"Filmari 1.14.0: Shotlist Got an Upgrade: Scenes, PDF Scripts, and a Bit of Extra Logic"

Shotlist was good. But there was room to go further.

The original shotlists in the app were straightforward: create a shot labeled "scene : take," add details, done. They came out of a real need — when I was heading to smaller shoots without a crew, without a proper script, we'd do what we called "freestyle" shooting. Making up shots on the fly, right there on set.

For hobby projects, that's half the fun. For paid gigs, it's a liability.

So I started keeping notes somewhere — in reminders, in a text editor, old-school in a notebook — writing down what I wanted to shoot. Real estate shoots are a good example: no script, but having a shot list so nothing slips through the cracks is just practical. That's basically where the shotlist feature in the app came from.

Then it hit me: what if I combined that with a proper screenplay?

New hierarchy: scene first, shot second

The core change is structural. Before, the shot was the primary unit. Now the primary unit is the scene — with all the metadata that belongs to it (INT/EXT, location, DAY/NIGHT). That data lives at the scene level, not on individual shots. It just makes more sense, because that's how it works in actual screenwriting.

Within a scene, you then build out the specific shots you want to capture. The hierarchy is cleaner, and working with multiple shots in the same location is a lot easier to navigate.

New module: Script

Having the script within reach on set is useful — when one exists. So I added the ability to upload a script as a PDF to your project.

But it wasn't just about having a viewer. I added smart logic that can pull scene headings out of the script. If the screenwriter follows standard formatting (e.g. 1 INT. Kitchen - DAY), the app automatically imports those into the Shooting Day section and creates the scenes for you. The filmmaker just fills in the shots — the scenes are already there.

I also added a script preview button directly into the shooting tabs — Planner, On Set, and Review — so you can access it on set without digging through menus. The button only shows up if a script has actually been uploaded to the project. I like clean UI.

New scene type: BLACK

Screenplays regularly include black screen cues — something like 145 BLACK or 145 FADE TO BLACK. It's a transition marker, not a scene you shoot.

So I added a new scene type called BLACK, which appears in Shooting Day as a divider — a visual flag that there's a cut to black at that point. Naturally, you can't add shots to it.

What's new in this release

• Restructured hierarchy: scenes are now the parent unit above shots
• New scene type BLACK for fade-to-black transitions
• PDF script upload for projects
• Automatic scene import from PDF script into the Shooting section
• Custom category ordering in inventory
• Bug fixes

Filmari is an iOS app for filmmakers that covers the full project lifecycle — from brainstorming through shotlists and technical breakdowns to packing lists, shooting days, and budget planning.