Tip: Shooting Schedule with Google Calendar

Here's mystery that perplexed me for quite some time: how do I make a shooting schedule? The best ones are those that have your scenes laid out at just the right times of day, so you can tell people when to be there, preventing the "hurry up and wait" syndrome. The only thing I hate more than standing around waiting for a shot to happen is when I'm making other people wait around for a shot to happen.

Previously on this blog, Chris Henderson covered this topic with his guest post, but I'm a simple guy and like things boiled down to their essentials. I don't really need or want to buy expensive scheduling software, especially since my productions are pretty lean. I like to keep things concise and easy to manage.

As a result, I came up with this method using a hard copy calendar, penciling in cast and crew availability, then placing scenes at times of day when everyone in those scenes could be there. It worked well, but felt that an electronic, shareable version could not only be more liquid, but could allow for people to enter in their own availability. The above video goes into detail about this.

Also of note (and mentioned in the video) is MovieScheduling.com, a free site that will take care of many of your scheduling needs (including call sheets, which I don't really address). It appears the site is no longer being updated, but it is useful once you get past the learning curve.