Plan your production phases. Back-time from a fixed delivery date or forward-plan from your start date to map out your working days and schedule float.
A production deadline is easier to manage when prep, principal photography, wrap, post-production, and delivery buffer are mapped as separate phases. A delivery date alone does not show when each phase must begin or how non-working days affect the span.
The Production Calendar Calculator converts phase durations into a working production calendar. Use it to back-time from a required delivery date or forward-plan from the first day of prep. The results show the projected Start Date, Total Working Days, Total Calendar Span, and key milestones such as shoot start, shoot end, post start, and picture lock.
The calculator plans phases, not individual bookings. It does not schedule rooms, equipment, crew members, or other resources.
Production calendars need to distinguish working days from elapsed calendar days. Weekends, public holidays, and planned dark periods can extend the real span.
Prep and post are entered in weeks, then converted into working days using the selected Working Days per Week.
Prep working days = Prep weeks × Working days per week
Post working days = Post weeks × Working days per week
The calculator combines prep, shoot, wrap, post, and delivery buffer to create the core working schedule.
Core working days = Prep working days + Shoot days + Wrap days + Post working days + Delivery buffer
Public holidays and planned hiatus days are then added to the workload before it is converted into an estimated calendar span.
Total working days = Core working days + Public holidays + Planned hiatus days
Calendar days = ROUND((Total working days ÷ Working days per week) × 7)
Choose the planning direction first, then enter realistic phase durations.
Set Calculation Mode to Back-time from delivery when the delivery date is fixed. Enter that required date as the Anchor Date, and the calculator works backward through the delivery buffer, post-production, wrap, principal photography, and prep.
Choose Forward-plan from start when the first day of prep is already known. In that mode, enter the prep start as the Anchor Date and use the phase durations to project the production forward.
If the anchor date is provisional, treat the milestones as planning targets rather than commitments.
Enter Prep Weeks for pre-production before the first shoot day. The default is eight weeks.
Enter Shoot Days as working shoot days, not elapsed calendar days. If a separate schedule calculation already includes contingency, use that final working-day figure here.
Use Wrap Days for strike, returns, and closeout after shooting. The default is five days.
Enter Post Weeks for editorial through final mix, grade, and finishing. The default is 16 weeks.
Enter Delivery Buffer as working days held before final delivery. The default is 10 days. Keep this reserve separate from the phase durations.
Use Working Days per Week to define the project’s working pattern. The default is five days per week.
Enter Public Holidays in Window for known non-working holidays that fall anywhere across the production span. Add Planned Hiatus Days for dark days, stand-down periods, scheduled breaks, or other known non-working time.
These values expand the calendar without adding productive phase days.
The outputs show the major dates and how each production phase contributes to the complete schedule.
Start Date is the projected first day of prep. In back-time mode, the calculator determines how far ahead of delivery the production needs to begin.
Total Working Days combines the core working schedule with holidays and hiatus days. Total Calendar Span converts that workload into elapsed weeks from start to delivery.
Total weeks = Calendar days ÷ 7
A project can therefore contain fewer working days than calendar days, which can make an apparently distant deadline tighter than it looks.
Shoot Start Date marks the beginning of principal photography after the prep phase. Shoot End Date marks the final principal-photography day based on the shoot-day requirement and working-week pattern.
Post Start Date follows the wrap allowance and indicates when editorial begins in the modeled phase plan.
Picture Lock Date marks the start of the delivery buffer in the calculator.
Picture lock date = Delivery date – Calendar equivalent of Delivery Buffer
These are phase-level milestones, not resource-level bookings.
The calculator reports Prep Working Days, Post Working Days, and each major phase’s share of the core schedule.
Phase share = Phase working days ÷ Core working days
It also shows Holidays and Hiatus Days Absorbed and Working Days Between Start and Delivery.
The Phase Schedule table breaks the plan into Phase, Working Days, Calendar Days, Start Date, End Date, and Share of Schedule.
Schedule float is labeled Compressed when negative, Tight from 0 to 15 working days, and Comfortable above 15 days. Treat the badge as a planning signal, not a delivery guarantee.
Consider a project back-timed from June 30, 2027. The plan includes eight prep weeks, 30 shoot days, five wrap days, 16 post-production weeks, a 10-working-day delivery buffer, five working days per week, six public holidays, and no planned hiatus.
Prep contributes:
8 weeks × 5 days = 40 working days
Post contributes:
16 weeks × 5 days = 80 working days
The core schedule is:
40 + 30 + 5 + 80 + 10 = 165 working days
Adding six holidays produces 171 total working days.
The worked schedule translates that workload into approximately 240 calendar days, or 34.3 weeks from the calculated start through delivery.
The calculator returns a start date of November 1, 2026. Because that date falls on a Sunday, the first practical working day is Monday, November 2, 2026.
Post-production represents:
80 ÷ 165 = 48.5% of core working days
Principal photography represents:
30 ÷ 165 = 18.2% of core working days
This shows how strongly prep and post can shape the delivery calendar.
Use the calculator to test different production structures before milestone dates are locked.
If back-timing produces a start date that is too close or already past, identify which phase assumptions can realistically change.
Reducing shoot days may require changes to coverage, locations, or unit structure. Shortening post may affect editorial, approvals, sound, color, or finishing capacity. Removing delivery buffer creates more room elsewhere but also leaves less time for late-stage changes.
A Comfortable result is meaningful only when the float is genuine. Keep phase durations realistic so hidden padding does not overstate flexibility.
Production calendar estimates are more useful when phase durations and project milestones stay current.
Studio Hero connects scheduling, projects, crew coordination, budgeting, invoicing, equipment tracking, inventory, client workflows, and media assets in one connected studio management system.
Studio Hero’s studio scheduling capabilities help teams coordinate calendars, rooms, people, equipment, and project-linked activity once the higher-level production phases and milestone dates have been established.
Back-time mode starts from a delivery date and calculates backward to estimate when prep must begin. Forward-plan mode starts from the first day of prep and projects the production phases forward.
Shoot Days are working production days. The calculator converts them into calendar equivalents using the selected Working Days per Week setting.
No. It plans major production phases and milestone dates. Room availability, equipment bookings, crew assignments, and other resource-level scheduling are separate operational tasks.
No. Enter the planned post-production duration under Post Weeks and keep Delivery Buffer separate so the same reserve time is not counted twice.
Enter the number of non-working public holidays expected within the complete production window. They expand the elapsed calendar without adding productive phase days.
Use Planned Hiatus Days for known dark days, scheduled breaks, stand-downs, or other non-working periods outside the regular weekly pattern.
Compressed means the modeled phase durations exceed the available schedule under the applicable float calculation. Review the phase assumptions and identify where time can realistically be recovered.
Recalculate when delivery requirements, prep duration, shoot days, wrap, post-production, holidays, hiatuses, or working-week assumptions change materially.
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