The Producer's Playbook
The full deck from our 30-minute webinar on production software. It opens with a way to rank tools by how central they are to the work, walks through nine lesser-known ones worth a look in 2025, and closes on how to actually adopt something new without derailing a show.
- Format
- Pages
- 22 slides
- Best for
- Producers, UPMs, production office
- License
- Free for commercial use
Why this deck
Most software advice is a list. This is a way to choose.
There is no shortage of roundups naming twenty tools a production might use. What they rarely answer is which ones matter for the way your show actually runs, and which are a solution looking for a problem.
The pyramid in this deck splits your stack into three levels — the general apps every business uses, the production-specific desktop software, and the tools your cast and crew actually touch. Knowing which level a gap sits in tells you how much it is worth solving.
What is inside
Twenty-two slides, no filler.
The deck is the same one used in the live session, so it moves quickly and each tool gets a purpose, a reason it earns its place, and what it replaces.
The three-level pyramid
A way to rank software by how central it is to production work.
Nine hidden-gem tools
Each with its purpose, why it is worth using, and what it replaces.
How to adopt a tool
Practical notes on introducing new software mid-slate without chaos.
Presented, not written
Slides from a live session, so the argument is built to be followed at speed.
- 01
A framework, not a list
The three-level pyramid sorts tools by how production-specific they are, so you can see which gaps are worth spending on.
- 02
From a working producer
Presented by Luke DeBoer — seven years in the production office and a 2nd AD on a studio feature before building SetHero.
- 03
Tools you have not heard of
Alongside the familiar names, the deck covers Circus HR, Every Set, Hiike, AVVAY, Incentiviiz, and Beeble AI.
- 04
Free
The complete slide deck, no watermark on the download and nothing held back for a paid tier.
One of the tools in the deck.
Send your next call sheet from SetHero.
Digital call sheets your crew opens on their phone, delivered by email and text, with confirmations you can actually see. Free to try.
Pair it with
All templates
Reference
AD's Toolkit Essentials
The assistant-director cut of our software webinar: the same tool-ranking framework, with seven picks aimed at the people running the set and cutting the call sheet.
Bundle
Pre-Production Paperwork Bundle
The full prep package: pre-production checklist, treatment, script breakdown, budget, character profiles, storyboards, shot list, talent and location releases, and a risk assessment. Ten documents to take you from greenlight to camera test.
Reference
Feature Film Funding Complete Guide
How indie features actually get funded — equity, soft money, presales, and tax credits — with a checklist of what to prep before you ask.