What gets created
When you import a brief, CineFlow reads the document and creates:- Project title and details — production title, type, status, director, DP, aspect ratio, and shoot dates
- Shoot days — each date in the brief becomes a shoot day entry
- Scenes and shots — narrative scene headings are created as scenes; individual setups or coverage lines become shots linked to their parent scene
- Crew — names and roles extracted from the brief; day rates and hourly rates are added when stated explicitly
- Equipment — gear items with category (camera, lighting, grip, sound, etc.) and quantity
- Callsheets — one draft callsheet per shoot day when the brief includes date and location information
- Budget lines — cost items and a total budget when the brief contains a budget table
CineFlow only adds information that appears in your brief. It never invents crew names, equipment, dates, or scenes. If a field is missing from the document, it’s left blank for you to fill in.
Supported file types
You can import briefs in any of the following formats:| Format | Extension |
|---|---|
.pdf | |
| Word document | .docx |
| PowerPoint presentation | .pptx |
| Plain text or Markdown | .txt |
| Image | .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp, .gif |
How to import a brief
Drop your file onto the New Project card
Drag your brief file from your file manager and drop it directly onto the New Project card. You can also click the brief import button on that card to open a file picker.
Wait for your project to be created
CineFlow uploads your file and immediately navigates you to the new project. A status banner appears at the top of the project page while the AI reads your brief and populates the data. This usually takes under a minute.
The import status banner
While your brief is being processed, a banner at the top of the project page keeps you informed:- Processing — the AI is reading your brief and setting up your project. You can navigate away; CineFlow will send you a notification when it’s done.
- Ready — setup is complete. The banner disappears and a success notification appears. If you’ve granted browser notification permissions, you’ll also get a desktop notification.
- Error — something prevented the import from completing. The banner gives you the option to dismiss it. You can delete the project and try again from the dashboard, or keep the project and fill in the details manually.
When import completes, CineFlow sends a confirmation email to the address on your account.
Tips for best results
Use well-structured documents
Use well-structured documents
Briefs with clear headings, labeled sections, and consistent formatting produce the most accurate imports. Scene headings like
INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY or labeled columns in a shot list table are read reliably. Briefs that mix scene descriptions and setup notes in a single paragraph may result in fewer shots being extracted.Include explicit shoot dates
Include explicit shoot dates
Brief Import creates shoot days only when it finds dates in ISO or common date formats (e.g.
2025-09-15, 15 September 2025). Vague references like “Day 1” or “first day” are used for labels but don’t produce shoot day entries unless a date is also present.Label crew rates clearly
Label crew rates clearly
Crew rates are only imported when a figure is explicitly associated with a person in the brief (e.g. “DOP — $1,200/day”). Aggregate budget lines for crew are captured as finance cost lines, not as individual rates.
Export PowerPoint as PDF if import fails
Export PowerPoint as PDF if import fails
Some PowerPoint files with heavy image content or unusual layouts can exceed the 3.5 MB size limit or produce sparse text extraction. Exporting your deck as a PDF before importing usually resolves both issues.
Images and scanned PDFs
Images and scanned PDFs
If your brief is a scanned document or a single-page image, Brief Import uses AI vision to read it. Results depend on the image quality and whether the text is legible. Typed documents produce more accurate results than handwritten or low-resolution scans.