A Project For
Collaboration
UX Designer | 2023
THE FILM MAKER
APP
Project Scope
How can we conveniently hire actors for small creative projects?
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have changed some of the quantitative data and omitted some information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Film Maker App.
The Film Maker app is a niche project management tool where creators and producers can collaborate to work on media production projects. Whether you’re a director, actor, or gaffer, The Film Maker app will be your home for filmmaking needs. Book all the talent and crew or find a role to jump in wherever and whenever you need. The Film Maker app is in your pocket or bag.
SKILLS
UX Design
UX Research
Information Architect
User Testing
Wireframing
Prototyping
TEAM
UX Designer Generalist
MY ROLE
UX Designer Generalist, I designed the app and responsive website design from
conception to delivery.
The Problem
Looking for people to work with on film projects is hard. Whether you need to find people to work on a school project, or a budgeted commercial, talent and crew are hard to gather together especially when there are so many different websites to navigate.
Create a responsive project management website where the web app can be used on mobile, tablet, and desktop
Create a forum where users are able to post projects and communicate with each other
Allow users to identify if they’re talent or crew to look for corresponding gigs
Integrate a chat system where people can communicate
The Goals
Understanding User Roles
There are dozens of essential roles in the filming industry. Oftentimes, in smaller projects, many members have multiple roles. In this case, I focused on the Project Manager who is also usually the director, casting director, and producer.
There are dozens of essential roles in the filming industry. Oftentimes, in smaller projects, many members have multiple roles. In this case, I focused on the Project Manager who is also usually the director, casting director, and producer.
Project Manager Behavior
To dive deeper into The Film Maker, we’ll explore the project’s manager role of Casting Director. The Casting Director spends an ample amount of time and effort to be sure about their decision for choosing the right actors.
Key Considerations
“Am I going to find actors that look the part to play my roles? I’ll need to be able to find a diverse group of people with multiple ranges in age for each of my characters.”
“Are they able to commit the amount of time needed to complete the project? Because we have our own day jobs, we’ll need to schedule our meetings so that everyone involved is on the same page.”
“Are they willing to travel to the selected locations? Our shoot is local, so I have to find actors somewhere in the area.”
Market Research
Overall, most of the competitors are document editing software to review scripts, create and share schedules, and share materials for the upcoming project. What I gathered from this research is that there are many holes that have yet to be filled. Spreadsheets and writing already exist on the most popular free platforms such as Google.
What doesn’t exist is a platform that can do all that combined with actor/crew job boards. This is what differentiates The Film Maker app and its competitors. The Film Maker app combines both of the best worlds and is truly the full film project managing experience for all roles.
Job and Gigs Board
Looking for actors is fairly easy. Creative and technical jobs are separated into two categories: Talent and Crew. Actors, personalities, and hosts are part of Talent while camera operators, editors, and set designers are categorized into Crew.
Every single profile will be equipped with interest tags to allow others to look for each other by filtering skill sets and interests. This is where everyone can showcase all of their skills and craft they want to improve on.
Messaging
When people work with each other, communication is key. The casting director can message any actor that is open to work.
Like the most popular messaging apps today, we wanted to keep the back-and-forthing as simple as possible. With a reliable chat capability.
Users can also schedule a meeting with each other easily.
Final Designs
Easy Scheduling
All it takes is just a few steps
The workflow needed to be as few steps as possible because hiring actors is just a small percentage of the whole project and it shouldn’t be stressful.
All users have to do is create an account, set up their profiles, look for people to collaborate with, then schedule the meeting for the project by booking them.
A notification will be sent to both parties and allow users to add the booking to their personal calendars easily.
It’s just that simple.
With such an easy way to look for actors to book, this saves casting directors time and there is more room for transparency and open communication between both parties.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
Here’s a small percentage of a massive website. This is just the talent booking portion for the desktop.
The competition specializes in one thing only.
The Film Maker app is designed to be a one-stop shop for all filmmaking needs. Everyone around is special and talented in their own way, but they’re currently separated by different apps and websites.
The only way we can find out how special and talented we are is by collaborating together.
In order for us to complete this project, more research needs to be conducted.
Prototype Demo
Usability Testing
Before
Issue 1: The booking icon wasn’t visible enough
Before
Issue 2: No virtual meeting option when booking
After
Answer 2: Checkbox for Virtual Meeting now available
Before
Issue 3: Profile page is unorganized
After
Answer 1: Booking button is now more prominent
After
Answer 3: Profile page now has tabs for user information.
Button is also changed to reflect conenctions
Early Wireframes
From Desktop To Mobile
The Film Maker app was designed for creatives to use on laptops and desktops with graceful degradation. For a website like The Film Maker, there’s just far too much information to put on a tiny screen, especially when you’re dealing with many documents and profiles.
Essentially, the Film Maker App is the project management software for all creatives, producers, and project seekers.
Future Plans
1.
Set up project creation collaboration tool where multiple users can edit/view a document together. This is where documents can be shared and used with permission based access, such as scripts, casting, location scouting, etc.
2.
Not everyone has a budget to build a set. Working with venues and vendors to schedule rentable locations will allow people to shoot at an established location.
3.
I would like to explore other opportunities for small independent filmmakers. Over 95% of indie filmmakers don’t get to finish their projects due to budget, time, and location constraints.
Lessons Learned
Watching users interact with your prototype is vital, especially for this project. When there are so many ways a person completes their objective, learning and sharing the best methods will help this project and users gain valuable experience and knowledge.
Communicate and test new functions frequently when new updates are made.
Design for scalability so that assets can be used for desktops as well.
Use industry terminology, to foster a sense of familiar and likeminded community
Thank You For Reading
It’s always a pleasure to share my experience, findings, and projects with you. If you’d like to work with me or just say hello, feel free to send me a message!