Starting Fresh
When pre-production kicked off for Tulsa King Season 3 in Atlanta, 1st AD Tony Griffin knew the usual way of building a schedule wasn’t going to cut it. The old system where one master file lived on one computer meant constant bottlenecks, tedious back-and-forths, and hours wasted just reformatting data.
For a multi-unit, episodic series, those delays quickly add up.
“I’ve been a 1st AD for over 10 years,” Tony says. “I wish I’d had Cinapse from the beginning.”
Where They Started
Before switching to Cinapse, the Tulsa King AD department was wrestling with:
- Single-user files: Only one person could edit at a time, forcing others to wait their turn to make changes.
- Inefficient DOOD management: Building episode-by-episode cast breakdowns and numbering was slow and error-prone.
- No direct script imports: Tagged scripts from Scriptation had to be manually rebuilt in the schedule.
- Time sinks in cross-boarding: Managing multiple units and episodes required extra formatting and manual checks for conflicts.
The Cinapse Difference
Once the team moved to Cinapse, the change was immediate:
- Real-time collaboration meant Tony and his Key 2nd Cordell Willis could build, check, and refine the schedule together. No more “master file” handoffs.
- Streamlined DOODs brought faster, cleaner cast scheduling across episodes.
- Direct Scriptation imports eliminated hours of manual data entry.
- Built-in conflict detection via the Events Manager caught overlaps before they became costly mistakes.
- Multi-unit logic made cross-boarding more intuitive and less error-prone.
- Split-screen views kept the schedule, DOOD, and scrapyard visible side-by-side for better decision-making.
Real Impact on Set and in Prep
The payoff was clear by the time the season wrapped:
- Time saved every week — enough to translate into substantial labor cost savings.
- Cleaner, faster communication with department heads thanks to instantly shareable, always-current schedules
- Fewer errors compared to legacy tools, reducing last-minute changes and confusion on set.
- Happier ADs — “We would just laugh at how great it was being able to work together at the same time,” Tony recalls.
And when challenges arose, our support was on call. “Cinapse was always available to troubleshoot,” Tony says. “That made a huge difference.”
No Going Back
Tony’s verdict on returning to Movie Magic Scheduling?
“It’s like going back to dial-up after high-speed internet. There’s just no going back.”
For Tulsa King Season 3, Cinapse didn’t just modernize the scheduling process, it reshaped how the AD Department worked together. Faster builds, better collaboration, and fewer errors weren’t just “nice to have.” They became the new standard.
Experience It for Yourself
Join productions like Tulsa King, The Boys, Gen V, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and hundreds more that are rethinking how schedules get made. Start using Cinapse and see how much time (and frustration) you can save.
