Create a project

A FilmOpen project is a folder of ordinary files. The desktop application creates its manifest and your first authored project file, then opens the project for editing.

Create the project

1. Open the project menu above the tree and choose New project….
2. Choose the parent folder on your computer.
3. Enter a short name for the project folder and an optional display title.
4. Enter your username. It will identify the author in your filenames, and the creator will be listed as a director.
5. Choose the kind: short, feature, miniseries, or series.
6. Create the project. The application opens the first project file’s Edit tab.

The short-name field converts spaces and underscores to dashes and explains invalid characters or length limits. The application refuses to create a project in a target folder that already contains files.

Two different names

The short name is a portable token used for files and references. The display title is the name your audience reads. For example, a project can use cartographer as its short name and The Cartographer as its title.

Edit the project details

The Edit tab includes title, kind, year, rating, genres, logline, synopsis, and epochs. Changes save automatically after a short pause. The status shows Unsaved changes, Saving…, Saved, or an error.

Wait for Saved before closing the application. A failed save needs attention; the status is the indication of whether the edit reached disk.

Set up epochs

An epoch describes a point or state in the story: a year, an age, or a named period. A project declares at least one epoch, and the first in the ordered list is its default.

Use the epoch editor to add a token, label, and optional year. Reorder entries to change the default. The editor prevents removing the last epoch or one used by existing files.

Epochs let a library entity have distinct appearances without treating it as a different character, location, or prop. See the format reference for the exact rules.

Find the files

The project overview shows the manifest and media location. On a disk-backed entity, the JSON tab includes a folder button that reveals its file in the system file browser.

filmopen-project.json identifies the folder. An authored file such as pj_cartographer_maria_v1.json describes a version of the film. These have different roles; the manifest is not a creative version.

Continue working

Browse the project and compare alternatives, or learn how to fork and select versions.