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Products About_OnSet
| M3s The Movie Manager M3s is a full range management database designed for handling all the production details of a feature film, tv movie, or television series. It is useful from early pre-production all the way through post-production. Your High-Capability, Low-Cost Tool Compare M3s with the other motion picture and television management systems
out there. They excel in the strip-board and doing the
day-out-of-days. If you don't need to give simultaneous access to the data to more
than one person, and don't want to think about continuing to use any of the data
you've input after you've shot your scene, then the "industry
standard" programs are for you. Wide Range of Functionality M3s is the feature film and television production tool which really does try to do more, to go the extra mile, to give you more and more options when the others are saying you have only presets. M3s manages data from all departments, all the way through production. It even features useful tools, such as a lens calculator to compute shot sizes and distances. Discover the magic of having your movie details managed easily and automatically. Production, script, camera and sound departments will all love it -- and the editor will love having access to their information even more! Quick Breakdowns Doing a full breakdown of any script is never an instantaneous operation. It takes time, and more importantly, thought. It's not an automatic operation by any means, but M3s simplifies it by providing you a copy scene option which copies not only the basic scene information but also all related information for the scene. Synchronized browse boxes provide a quick way of viewing and analyzing your breakdown, and let you do more of the thinking that allows you to put what's found between the lines into your breakdown. Sort your data in numerous ways with predefined tabs. The predefined tabs in the browse windows give you a quick way to look at data in a number of ways -- without having to either change anything or enter sort criteria. For instance, you can look at your scenes in scene order, or by location, or day/night, or interior/exterior -- one tab click and you're there. Or use one of the custom 'tree' views to look at as much or as little information as you need. Input your script, camera, and sound notes on set. By the time shooting begins, you've probably input a great deal of information into M3s. It makes sense to keep everything linked and add your script notes directly into your datasets. Camera and sound notes can be input as part of the same process. Then your editor has full access to all the information, and M3S can provide you the printouts you need, breaking out the information for production, script, camera, and sound. Or your editor can keep it on a computer in the cutting room - to have full access to all scene and take information, as well as full data cross-referencing. Timecodes based on your computer clock - with auto-offset feature. When taking your script notes, more likely than not you'll want to use timecode reference numbers for the beginnings and ends of your shots. Instead of hardwiring or radio-linking a computer to the timecode source (adding significant expense and possible connection problems), we've developed an ingenious method (at least we think it is) of using your computer's internal clock to generate the time code numbers for your notes by determining an offset and adding or subtracting it to your computer's clock time. It works for free-run timecode (can be set for drop frame or non-drop) is extremely easy to set, and gives you separate single button inputs for start and end timecodes. Just reset it when the sound department jam-synchs the slate and you're all set. Two sets of timecodes - one for production and one for postproduction. Your notes for individual takes have the option of using two sets of timecodes. The first set is taken from the numbers on the timecode slate (with auto-offset entry from your computer clock.) The second set can be used to record the timecode numbers from your film-to-tape transfer. You are also provided with a field to record the cassette number of the transfer tape. Advantages and trade-offs. M3s is capable of handling a huge amount of detail data. This provides you with an unprecedented overview of all aspects of production. It provides a single tool which provides numerous simultaneous views into your production. To fully exploit the capacity of M3s does, however, require a great deal of inputting of data. Much of this data has in the past existed only on lists that seem constantly to need updating. Data in M3s must likewise be kept up-to-date. Our feeling at OnSet is that by entering information into a centralized database, it eliminates much of the re-entry and multiple-listing that takes place elsewhere. With the advent of affordable wireless networking, numerous users (such as different departments) can add or have access to data simultaneously. At this time, M3s does not create and print standard 'stripboard strips' or work on a 'strip-style' display system, instead using an expandable 'schedule tree' design. This requires a bit of rethinking and open-mindedness from those who think only in strips, though may be a welcome relief for those who never really liked stripboards, and does have the added advantage of providing rapid access to more information than is available on strips. M3s Program Features (too numerous to list them all, but here are a few):
Try M3s and discover a new level of organization. M3s can bring any production, large or small, a whole new level of organization. Demo downloads will be coming soon to this website. To request a pre-demo beta test copy, click here and let us know about your upcoming production. You'll be glad you did.
[M3S Datasheet (PDF)] [Go To Downloads Page] [View Screen Shots Page] |
