No Custom Report Needed
Movie Magic Scheduling does not export USS or another open format. Importing from it has usually meant installing a custom report template in Movie Magic first, and finding the right one for your version. G-Casper Pro reads two reports that Movie Magic already has, saved as PDF: the Shooting Schedule and the Breakdown Sheet.
Exporting the Two Reports
Both are built into Movie Magic. The Import page shows these steps under How to export from Movie Magic Scheduling:
- MMS 10: Reports > Stripboard > Shooting Schedule, and Reports > Breakdown > Breakdown Sheet. Export each as PDF
- MMS 6: Cmd+P / Ctrl+P, choose Shooting Schedule 1 Template, and print to PDF. Do the same with Breakdown 1 Template
The Two PDFs
The import needs both files. Each supplies a different half of the schedule:
| PDF Report | Data Captured |
|---|---|
| Breakdown Sheet | Scene numbers, descriptions, sets, page counts, INT/EXT, Day/Night, cast, notes and the other element categories |
| Shooting Schedule | Shoot days and dates, the order of scenes on each day, and the banners between them |
How the Two Are Matched
G-Casper Pro reads each PDF, then matches every scene on the Shooting Schedule to the same scene number on the Breakdown Sheet and merges the two into one record. A strip that combines scenes, such as 163, 168, is matched through its individual scene numbers when the combined number is not in the breakdown.
- A scene found in both files gets its day and position from the schedule and its elements from the breakdown
- A scheduled scene with no match in the breakdown still comes in, with only what the schedule strip carries
- The import preview shows a Low Scene Match Rate warning when fewer than 60% of scheduled scenes matched. A very low rate usually means the wrong breakdown file was uploaded
- Boneyard scenes come in as unscheduled, and the preview says how many
- Movie Magic Scheduling
- Export two standard PDF reports
- Track: Report 1
- Breakdown Sheet PDF: MMS 10: Reports > Breakdown > Breakdown Sheet
- Track: Report 2
- Shooting Schedule PDF: MMS 10: Reports > Stripboard > Shooting Schedule
- Upload both PDFs to G-Casper Pro
- Parse both reports in parallel
- Parse Breakdown: Scene numbers and each scene's elements
- Parse Shoot Schedule: Day assignments, shooting order, shoot dates, day breaks
- Match scenes by scene number: Combined numbers like 163, 168 are split to match
- Merge: Scenes with no breakdown match import without elements
- Decision: Under 60% of scenes matched?
- Path: Yes
- The preview shows a Low Scene Match Rate warning. Check the PDFs before you commit.
- Path: No
- Import preview: Days, scenes and elements to review before you commit
- G-Casper Pro generates one call sheet per shoot day
What Comes Across
After the match, the import holds:
- Each scene with its description, set, page count, INT/EXT and Day/Night
- Cast per scene
- The shooting schedule: day numbers, shoot dates and scene order
- Banners such as Lunch and Company Move
- Notes and element categories from the breakdown
Check the Result
A PDF import reads the page as printed. Unusual report settings, or a schedule and breakdown saved from different versions of the show, can come across wrong. Read the preview's warnings, then compare a few days with your stripboard before building on them.