I've recently been working on a project for a film production company. The company had just started using Notion to manage their projects, but they were finding it increasingly difficult to keep track of everything and ensure that everyone was on the same page.

After discussing their needs and requirements, I set to work creating a custom solution that would help them manage their projects more efficiently. Together, we created some pages and databases in Notion that allowed them to track all aspects of their projects, from pre-production to post-production. These pages and databases included sections for scripts, shot lists, props, characters, as well as a central dashboard that provided an overview of all their projects.

But that was just the start. The real magic happened when I integrated Notion with their film-making software: Unreal Engine. They had noticed that Unreal allows you to run Python scripts, so I wrote a selection of scripts that would automatically update their Notion databases whenever things changed in Unreal - for example, when a new asset was created or when a shot was completed. This meant that they no longer had to manually update their project databases every time something happened in Unreal, saving them a lot of time and ensuring that their databases were always up to date.

They were thrilled with this, and immediately saw the benefits of having a more streamlined workflow. They were able to manage their projects more efficiently, collaborate more effectively, and - yes - ensure that everyone was on the same page. They also saw a reduction in errors and miscommunications, which has helped them to deliver projects more quickly and efficiently.

Having seen the success of these scripts, they then asked what else might be possible. So, the next thing I did was to write some more scripts that performed similar functions, but this time in reverse. These scripts would update Unreal whenever something changed in Notion - for example, when a new shot was added or when a prop was updated. This meant that they could now manage their projects from Notion and have those changes automatically reflected in Unreal, saving them even more time and ensuring that their projects were always up to date.

The AHA moment here was when they realised that they could now ENTIRELY SCAFFOLD their film projects in Notion, and then have those changes automatically reflected in Unreal. This means that they can create all the scenes, shots, props, characters, etc. in Notion, and then have those automatically created in Unreal, ready for them to start on the fun stuff of making their magic!

The added benefit of using something like Notion - which is cloud-based, has browser access as well as apps for all device types, and has a fantastic development team that is constantly improving the product - is that they can now manage their projects from anywhere, on any device, and have those changes automatically reflected in Unreal. This means that they can now work remotely whenever the need or desire arises, whilst collaborating more effectively than before, and ensuring that everyone is always working to script, no matter where they are.

This has been a great project to work on, and I'm really pleased with the results so far. It's always satisfying to see how technology can be used to improve workflows and make people's lives easier.

If you're struggling with your workflow - or you're simply wondering how technology could help - get in touch! I'd love to help you out!