Appearance
Field types
When you create a custom field, you pick one of six types. The right type depends on the kind of data you're capturing.
Text
A free-form, multi-line text box.
Use it for: Open-ended observations, descriptions, dialogue snippets, opinions.
Examples: Director's Intention, Scene Description, Why this works.
Text fields don't support search-by-value the way structured fields do — but they're still searched by the global notes search.
Dropdown
A single value picked from a list you define.
Use it for: Mutually exclusive categories with a known set of options.
Examples:
- Shot Size: Close-up / Medium / Wide / Extreme Wide.
- Camera Angle: High / Low / Eye-level / Dutch.
- Lens: 24mm / 35mm / 50mm / 85mm / Other.
Dropdowns are great for analytics — every value shows up as a column in charts.
Tag
Multiple values picked from a list you define.
Use it for: Non-exclusive categorization where a single shot might have several values.
Examples:
- Themes: Loneliness, Family, Power, Greed (a shot can have all four).
- Production Elements: Practical FX, VFX, Stunt, Green Screen.
- Emotional Beats: Tension, Relief, Joy, Surprise.
Checkbox
A simple true / false toggle.
Use it for: Yes/no facts about a shot.
Examples:
- Has dialogue?
- Uses a slow motion effect?
- Features the brand logo on screen?
Rating
A 1–5 star rating. Leaving every star unlit means "unrated".
Use it for: Quick quality or preference judgements you'll want to sort and filter by.
Examples: Performance, Usable take?, Lighting quality.
Ratings are filterable with is at least / is at most / is between in the advanced search, and show as star-count distributions in the Analyze view.
Number
A numeric value — whole or decimal, positive or negative. 0 counts as a real value; clearing the box leaves the field empty.
Use it for: Quantities you'll want to filter or export as numbers rather than text.
Examples: Take, Focal length (mm), Colour temperature (K), Number of extras.
Number fields are filterable with the numeric operators (is more than, is between…), searchable by value, and export to the shot list as real numeric cells you can sum in a spreadsheet. There is no unit or range setting yet — put the unit in the field name.
How do I pick the right type?
Ask yourself:
- Is the answer a quantity? Yes → Number.
- Is it a 1–5 judgement? Yes → Rating.
- Is the answer free-form or from a fixed list? Free-form → Text. Fixed list → keep going.
- Can a shot have more than one answer at once? Yes → Tag. No → keep going.
- Is the answer simply yes or no? Yes → Checkbox. Otherwise → Dropdown.
Can I change the type later?
Yes. Click a field's type icon in Settings → Notes & Data to change it. Existing values are kept, but they only render if they fit the new type — a text value of 12 becomes a number on its next edit, while a sentence in a Number field shows blank. Dropdown and tag options are cleared on a type change.
How do field types affect the Analyze view?
- Dropdown and Tag fields produce bar charts in the Analyze view, showing the distribution of values across shots.
- Checkbox fields show as on/off distributions.
- Rating fields chart by star count.
- Number fields chart one bar per distinct value for now; a dedicated numeric view is planned.
- Text fields are excluded from charts — they're free-form.
So if you want analytics, prefer Dropdown, Tag, Checkbox, Rating, or Number over Text.