By Forris Day JR
I had the opportunity to check out Gorilla Budgeting 6 and Gorilla Scheduling 6 Software for films. The software is created by Jungle software who has several programs for filmmakers. The scheduling software is designed to help filmmakers schedule everything from actors, locations, props and much, much more. It’s easy to use and very simple to set up. You can start with a blank schedule and start typing into it or you can import a script from Final Draft, Celtx, Movie Magic or Story-O. As long as the script is properly formatted you will have absolutely no problem setting up a new schedule. Characters will be listed and the scenes they are in, props they need, time of day that the scene takes place and more are all there. Again it is important to format your script correctly for this to work properly, but even if you don’t, it is still pretty easy to go back into the software and set it up. I imported several different scripts in my tests, some with proper formating and some without and still had success.
The budgeting side of the software is equally easy to use even if you aren’t an accountant although I think an accountant would have a better grasp of the money side of things. I am not good with that side of filmmaking but using the software makes it much more understandable for me. Everything is broken down into line items then into subcategories so you can really track every penny you spend using the program. Once you have a Schedule created and a budget made you can link them. What this allows you to do, for example, is import all the props from scheduling and then track costs of them in budgeting. Costs include such things as rental or outright purchase price. Remember this can be achieved just from importing a screenplay which is pretty cool.
Generating reports is a dream with either software. Think of any report you may need and chances are it is already there or you can create it. Very powerful stuff here. Print crew call sheets easily or a crew contact list. Whatever you need it can be done. The crew call sheets can be emailed directly to cast and crew through the software. Any report, for that, matter can be e-mailed to anyone through the software.
When figuring your costs you may not know the standard rate for many items and this is where the Gorilla Rate Book comes in. It is an additional cost to purchase but it has all the latest rates so you do not have to look everything up. You just open an item, click on the “Import from Ratebook” icon and pull the price into the budget. It’s that easy. Once it is imported all the math is done globally throughout the software. If you have ever used Quickbooks you will appreciate and understand Gorilla Budgeting software.
Another huge feature are all the tutorial video’s they have created to help you learn the software. As you are using the software windows pop up asking you if you would like to see a video for whatever it is you are doing. You can choose to watch the video or close the window. The videos are short and go straight to the point.
This was a beta version of the software I used and I was able to watch it develop as other users discovered issues and improvements. I enjoyed using it and saw clearly how it can take some of the most tedious parts of filmmaking and make it fun. The folks at Jungle Software were quick to fix any discovered issues and the software is nearly ready for release to the public. I’m not totally sure when it is scheduled to be released but keep your eyes peeled my filmmaking friends because this newest version of Gorilla’s popular software is powerful and will make your job so much easier. I will include a link at the bottom to Jungle Software’s page so that you can watch for this new release. Notice on the homepage you can try most if not all of their software out on a trial basis to see if you like it. No commitment! Just download the trial, use it and if you like it purchase it.
Rating: 8.5/10 – “Go bananas with Gorilla!”
