Online Production Management

[JackMVHS]

So, my high school theatre department is looking to invest in a software and/or online solution for production management. We need an easier way to keep records of all the cast and crew, their contact details, their schedules, our rehearsal schedules, etc. What do you guys use to manage this information? Excel? Access? Some other software? Something online?

I would rather stay away from excel or access because of the complexity of keeping it all working. We have been looking at Stagemanagement.com and VirtualCallboard.com. They both look like a good option for us. Has anyone used either of these or have any other suggestions? How did they work for you?

Thanks!

 

[cprted]

I've never used anything other than basic business software suites (MS Office, iWork, etc). I know a number of SMs who swear by Filemaker, but I haven't had occasion to invest in it yet (Though I probably will within a year or so).

I think it is actually less important what software you use than having an SM who is on the ball with keeping show paperwork up to date and organized. Shows live and die by their paperwork. Do you have one person (the SM or the PM) whose job it is to update and manage the production paperwork?

 

[derekleffew]

I've heard of theatres migrating much of their paperwork to Google Docs. I can see where if managed properly, it has many benefits (and also potential for disaster if mis-managed).

 

[JackMVHS]

I've never used anything other than basic business software suites (MS Office, iWork, etc). I know a number of SMs who swear by Filemaker, but I haven't had occasion to invest in it yet (Though I probably will within a year or so).

I think it is actually less important what software you use than having an SM who is on the ball with keeping show paperwork up to date and organized. Shows live and die by their paperwork. Do you have one person (the SM or the PM) whose job it is to update and manage the production paperwork?

Well the problem is that the director (also the head of the theatre department) and myself (the crew chief, also a student) are the ones who end up in charge of all the paperwork and scheduling. We don't really have a SM, per say, they are mainly in charge of calling the onstage cues, cueing the stage crew, and actors, but not the lights, sound, or spots. So the director and I are looking for an easier way for us to manage all the paperwork for scheduling and contacts. We would like a way to easily send out schedules, allow cast and crew to input conflicts with the schedule, and to generally keep track of the entire cast and crew.

 

[DaveySimps]

I use many Google docs, and they work very well in my roadhouse environment and are free. If I was in a LORT Theatre, I would be using Tech Planner. It has many options I just would not use for what i do right now.

~Dave

Tech Planner : Home

 

[erosing]

If you have MS Access already I'd recommend learning how to use it, it can come in handy for a lot of things. However, the only reason I started using it is because I already purchased MS Office Business (or whatever the heck it's called). Short of that, I would probably still be using iWork for everything because I like it, and google to share everything. Access still has many database specific features though that do come in very handy, but I'm not sure I would pay for it over something else given the choice.

I tried filemaker but that was a few years ago during "the change" it was too slow and buggy for me back then, but I know it was great before and great now, but it's also expensive.

Google Docs, like using Excel, can be very time consuming if you try and replicate more advanced database functions quickly, but if you're careful it's certainly good enough, not to mention it's free (Google Docs, that is).

 

[bdkdesigns]

I am a huge fan of Virtual Callboard. I got to do a beta trial of it and swear by it. I'm currently trying to get my new venue to pick it up.

The Production Planning aspect of it is amazing, but my favorite feature is the reports feedback. As a designer, I've been told "It's in a past report" many times and then had to go back through each report one by one to try and find what I'm looking for. Virtual Callboard lets you pull up all of the lighting notes onto one page from all of the past reports and then you just need to read through that.

You also might want to contact the people at Virtual Callboard. You might be able to swing a free trial of the software to see if it is something that you like

 

[HillJonathan]

100% of our theater is on Google. All drawings are uploaded, Calenders, Groups are made for easy reports and what not being sent out. Its the best use of Google that I have ever seen. All our facilities are even put to gather on documents.

 

[thorin81]

Like most of the others posting here, I use Google Docs & Google Sites to manage most of that kind of information and to get info out to my casts, crews, etc. I post everything from production documents to rehearsal schedules and cast lists on the site. Take a look here for a look at what we do. The nice thing is it is all free - you just have to take a little time to get everything set up.