Below, I have outlined how the lessons will progress, from start to finish, to give you a clear understanding of the structure of this course.

The Lessons

Welcome

  • Things to know before we begin.

  • Let’s go over how this course is laid out.

Before You Begin

  • I'll show you what programs I'll be using the course + alternatives.

  • Those of you that want to take a script through this course but only have access to a PDF script.

    This will show you how to import a PDF into Final Draft.

  • For anyone new to Final Draft, this lesson is for you. In this lesson I'll give you a brief overview of the tools we'll be using in Final Draft to prep our script.

Scheduling

Part 1 : Preparing Your Script

  • What you need to know before we start scheduling.

  • We'll go through our script to get it ready for our scheduling program.

    We'll do things like check scene headings, add scene numbers, check for Int./Ext. or Day/Night and more!

  • For anyone new to Final Draft, this lesson is for you. In this lesson I'll give you a brief overview of the tools we'll be using in Final Draft to prep our script.

Scheduling

Part 2 : Scheduling Your Script

  • In this lesson we’ll import our .sex file from Final Draft, into our Movie Magic Scheduling template.

  • In this lesson we’ll take a tour of Movie Magic Scheduling so we can understand how it works.

  • In this lesson we’ll figure out how to write a brief description of our scene so crew members can quickly reference what scene is shooting in each strip.

  • This lesson is for those of you that are breaking down your script manually, meaning you either are using a PDF script that was not a smart PDF and you could not import it into Final Draft, or you are using a script program that does not export into a .sex file.Item description

  • In this lesson we’ll prep our schedule by adding information we know now into the program.

    We’ll also go into adding dates, working with calendar view, how to use different stripboard layouts and understanding different strip colors.

  • Scheduling time, baby!

    We’ll go over two different ways you can start scheduling.

    We’ll also get into things to look out for as you are scheduling like working with turn around times for crew.

  • In this lesson we go over how to structure your schedule to maximize use of your crew, cast, locations and gear.

    We’ll look at each day and see the best way to film it. We also get into working with minors.

  • This is for those of you that would like to watch me create the rough schedule from start to finish.

  • In this lesson we’ll talk about ways that we can figure out how to determine how much time each scene could take to shoot.

    We’ll also look at real timed one-liners from shows that I’ve worked on.

Scheduling

Part 3 : Finalizing Your Schedule

  • In this lesson I’ll give you tips on things to look out for when scheduling, and talk about adding banners.

    I also go through and do another pass of the schedule with these tips in mind.

  • This is for those of you that would like to watch me go through the second pass of the rough schedule from start to finish.

    For time - I separated this out into 2 parts. Part 2 will pick up right where this video finishes.

  • This is for those of you that would like to watch me go through the second pass of the rough schedule from start to finish.

  • In this lesson I’ll walk you through the finished schedule day by day and explain why I organized it this way.

  • In this lesson we’ll now take our schedule and focus on what we can do to make it better for our budget.

Budgeting

Part 1 : Getting Ready to Budget

  • What you need to know before you start budgeting and I’ll go over how the budgeting lessons are laid out.

  • In this lesson I’ll show you how to get Movie Magic Budgeting using their 30 day free trial, the basics of how MMB works and we’ll import my MMB template.

  • In this lesson we’ll go over how to use the budget, set up your budget and work within Movie Magic Budgeting.

  • In this lesson I go over the foundations of what you need to know to begin budgeting.

    We’ll get into what you need to keep in the back of your mind as you go through the budget. We’ll also get into working with unions, talk about the globals I’ve set up and touch on fringes.

Budgeting

Part 2 : How to Find Fringe Rates

  • In this lesson we’ll dive deeper into what fringes are.

  • Directors’s Guild of America, Writer’s Guild of America, Screen Actor’s Guild

  • International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

  • Miscellaneous and Background Talent Fringes

Budgeting

Part 3 : How to Estimate & Find Rates

  • Before we get into the accounts lets talk about how we can find and estimate rates for crew, gear, location site fees, etc.

Budgeting

Part 4 : Accounts

In each lesson below we go into each account and talk about each line item.

Budgeting

Part 5 : Review Your Budget

  • In this lesson we’ll look back through our schedule to make sure that we didn’t miss anything that we need to budget.

  • Now that we have a 1st pass of our budget lets review our budget and see how we can spend smarter/cut costs if need be.

  • In this lesson I’ll show you my final budget pass and walk you through some things I trimmed to get the costs down.

That’s A Wrap

  • You did it! You have finished schedule and budget. Now go make your movie!