Production Overview and Setup

​

Overview

As a producer or production manager, you have oversight of entire productions in Kitsu. This includes managing production settings, team assignments, task types, and overall project structure.

​

Production Dashboard

​

Accessing Productions

From the main navigation:

1. Go to Productions to see all productions
2. Filter by status:
   • Open: Active productions
   • Closed: Completed or archived
3. Click a production to enter its workspace

​

Production Information

Each production displays:

• Name and avatar/logo
• Type: Film, TV Show, Short, etc.
• Status: Open or Closed
• Team size: Number of assigned people
• Asset and shot counts
• Overall progress percentage
• Date created and last modified

​

Creating a Production

​

New Production Setup

​

Production Types

Film / Short:

• Linear sequence of shots
• Assets organized by type
• Single delivery timeline
• Simpler structure

TV Show:

• Multiple episodes
• Sequences within episodes
• Recurring assets across episodes
• Asset episode tagging
• More complex organization

​

Production Settings

​

Accessing Settings

Navigate to Production Settings from the production menu:

• General settings
• Team management
• Task types configuration
• Status workflows
• Metadata fields
• Integrations

​

General Settings

Basic Information:

• Production name
• Description
• Production code (for exports)
• FPS (frames per second)
• Resolution
• Aspect ratio

Scheduling:

• Start date
• End date
• Working days configuration
• Holiday schedule

Display Options:

• Default sorting
• Column visibility defaults
• Theme/branding

​

Timesheet Settings

Configure time tracking:

• Hours per day: Standard workday length (e.g., 8 hours)
• Timesheet locking: Prevent edits to old timesheets
• Lock period: How far back artists can edit (e.g., 1 week)
• Approval workflow: Require timesheet approval

​

File Upload Settings

• Max file size: Upload limits
• Allowed formats: Restrict file types
• Preview generation: Automatic thumbnail creation
• Storage quota: Track storage usage

​

Team Management

​

Production Team

Manage who has access to the production:

1. Go to Team page in production
2. See all assigned people
3. Add or remove team members
4. Assign roles and departments

​

Adding Team Members

​

Removing Team Members

1. Find the person in team list
2. Click remove icon
3. Confirm removal
4. Their task assignments remain but they lose production access

​

Team Roles

Manager/Producer:

• Full production access
• Settings management
• Team administration
• Financial data access
• Reporting capabilities

Supervisor:

• Department task oversight
• Review and approval authority
• Team assignment
• Schedule management
• Limited settings access

Artist:

• Task execution
• Preview upload
• Time tracking
• Comment participation
• No administrative access

Client (if enabled):

• View-only access
• Comment on approved work
• Playlist viewing
• No task details

​

Task Types

​

Understanding Task Types

Task types represent production pipeline stages: Asset Task Types:

• Concept
• Modeling
• Shading
• Rigging
• Grooming

Shot Task Types:

• Layout
• Animation
• FX
• Lighting
• Compositing

​

Creating Task Types

​

Task Type Settings

For Entity:

• Asset: Task applies to assets
• Shot: Task applies to shots
• Edit: Task applies to edit entities

Tasks appear only on appropriate entity types. Color Coding:

• Choose distinct colors for quick visual identification
• Consistent colors across productions help team orientation
• Use lighter shades for early pipeline stages, darker for later

Priority/Order:

• Controls left-to-right column order
• Typically follows pipeline order (Modeling before Rigging, etc.)
• Lower numbers appear first

​

Removing Task Types

1. Find task type in settings
2. Click remove/delete
3. Confirm removal
4. Existing tasks of this type are preserved but hidden

​

Task Statuses

​

Status Workflow

Task statuses represent task states:

• Todo / Not Started: Work not begun
• WIP / In Progress: Active work
• Waiting for Approval / Pending: Ready for review
• Retake / Revision: Changes needed
• Approved / Validated: Complete

​

Creating Custom Statuses

​

Status Properties

Is Done:

• Counts toward completion percentage
• Removes from active task lists
• Marks task as requiring no further work

Is Retake:

• Indicates work needs revision
• Appears in retake tracking
• Typically orange/red color

Is Feedback Request:

• Shows in pending/review queues
• Awaits supervisor action
• Typically purple/blue color

​

Asset Types

​

Managing Asset Types

Organize assets into categories: Common Asset Types:

• Characters
• Props
• Environments
• Vehicles
• FX

​

Creating Asset Types

1. Go to Asset Types in production menu
2. Click Add Asset Type
3. Enter name (e.g., “Vegetation”)
4. Choose task types that apply
5. Save

​

Task Type Association

When creating an asset type:

• Select which task types apply
• Not all tasks are relevant to all assets
• Example: Characters need rigging, props might not

This ensures only relevant task columns appear for each asset type.

​

Episodes and Sequences

​

For TV Show Productions

TV shows use episodes to organize content:

​

Creating Episodes

​

Creating Sequences

Within episodes, organize shots into sequences:

1. Go to Sequences page
2. Select episode
3. Click Add Sequence
4. Enter sequence name and details
5. Save

Sequences group related shots (scenes/locations/sequences).

​

Metadata Fields

​

Custom Metadata

Add custom fields to track production-specific data: Common Metadata:

• Character tags
• Location
• Time of day
• Complexity rating
• Client priority
• VFX intensity

​

Creating Metadata Descriptors

​

Metadata Types

• String: Free text
• Number: Numeric values
• List: Dropdown selection
• Boolean: Yes/No checkbox
• Date: Date picker

​

Production Statistics

​

Overview Stats

From production dashboard, view:

• Total assets: Count by type
• Total shots: Count by sequence/episode
• Task completion: Overall percentage
• Time logged: Total hours
• Team size: Active members

​

Detailed Analytics

Access detailed reports:

1. Quota Page: Completion rates over time
2. Timesheets: Time tracking analysis
3. Entity Stats: Per-asset or per-shot metrics
4. Task Reports: Status breakdown

​

Exporting Data

Export production data:

• CSV Export: Assets, shots, tasks, time
• Reports: PDF summaries
• API Access: Integration with other tools

​

Production Lifecycle

​

Active Production Phase

During production:

• Monitor progress daily/weekly
• Adjust schedules as needed
• Manage team and resources
• Communicate with stakeholders
• Track budget and time

​

Closing a Production

When production completes:

​

Best Practices

​

Next Steps