory” pop-up menu for each receipt in your list,


and select the Tax Category that best fits each receipt.

If you wish to add a new Tax Category, do so byselecting “edit...” from the bottom of the pop-up menulist and typing in the new Tax Category.

After you have chosen a Tax Category for each receipt,click with your mouse on the orange “Print” button at thetop right of your screen.

filmmakersoftware™ will provide you with a preview ofyour Tax Report, sorted by category. Here, you canadjust the Page Setup if you need to. Then click on the“Continue” button on the center left of your screen toPrint.

TIP: If you want to view and print a report of only the lastyear’s receipts, click with your mouse on the “Find YourXXXX Receipts” button at the top right of your screen.


Then click with your mouse on the orange “Print” buttonat the top right of the screen.


VIII. Budget Lists & Receipts Lists

With filmmakersoftware™, you can view and print lists ofyour Budget Items and Receipts.

From the Main Menu, click with your mouse on the gray“List” tab so that you are on the “Budget List” screen.

You can flip between your “Budget List” and your“Receipts List” simply by pressing the tab that says“Budget List” or the tab that says “Receipts List”.

Print your lists by clicking with your mouse on theorange “Print Options” button.

This will take you to the Budget & Receipts Print Optionsscreen, where you can choose to print your budget inmany ways. You can print top sheets, which providecategorical summaries of your budget, or detailed lists,which can be used to itemize all (or specific groups) ofyour Line Items.

PLEASE NOTE: Depending on whether you are usingWindows or the Mac OS, and depending on your printer,


you may need to alter your page formatting or PageSetup before you print so that pages will print correctly.

Macintosh, Mac OS and FileMaker are all registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. in the U.S.and other countries. Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Win 3.1, Win NT, Win 95 and Microsoft Excel areall trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Acrobat and Acrobat Reader areall trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Stuffit, and StuffitExapnder are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Aladdin Systems. All of the abovementioned trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Mention of third party companiesand products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor arecommendation. Likewise, Neither Apple Computer, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Adobe SystemsIncorporated, Aladdin Systems, nor any other company are affiliated in any way with this productand/or any part of its advertising. They neither endorse nor recommend this product nor shall theybe responsible in any way for the same. This product and its advertising is in no way affiliated withFILMMAKER magazine. The publishers of FILMMAKER Magazine neither endorse nor recommend thisproduct nor shall they be responsible in any way for the same.

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YOUR GUIDE TO GETTING STARTED - Filmmaker Software