Cinapse Case Study: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, LOOT, and Mythic Quest

Introduction 

Three major television productions—It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), LOOT (Apple TV+), and Mythic Quest (Apple TV+)—faced significant scheduling challenges as they navigated overlapping episodes and crossboarding. Led by DGA First Assistant Director Emily Hogan, the Assistant Directors (AD) department sought a modern solution to streamline communication and improve efficiency in scheduling these three productions. They turned to Cinapse.

The Challenge 

Before switching to Cinapse, these productions relied on legacy scheduling software that lacked real-time collaboration features, forcing the ADs to constantly update and resend static schedules via email as .msd or .pdf files. With ADs working on multiple episodes concurrently, these productions struggled with:

• Inability to share schedules seamlessly with alternating ADs

• Frequent last-minute changes causing confusion

• Redundant data entry for each new schedule

• Day out of Days reports exporting incorrectly due to no episodic logic built into legacy software

• Lack of customer support from legacy scheduling software provider

• Difficulty managing multi-unit schedules and integrating them into the main schedule

The Solution: Cinapse

Cinapse provided these productions with an intuitive, cloud-based platform that empowered their ADs, UPM, and producers to:

• Make real-time updates accessible to all AD department members instantly

• Reduce scheduling conflicts with smart automation and drag-and-drop adjustments

• Sync seamlessly with script breakdowns and department-specific needs

• Improve collaboration amongst ADs and producers

• Pull strips from the alternating AD’s schedule without data redundancy (e.g. duplicate work by having to re-write the other AD’s schedule)

The Results 

By implementing Cinapse, Loot, Mythic Quest, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia experienced significant improvements in their workflow:

• Significantly Improved Collaboration: Alternating ADs could access and modify schedules without worrying about version conflicts.

• ADs were always working off the master schedule - no conflicts over who has the master 

• Episodic reports were clear

• No work duplication

• Greater Clarity for the Production Crew: Reduced errors compared to Movie Magic Scheduling.

• Better Time Allocation for ADs: Instead of wasting time on repetitive data entry, ADs could focus more on refining the schedule and making strategic decisions.

Emily Hogan emphasized that:

"ADs spend a LOT of time in their scheduling programs. It's really that now I am spending more quality hours honing the schedule than wasting time with data input, or inputting data when I could be focusing on other things."

Conclusion

Cinapse has revolutionized the scheduling workflow for Loot, Mythic Quest, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, demonstrating that modern scheduling software isn’t just a convenience, it’s an essential. By eliminating inefficiencies and introducing real-time collaboration, Cinapse empowers not just ADs, but the entire production—from cast and crew to producers—to work smarter and more seamlessly.

As we gear up for the launch of Cinapse 2.0 in Q2 2025, even more productions will gain access to a cutting-edge, flexible, and powerful scheduling solution built for the demands of today’s industry.

Join the Movement

Are you ready to revolutionize your production workflow? Try Cinapse today and experience the future of film scheduling firsthand.