New tool for pre-production: Back-to-One – Blocking app imports script and builds scenes automatically

[12:35 Fri,7.August 2026 ï¿½ by Thomas Richter] ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½

There is a new tool for pre-production: Back-to-One is a comprehensive iPad and Mac app specifically designed for film blocking – meaning the planning of positions and movements of actors and cameras within a scene. The app imports scripts in FDX or PDF format and automatically creates scenes complete with sluglines and characters. The app was developed by director Erik Haffner, who has worked on shows like "Pastewka", "Ladykracher", and "Sketch History" and is also a co-creator of "Bernd das Brot" – so the app draws from hands-on set experience.

Back-to-One

From Script Directly to Blocking

Instead of manually creating scenes and characters, the import takes care of this grunt work. In addition to FDX, PDFs without a Final Draft structure can also be read, as well as plain TXT files. Characters can be cleaned up, merged, or deleted before import, spellings for OFF and V.O. are standardized, and German sluglines (INNEN/AUSSEN) are recognized. The script remains visible at all times: in a script panel next to the canvas, which shows a schematic top-down view of the room where the scene takes place, script lines can be assigned to individual cameras so that it is recognizable at a glance which setup covers which text.

Back-to-One

Staging with Six Rig Types

Characters, cameras, lighting, and walls are placed in this top-down canvas. For cameras, there are six rig types to choose from – tripod, Steadicam, handheld, drone, action cam, and crane. The angle of view is calculated from the focal length and sensor format and is linked to the focal length. The cameras automatically aim at the linked character, and multiple setups run in parallel as a multi-cam setup with shared color coding. A 180-degree line-of-action checker marks crossing the line directly on the canvas – not just in editing.

When building the set layout, walls with 90-degree snap, corner snap, and curved wall guidance, real wall thickness in an architectural look, as well as openings for doors and windows that cut actual holes into the wall, are helpful tools. Groups of extras from 1 to 40 characters can be combined as a single object, and a project-wide character roster only needs to be created once.

Additionally, there is an animation layer: characters, cameras, props, and lights can be moved on a timeline with keyframes; camera movements and orbits follow Bézier curves, and a "follow" function lets the camera automatically track a character. Using "Move from", previous positions are displayed as ghosts with footprints, allowing the movement choreography of a scene to be rehearsed before shooting.

Back-to-One

Shot List as a Set Tool

The centerpiece is a shot list bidirectionally linked to the canvas: each camera automatically generates a shot entry, grouped by setups (1A/1B), with shooting times in minutes and daily totals for production planning. On set, it can be checked off live (open/shot/cut), a storyboard image is available for each shot, along with shooting day assignment and filters.

For outdoor shoots, the app calculates the actual sun position including compass, golden hour window, and shadow direction based on location and date using NOAA data – a feature usually found in dedicated location-scouting software. For dark sets, there is a dim, night, and red-light mode as well as a presentation mode where clicking on the camera displays the corresponding storyboard.

Export and iCloud Sync

This is complemented by a searchable prop library (colorable, scalable, mirrorable) with the import of custom PNG assets as well as saveable scene templates for recurring set configurations. At the end, there are export PDFs for the scene schedule, lighting plan (with legend), and shot list, the latter additionally as Excel/CSV, plus the canvas as a JPG and a project overview as PDF. Projects can be nested (e.g., for series/episodes), auto-save creates local .smproj files, and a full JSON backup serves as a safeguard. Synchronization runs via iCloud between iPad and Mac without dedicated servers and without a login requirement, featuring scene-granular merge for collaborative editing and in-app sharing via the iCloud share sheet.

Back-to-One

Pricing

Back-to-One is available in the App Store for iPads running iPadOS 15 and later, as well as for Macs with Apple Silicon running macOS 12 and later. The app can be tested with full functionality for seven days. Afterward, it costs 8.99 euros per month, 89.99 euros annually, or a one-time purchase of 199.99 euros for a lifetime license. According to the developer, the interface is available in German and English and supports touch operation and keyboard shortcuts.

ï¿½more infos at bei back-to-one.de

deutsche Version dieser Seite: Back-to-One - Blocking-App legt Drehbuch-Szenen automatisch an, exportiert Shot-Listen