Attendance, shift and leave process for Post-production Houses: suites, nights and rest
Suites are booked by the hour and clients stay late. A single calendar for rooms and people, plus clear terms for night work, keeps both bookings and staff in good order.
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Share your requirementsWhy attendance, shift and leave process matters in post-production houses
In a post house the schedule is a moving target. A director extends a grading session, a mix is pushed to the weekend, a rush edit lands on Friday evening. Editors, colourists and mixers shift with it, and a runner is sent at midnight to deliver a drive. Nobody is sure who worked when, or who has had a proper rest.
A single calendar and a short log fix most of it. It shows which room and which operator are booked for which hours, who is on a late session and who has the next morning off. It also gives the suite manager a record to pay from and a basis to say no when someone has done too many nights.
How to set it up
1. Create one calendar for rooms and people
Every suite and every operator on the same view, with holds in one colour and confirmations in another.
2. Define the shifts
Day, evening and night, with start and end times and how a late extension is handled. Print them on one page.
3. Log late sessions
The suite manager notes who stayed, until when and for which client, and the operator confirms. Use the same format each time.
4. Set rest rules
A later start or a day off after a certain number of late hours, with transport arranged for night exits.
5. Review the month
Look at hours by person and by client, find who carried most of the nights and adjust bookings or add freelancers.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Check the last month's calendar for double bookings or last minute changes.
- Count late sessions per operator and note the highest figure.
- Ask a colourist when they last had a day off after a night session.
- See whether clients paid for the extra hours that staff worked.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach attendance, shift and leave process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It helps to keep it as a shared load with a clear rotation, agreed terms and the chance to decline occasionally. Confirm the rules for night work with a qualified professional.
Agree the day or hourly rate and the rule for late extensions before the booking. State it in the confirmation message, so the discussion has already taken place when the session runs on.
Give it to one named person, usually the suite manager or scheduler. Others can request changes, but one owner prevents conflicting updates and lost bookings.