Dreamspinner Media Production Tools

A production runs on paperwork, even in these days of electronic documents. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) for Producer Offset, Location Offset, or Post, digital and visual effects (PDV) tax offset requires you to maintain records. State Government requires you to maintain records. Sales Agents, Distributors and Streaming Services all require paperwork and often require your lawyer to verify that you have maintained the relevant records.

Dreamspinner Media and Paul Zagoridis make the following production tools available for free to low-budget independent productions. This is not a download and go package as it must be customised to the production. Get in touch if you would like a demo. Just comment below.

DSM Production Tools are designed to automate and simplify onboarding and scheduling crew, cast and vendors for the entire production.

This version is built in the Google ecosystem and is evolving with every production as we get feedback and improve the system.

For the purpose of DSM Production Tools, Vendors mean companies (or individuals) supplying goods & services to the production, separate from their status as Cast or Crew e.g. Locations, Councils, Lawyers, Traffic Management, Caterers, Casting Directors, Post Houses, VFX firms, Loan Out companies, Rental houses, and Walkie rental.

Forms for

  • Cast, Crew and Vendors initial contact details, including agents, managers, lawyers, representatives and contact people.
  • Cast and Crew unavailability dates and times
  • Timesheets

Take that information into linked Google Sheets speadsheets to produce, email and track status of

  • Tracking cast, crew and vendor onboarding status: e.g. offered, accepted/rejected, signed, offboarded.
  • Crew contact lists. Supports do not publish flags e.g. for VIPs, EPs and Cast Leads
  • Call sheets
  • Timesheet approvals by the Head of Department and then Production Manager or Line Producer
  • Timesheets consolidated to Payroll. Single master timesheet list to export to your payroll system, or run a manual payroll.
    • BETA: produce pay calculation based on BRECA award interpretation (not free but deals available for low-budget filmmakers)
    • BETA: produce pay calculation based on MEAA MPPA award interpretation (not free but deals available for low-budget filmmakers)
  • Production Calendars for Main unit, second units, production meetings, and other department requirements.
  • Employment and onboarding paperwork
    • Cast agreements
    • Crew agreements
    • Vendor Professional Services Agreements
    • ATO Tax File Number Declaration forms
    • SuperChoice forms
    • Vendor and Pty Ltd company’s Certificate of Currency
      • Public Liability Insurance
      • Workers Compensation Insurance
  • Tracking crew availablility during prep, shoot, post
    • For Crew and Vendors these are just like red flags in schedules,
      e.g. for when a crew member is
      • partially unavailable and you need additional labour on Shooting Day 8, or
      • only available for prep and first two weeks of the shoot, they and you must find cover for the rest

Callsheets integration or a full call sheet solution available

Coming soon Scheduling

The other version of DSM Production Tools our BETA hosted service ShowCrew. Everything above in a web app. We’ve been developing it since July 2019 where it was used on Blackfella Films Filthy Rich & Homeless Season 3.