My production bibles keep everything a shoot needs in one place, from the first rough budget to the call sheet that goes out to cast and crew.
See What's InsideEvery production is different, so my production bibles have lots of different tabs. I always include the same three essentials: a shooting schedule, a budget and a call sheet.
Meet the EssentialsMy first real experience with production planning was as an Assistant Director on someone else's student film. It was only the second student film I had ever worked on, and I was in charge of a large shooting schedule over the course of a very long weekend. Now I use that same approach when I plan my own projects, and I still refer back to that first schedule as my go-to template.
I build every budget by first throwing down thoughts and quick numbers, then cleaning it up as I go. My rough draft is shared with the director and other key people on the project so they can add things as needed. Then I have AI build a formal budget template, and I go through it myself, adding things in and checking that every formula and number is correct.
The call sheet is what gets sent out to the cast and crew. It tells everyone where to be, when to be there and what's happening that day. It's always the last thing I make, because it depends on everything else being fully finalized first.
Working on a production and need help getting organized? Send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
