Scheduling scenes

Scheduling involves grouping scenes based on the day of their shooting and listing resources required for those scenes. The scenes that you choose can belong to the same script or different scripts.

When you select scripts in Adobe Story for scheduling, Adobe Story automatically creates a schedule using information in those scripts. You can later edit the schedule according to your requirements.

Once you have created a schedule, you can do the following and more:

• Add breaks\banners to a schedule: You can add one or more day breaks\banners to a schedule. A day break marks the end of the day in a schedule. A day break also collates and displays the total number of pages in the scenes until that break. The number of pages gives you an idea of the volume of the script to be covered before or after the break. A banner is any break apart from an end of day break, such as a lunch break.
• Color: You can create presets and highlight the scenes that have a particular value/combination of values for Studio/Location, INT/EXT, and Day/ Night. For example, in a schedule, you can create a preset and highlight all scenes to shoot in the studio in the daytime.
• Sort schedule: You can sort a schedule based on values in one or more fields of a schedule, such as by Script (A-Z), Studio/Location (A-Z), and Scene (Ascending: 001, 002, etc.).
• Split schedule: You can split a schedule into two schedules. You can select a scene where you want to split a schedule and split the schedule into two schedules. Or you can split a schedule based on studio/location.
• Show/hide columns: You can selectively display columns in a schedule. Story does not allow you to hide all the columns in a schedule. At least one column remains visible.
• Save a schedule to disk: You can save a schedule to disk. The saved schedule file takes a .stdoc extension. Also, you can import (open) a saved schedule file.
• Export the Schedule as CSV: You can export visible or all columns in a schedule as a CSV (comma-separated values) file. Use a spreadsheet application that supports CSV, such as Microsoft Excel, to open the CSV file.
• Save versions of a schedule: You can save one or more versions of a schedule on the server. You can open a saved version of a schedule in the history.
• Create a script in shooting order: Script in shooting order is a compilation of scenes in the order that they were displayed in a schedule. Once you have created a schedule sorted it, such as according to the set, characters, or time of the day, you can create a script in shooting order. You can then distribute the script in shooting order to the production staff and crew for reference.
• Add or remove scenes: You can create, add, or remove scenes from the schedules.

• In the Projects view, select the project card you want to create a schedule for or click the three dots … in your project card.
• Select one or more scripts for which you want to create the schedule. Use Shift-click to select scripts in a sequence or Ctrl-click to select multiple, non-contiguous scripts.
• Click OK to generate the schedule.

Day breaks

For schedules, you can choose to have either end-of-day breaks or start of day breaks. A day break marks the end of the day or start of a day in a schedule. A day break also collates and displays the total number of pages in the scenes for a day. The number of pages gives you an idea of the volume of the script to cover in a day. A banner is any break apart from an end-of-day break, such as a lunch break.

You can add one or more day breaks to a schedule. You can also add one or more banners to a schedule. A banner is any break apart from an end of day break, such as a lunch break.

To remove information only banner, click the cross at the right side in the banner.

Show/hide columns

You can selectively display columns in a schedule. Using this feature, you can hide the columns that have no content or are not required in a schedule. Story requires you to have at least one column visible in a schedule.

To rearrange a schedule, you can drag-and-drop the scenes, breaks, and banners in a schedule.

• In a schedule, click Color.
• In the pop-up menu, click Edit/Add Colors.
• In the Edit Colors dialog, click Add New Color Setting.
• Select the check box for the setting.
• Select a color for the setting.
• Specify values for Studio/Location, Scene Setting, and Time of day according to your requirements.
• Click Apply to apply the setting to the schedule.

• Open the schedule.
• Select Edit > Add Scenes/Scripts.
• Select the desired category and project.
• Choose the script or scene that you want to add to the schedule. You can select multiple scripts or scenes if necessary.
• Click OK.

Story helps you time the strips and days in a schedule.

When you enter scene start time (S. Start) and scene duration (S. Dur.) for a strip, Story calculates and displays the following:

Story allows you to compare two schedules and find out if any sets, characters, or (optionally) set groups are committed to both the schedules for the same time.

Once you find out the set/character/set group conflicts, you can adjust the schedules to avoid the conflicts.

Story displays the Compare Schedules dialog and lists the set/character/set group conflicts, if any.

In the Compare Schedules dialog, you can see the resources that are conflicting. Also, you can see the schedule, day, and time where the resource conflict exists. Review the conflicts and reschedule the scenes to avoid the conflicts.

A schedule workspace is a set of view settings that you can reuse across schedules. These settings include:

• Column width
• Column sequence
• Column visibility—whether a column is hidden or visible
• Strip colors

• In the Schedule view, select Workspaces > [desired workspace name].

Instead of applying view settings from a workspace, you can also apply the settings saved in the schedule itself. Do the following:

You can print a schedule to paper or PDF. While printing, you can choose to print day breaks on top of pages. You can choose to print specific columns and also choose to print each day starting on a new page.

For best results, print the reports in landscape, especially when you are printing all the columns on one page.

• With the schedule open, select Edit > Remove Scripts.
• In the dialog box that appears, select one or more scripts that you want to remove.
• Click OK.

Click the delete (trash) icon and delete the corresponding schedule version. Version numbers of other versions are unaffected. The History panel is not displayed if you delete all versions of a document.

Note: 

You cannot delete the current version of a schedule.

You can create a duplicate copy of a schedule.

You can add schedule notes to strip properties of a schedule. These notes are relevant to the strips.

Story now has the following properties for schedules:

• Schedule name
• Schedule title
• Week number

The values of these properties are displayed in the scheduling reports. For example:

• A shooting schedule report displays the week number in the header.
• Studio Recording Order report displays the Schedule name property’s value in the episode number field.

• In the schedule, select File > Share.
• Enter the email address of the person with whom you are sharing the file.
• Select a role for the person.
• To add another person to the list, click below the current text menu.
• If you want Adobe® Story to send an email to users with whom you have shared the schedule, select Send Email Notification.
• Click OK.

You can sort a schedule based on values in one or more fields, such as by Script (A-Z), Studio/Location (A-Z), and Scene (Ascending: 001, 002, ....).

Story allows you to split a schedule into two schedules. For example, when you have sorted a schedule according to Day / Night, you can split the schedule into two schedules, one with all the day scenes and the other with all the night scenes. Also, you can split a schedule by Studio\Location scenes also.

Split at selection option splits a schedule into two at the selected strip. The selected strip is included in the first schedule.

Split Studio\Loc option splits a schedule into two schedules: one with scenes where set is Studio and another where the set is Location. The scenes in the original schedule where sets are specified as STU/LOC or none are included in both the schedules.

• In a schedule, click Split and select Split Studio/Loc.

You get two schedules with the original schedule’s name suffixed with _Split-A 1 and _Split-B 1. Split-A 1 includes all the scenes with set as Studio and Stu/Loc. Split-B 1 includes all the scenes with set as Location and Stu/Loc.

You can identify rows with specific values for Studio/Location, Int./Ext., and Day/Night using color settings. You can also customize values for Studio/Location, Int./Ext., and Day/Night; and assign a color to the set. In addition to the three default color settings, you can add up to three more settings in the Assign Colors dialog to identify rows. The customized options are reflected in the Color menu. You can also customize colors for Day Breaks, Breaks, and Banners.

For example, you want to identify all rows that have to be shot outdoors in a studio at night. You create a color setting by setting the values Studio, EXT, Night for the options Studio/Location, Scene Setting, and Time of Day. You then choose a color for the preset. When you apply the color setting to a schedule, all rows that match the values in the preset are displayed in the specified color.