FilmBase 1.5: the biggest release since version 1
The biggest release since version 1, with real-time team collaboration, automatic storyboards, a full budget reporting suite, and a smarter schedule optimizer.
· 13 min read
Run your entire production
from one place
Budgets | Schedules | Scripts | Storyboards | Logistics | Collaboration
One project file
Every department,
in one app on your desktop.
Most productions piece together five or six different tools. One for scheduling, another for breakdown, spreadsheets for the budget, something else for call sheets, and a notes app for transport. FilmBase does it all in one file. Tag a location once and it shows up in your stripboard, your call sheet, and your driver routes. No copy-paste, no integrations to break, and no training course to sit through first.
Smart Scheduling
Scheduling that plans the days and the drive
Lay your scenes out on a classic stripboard, then let the optimizer arrange the whole shoot for you. Set your dates, drop in the script (Final Draft .fdx or PDF, and export it back the same way), and hit Optimize. It places every scene across every day while honoring eighteen production rules at once: pages per day, day and night kept apart, actor turnarounds, each location shot out before you move on. Pin GPS points to your locations and it plans the drive too, favoring places that sit close together and ordering your days into a one-way route so the unit pushes forward instead of crossing town and doubling back. Script changes? Re-run it.
Two sliders trade off grouping locations against evening out the page count, plus how hard to compress each actor's days.
GPS-aware: minimize total travel distance, or order the days into a one-way route.
Three depth modes (Quick 5s, Smart 15s, Thorough 60s), and it flags conflicts before shoot day: cast overlaps, location windows, short turnarounds.
Runs entirely on your machine. No cloud, no waiting.
Budgeting
A budget that updates with the schedule, then tracks every cent
Start from a template, your own rate cards, or a budget you bring in from Movie Magic (.xml) or Excel. Then the schedule keeps it honest: import a character or a whole crew department and FilmBase prices their work, hold, travel, rehearsal, and prep days from the Day out of Days and the per-person Crew Schedule, each at its own rate. Move a day on the schedule and the budget re-prices on the spot. From there it tracks the real money. The Actuals page is where you log what you actually spend against each line, with invoices and proof of payment attached, so you always know what's gone and what's left. Schedule the payments and read the whole project at a glance on the Payment Schedule, then watch money in against money out on the Cashflow page, so you know when cash is coming and when you'll need it.
Cast and crew priced from the schedule; change a day and the budget re-prices.
Actuals: a dedicated page to log spend per line and attach invoices and receipts.
Payment Schedule and Cashflow show what to pay when, and money in vs out over time.
Estimate, actuals, payments, and cashflow: one connected picture of the money.
Call Sheets
Call sheets that fill themselves in
Most of the call sheet is done before you open it. Cast, the day's scenes, locations, and call times pull straight from the schedule, and the weather forecast and nearest hospital fill themselves in for that date and place. Add custom rows for whatever's specific to the day, then export it bundled with the right sides as a single PDF, so the team gets one file, not five.
Script Breakdown
A modern script breakdown
On-device AI tags every element it finds (props, wardrobe, vehicles, stunts) with nothing leaving your computer, or you highlight and tag by hand. Promote a tag to a tracked element so it flows into the breakdown and budget, then use the Magic Sheet to click exactly which scenes it appears in. Fix a slugline or flip a scene night-to-day right on the page.
Storyboards & Shotlist
Storyboards that draw themselves
Every shot without art gets an automatic hand-drawn diagram of the framing: set the size, angle, lens, and who's in the frame. Build a storyboard and visual shotlist linked to every scene, set the timing per shot, then export the whole thing as an animatic video. Direct the cut before you direct the shoot.
Transport
Driver routes and pickup assignments
Assign drivers to cast and crew for each shoot day on a dedicated transport page. Pickup manifests flow straight into the call sheet. Built-in transport logistics is rare in production tools. Most teams handle this in a spreadsheet and a group chat.
Everything lives in one project file on your desktop. The app runs locally, with no API keys and no FilmBase server ever touching your projects. Collaborate privately over your own network. Changes go straight between machines, never through a server.
Buy it separately, and it adds up fast
A screenwriting app, a scheduling app, a budgeting app, and an all-in-one cloud tool for breakdown and call sheets. Here's what that stack runs per person, per year.
The usual stack
- Screenwriting app~$250 once
- Scheduling app~$240/yr
- Budgeting app~$300/yr
- All-in-one cloud tool
breakdown, call sheets, shotlists, storyboards, contacts~$1,020/yr
Per person, recurring ~$1,560/yr
Plus a one-time ~$250 for the screenwriting app.
FilmBase, all of it
- Script, breakdown, scheduling, and budget
- Call sheets, shotlists, storyboards, transport
- Real-time team collaboration, private over your own network
- Pay for the time you need, no auto-renewal
$499/yr
or $899 for 2 Years (2 Seats)
studio license pays for itself in months
Comparison uses representative public pricing for category-equivalent tools, per seat, in 2026. Exact costs vary by vendor and tier.
That's the highlights. Every page of the app, with screenshots, lives on the features page.
See every feature Auto Script Breakdown Smart Scheduling Gantt Charts Call Sheets Cashflow Tracking Storyboards Day Out of Days Offline First Team Workflow Hub Built-In Backups Auto-Updater Light & Dark Mode Auto Script Breakdown Smart Scheduling Gantt Charts Call Sheets Cashflow Tracking Storyboards Day Out of Days Offline First Team Workflow Hub Built-In Backups Auto-Updater Light & Dark Mode
Your production workflow,
simplified
From script to wrap. Six steps. Each one feeds the next.
Import Script
Write or import
Break Down
Auto-tag elements
Schedule
Optimize shoot days
Set Budget
Estimate & track
Call Sheets
Generate & distribute
Wrap & Report
Final reports
Built for production professionals
Who uses FilmBase?
Producers
Bird's-eye budget dashboards, cashflow tracking, and production Gantt charts.
Line Producers
Detailed budgets with actuals, payment schedules, and variance analysis.
Production Managers
One-click stripboard optimization, call sheets, transport logistics, and DOOD tracking.
Studios
Unified workspace for multiple projects with offline-first security and full reports.
Flexible licensing for every production
Pay for the time your project needs, with no auto-renewal and no lock-in. Or own it outright.
All plans include the full feature set.
$39
7 Days
$99
30 Days
$199
90 Days
$499
1 Year
$899
2-Year Studio
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