Customer Reviews

Film Scheduling: Or, How Long Will It Take to Shoot Your Movie?

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3 star:		(1)
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Film Scheduling is the basic primer of how to schedule a film. There are very expensive computer programs that will help you in scheduling -- but you have to first understand the process. This book is written by an experienced, working, Hollywood film producer. Best $20 you'll spend. Cheaper than film school! Spend a little more and get the other books Singleton's written as well and you'll be on your way to knowing more than many Hollywood execs.

Before getting this title I had downloaded a couple of scheduling software to start planning a short film but soon discovered that I had no clue how to get started and transform the written words in the script to a detailed plan of action for the cast and crew to follow.

Although this book is a little old - the second edition was published in 1991- the principals for film scheduling it contains are invaluable for anyone involved in planning a film or video production. It guides you through the logical process of transforming any script into the foundation for a precise film schedule. Brief and concise explanations about color-coding your script, transferring these tags to breakdown sheets and then working with the strip board to fine tune your schedule. It uses Francis Ford Coppola's Conversation as a sample script, and it takes up a large chunk of the book. This helps illustrate a very complex film and what was the mindset for breaking it down into shooting days in the most adverse conditions, but you can always use your own. It also includes a chapter on computer scheduling but most of the software presented are outdated; the most important thing you can learn from this chapter is that you need to understand the fundamentals, key parameters and how the process is done manually before sitting in front of a computer and this book does just that.

I must also point out that you can breeze through the pages as I was able to finish this book in just two days (over the weekend) leaving me enough time to practice the basics and go to the computer to prepare a reasonable film schedule.

When it comes down to it, "Film Scheduling" does not steer you wrong, giving the reader the essential foundation blocks to properly break down and schedule a particular film.


My problem with the book however is that it is awfully dated. Being published in the 80s and revised in the 90s, it treats electronic tools (ie a computer) like it is some sort of "coming soon" feature.

All and all a decent book, that if anything is needing a new edition.

This book is the definitive work in film scheduling. It clearly explains the process of breaking down a screenplay in order to produce a shooting schedule, daily call sheets, and much of the rest of the paperwork that goes hand-in-hand with a smooth feature film.

Planning is everything on cost-effective filmmaking. This book is an educational tool that breaks everything down into small logical steps. It explains how to carry out those steps, and the logic and reasoning behind doing it this way. In the end, you arrive at a point where you have ample paperwork that explains in which order you shall shoot your film, on which days, in which locations, and with everyone knowing who and what needs to be where, when!

It needs to be said that at time, the breakdown process can be laborious and highly repetitive. This method goes a long way to minimizing the repetition, and making you a more effective filmmaker.

When you reach the end of this book and have scheduled your film, the companion book "Film Budgeting" will show you with equal clarity how to produce a meaningful budget from the results of this book.

I highly recommend both books, particularly if you are working on larger productions where you have enough money to really mess up, but not enough money to afford to mess up.

Clear and elaborate explanation on breakdown and scheduling. A bit short on getting the number of scenes on a day tot day basis right, but I guess practice does it.

A very clearly and well written book about how to schedule a film/movie, by someone who has actually done a lot of such work, and who is not an out-and-out advocate for EP Partner's Movie Magic Scheduling.