7 tools I use every day as a commercial producer

Google Slides 

I use Google Slides for pitch decks, creative decks, mini-storyboards, script approvals, etc. It’s got enough design capabilities for me to make the work feel packaged and professional, while still allowing clients and collaborators to add comments. 

Saturation

I use Saturation for my production budgets. It’s the simplest, most powerful cloud-based budget software on the market right now. My favorite part is the phases feature, which lets me create different budget tiers and see them side by side. 

Google Docs

I use Google Docs as a production dashboard for all the moving parts of my productions. I go in depth about the process here in my Producing Guide, but essentially it gives me an “at-a-glance” view of all the main sections of my productions, and everything that needs to be done.

Frame

I used to use Dropbox, but Frame is way cleaner and faster. I like how you can upload versions on top of each other, so all the different versions are in one place. and of course it makes client notes really easy. 

Google Sheets

I used to use Google Sheets for my budgets before I switched to Saturation, but it’s still a useful tool for tracking contact information, projects details, and running simple project management. 

Artlist

I feel like Artist didn’t used to have good songs. But recently I’ve been using Artlist more and more for commercial productions because there are a lot more good songs now. Artist is a royalty-free music database, and what’s cool to me is a lot of their songs have stems, which means you can remix exactly the instruments you need for your spot.

Wrapbook 

Wrapbook is where I go for production insurance and payroll on bigger projects. They have contract templates and workflows that make things really professional for your business. Plus, most vendors you hire already have an account, so onboarding is rally easy for them. 

Send this to someone who makes commercials!