Project Management 104
The Production Sheet
Series: Productivity for Orchestrators · Part 4
So far in this series, I’ve covered my to-do system and how I manage project notes. The third core element in my setup is what I call the production sheet – a spreadsheet that tracks all the moving parts of a project, from instrumentation and approvals to version numbers and delivery status.
I use Google Sheets for this. It’s shareable, works on any device, and gives me the flexibility I need without overcomplicating things. You can, of course, use Excel or Numbers if you prefer.
I originally built this kind of sheet only for film work – where 10+ cues would roll in across a few weeks. But I quickly realized I needed it even for smaller projects, like contributing a single arrangement to a concert. Especially early in my career, when one arrangement would often turn into four or five, sometimes stretched across several months, it became essential to have a central overview of what was finished, what still needed revisions, and what had been delivered.
Why Use a Template?
No matter what kind of spreadsheet tool you prefer, start by building a template. That way, you’re not rebuilding columns and formatting every time you take on a new project. My own template has grown organically over time – every time I’ve encountered a new need, I’ve added it in.
The template starts with three tabs.
Tab 1: Project Info
The first tab holds general information about the project:
Client name and contact
Orchestration team
Recording studio
Orchestra lineup
Technical details like sample rate and tuning – the kind of thing someone will ask you on the podium, and you’ll want an easy answer.
Tab 2: Instrumentation
The second tab contains the instrumentation plan. This varies greatly between projects – a full orchestra might be used on some sessions, while others only use strings or a reduced lineup. Even within the same project, one string session might use a smaller section than the next.
So this sheet allows for variation and flexibility and each session or setup gets its own row.
Tab 3: Cue Overview (The Working Tab)
The third tab is where the real action happens.
Each cue or song gets its own row, with the following columns:
Cue number and title – always the first thing.
Version number – this tracks the arrangement or composition version. It might follow the composer’s internal system, or – for things like live arrangements – reflect how many versions it took to get sign-off. Once approved, the box gets checked.
Timecode and duration – useful both for planning sessions and verifying consistency across cues.
Cross-references – if multiple cues use the same material, I note it here to avoid redundant orchestration.
Then come the orchestration columns:
I log who orchestrated the cue and what version is current.
If it’s out for approval, I mark it as Revision. When it’s approved, I update it to Approved – which signals the copyist that they can begin.
Next up are the copying columns:My copyist adds their initials, version number, and a checkbox when the score and parts are approved.
From these, the sheet generates a compound version number, like v3.2.2:
First digit: arrangement
Second digit: orchestration
Third digit: copying/proofreading
This lets me track how far each element has progressed – and keeps everyone aligned without a single Slack message.
Delivery Tracking
Once cues are approved, I move into delivery mode. The next set of columns track each element that needs to be handed off, including:
PDF scores and parts
Demos
Karaoke versions
Stems
Click tracks
Prelay audio
Streamers
Each gets its own checkbox. It’s not glamorous – but ticking these off is deeply satisfying.
Instrumentation Per Cue
Then comes the largest section of the sheet: instrumentation per cue.
My assistant and I write detailed, compact breakdowns of who plays what in each cue, including:
Doubled parts
Tacet players
Soloists
This gives us a reference for everything from engraving decisions to session planning.
Session Planning
For film projects, there’s usually an additional section: recording session allocation.
Based on instrumentation and cue length, I assign each cue to a session. Before recording, I copy this tab into a new worksheet, sort by session, and shuffle the cues around to make a recording order list. That list can be handed to the studio, printed, or uploaded alongside the PDFs – ready to go.
In Summary
A production sheet isn’t glamorous – but it’s indispensable. Whether you’re handling 3 cues or 30, having a clear overview of what’s done, what’s in progress, and what’s waiting saves time, avoids mistakes, and makes handovers much smoother.
In the next post, I’ll walk through how I structure the folders around a project – why clean file organization is more important than you think.