Directors & DPs · iPad and Mac

Back-to-One

Script · Blocking · Ready.

Back-to-One reads your screenplay and creates every scene and character automatically. Then you block characters, cameras and light on the top-down canvas, instead of starting from scratch.

Now on the App Store · for iPad and Mac
Download on the App Store See how it works
Import your screenplay · scenes & characters ready · block in minutes
Back-to-One: blocking canvas with the prop library open, multiple camera setups and an automatic shot list
Easy start

Script in.
Project ready.

Import your screenplay as FDX or PDF and Back-to-One builds a project with every scene (including its slugline) and every character, optionally placed on the canvas right away.

Instead of creating every scene and character by hand, you start at the blocking.

  • Scenes and characters created automatically from FDX or PDF
  • PDF scripts are read even without Final Draft structure
  • Clean up the cast before importing, merge or delete roles
  • Characters optionally placed per scene
  • Each scene's text shown in proper screenplay format
27  INT. APARTMENT – KITCHEN – NIGHT
Tom stands at the window, lost in thought. Hanna comes in.
HANNA
I was waiting for you.
TOM
I know.
Hanna puts the key on the table.
HANNA
You were there again.
TOM
Only briefly. It's not what you think.
She looks at him and waits.
HANNA
Then explain it to me.
Tom turns away. He is crying.
Back-to-One reads & builds
Scene 27 · INT · Kitchen · NightHANNATOM
Integrated script panel: screenplay text next to the canvas, lines assigned to cameras, colored revisions
Script

The screenplay stays in view.

The scene sits as a screenplay right next to the canvas. Pick a camera and assign the lines it covers. You see at a glance which shot carries which text.

  • Screenplay text right next to the canvas
  • Assign lines to individual cameras
  • Colored revisions for draft versions
  • Import a script or revised pages
The Core

Staging that thinks with you.

Place characters, cameras and light. The camera aims itself, multiple setups run in parallel, and crossing the line shows up while you plan – not in the edit.

Automatic camera aim

The camera turns as soon as the linked character moves. The field of view always stays correct.

180° line checker

Back-to-One spots crossing the line between two characters and warns you instantly – in red on the canvas.

Multi-cam setups

Several cameras run at once as a setup, grouped by a shared color in the shot list

Copy/paste across scenesReuse setups from scene to scene
Floor plan as backgroundImport a production drawing
Scene templatesThree-way dialogue / two at a table / walk and talk, save your own
Character rosterCreate once, use across the project
Prop libraryFurniture, vehicles, gear and more by category
Your own PNG propsImport them, synced via iCloud
Light typesKey, Fill, Back, HMI, Kino, Practical …
Background actor groups1 to 40 figures as a single object
Static panRecord where the camera pans to, with arc, degrees and the end frame
Quick context menuRight-click on Mac, long-press on iPad: place a camera or a figure exactly where you tapped
Everything at a glance

Canvas, shot list and tools – one workspace.

Back-to-One full view: imported floor plan with prop library, cameras, light and stage settings
Scale & measuring

The plan holds up. On paper too.

You set what one grid square means. From then on everything follows: the scale bar on the canvas, the ruler, and every print-out the crew is holding.

Grid scaleSet once what a square stands for
Scale barAligned to the grid, correct at every zoom level
Metres or feet and inchesSet per project, identical on every device and every print
RulerTap two points, read the distance. Snaps to object centres and wall corners
Shot List & Planning

The shot list writes itself.

Every camera creates a shot, linked both ways with the canvas. But it never stays a flat list. It thinks like a shooting plan and comes with you to set.

  • Grouped by camera setup (1A/1B), shot in one go
  • Shooting time belongs to the setup, not the single camera: three cameras at ten minutes each cost ten, not thirty
  • Shot sizes in the language you work in: Extreme Wide · Wide Shot · Full Shot · American Shot · Medium Shot · Medium Close-Up · Close-Up · Extreme Close-Up
  • Check off live on set: open / shot / cut
  • A storyboard image per shot, shown in the aspect ratio you actually shoot
  • Shoot day per scene and shoot-day filter
  • Switch quickly between the scenes
Animation

Play the scene before you shoot it.

Move characters and cameras on a timeline and see the rhythm of the scene in real time.

  • Timeline with keyframes, play, loop, speed
  • Camera moves and orbits on clean Bézier curves
  • “Follow”: the camera tracks a character automatically
  • Props and lights animate too, not just characters and cameras
  • “Move from”: entrances as a ghost with a footprint trail
Interior & Exterior

Ready for the shoot day.

From the real position of the sun to a dark set: Back-to-One thinks about the conditions you actually shoot in.

Real sun positionNOAA, from location, date and time
Presentation modeFull screen with a slim control bar
Dim, night & red lightMade for a dark set
Project and scene management
Collaboration

In sync. Shareable.
No servers of our own.

Back-to-One uses iCloud: your plan is always current on iPad and Mac. No forced login, no third-party infrastructure.

  • iCloud sync between iPad and Mac
  • Share in-app through the iCloud share sheet
  • Edit together with scene-level merge
  • Nestable project folders (series, episode)
  • Collapse and expand folders: with many seasons you only see what you are working on
  • Snapshots and backups, restore anytime
  • Scenes can be linked to shoot days
iPad and Mac

One plan, both devices.

The Mac at the desk, the iPad on set. The full feature set on both, the same project through iCloud. Light stage for working, dark for a blacked-out stage.

Back-to-One on a MacBook Pro: imported floor plan with cameras, lights and the prop library
Mac
Back-to-One on an iPad Pro: top-down blocking with the shot list alongside
iPad
For iPad and Mac Bilingual English / German In-app manual: 19 chapters with search
Deliverables

It ends with a finished hand-out.

What the crew needs goes out as a PDF: the plan, the shot list and the storyboards. No rebuilding in other tools, no app required on their end. Exports always render on a light stage, the scale bar is included even when it is hidden on screen, and the files stay small enough to email.

Export page 1: top-down plan of the scene with cameras and light
PlanTop-down with cameras & light
Export page 2: shot list grouped by camera setup, with focal length, duration and storyboard
Shot listBy setup, with duration & totals
Export page 3: storyboards for every shot
StoryboardsEvery shot at a glance
Scene PDF: plan + shots
Shot list as Excel & CSV
Lighting plot
Canvas as an image (JPG)
Project overview as PDF
All features

Everything Back-to-One can do.

The complete feature set at a glance.

01 Canvas

  • Interactive 2D top-down canvas (iPad & Mac)
  • Place, drag, rotate, scale
  • Zoom & pan, auto-fit, zoom slider without touching the canvas
  • Adaptive grid, light or dark stage
  • Grid scale and scale bar
  • Unit per project: metres or feet/inches
  • Ruler: two points, distance, snapping
  • Toggle layers, including footprints
  • Context menu via right-click or long-press
  • Multi-select, copy/paste across scenes
  • Duplicate, lock by group, lock size separately
  • Freely rotatable object labels
  • Undo/redo
  • Import a floor plan as background and align it
  • Scene templates, save your own

02 Characters & extras

  • Coloured figures with role & eyeline
  • 5 colours, male/female/non-binary glyphs
  • Look target: the eyeline follows a figure or an object
  • Position marks for blocking
  • Background actor groups
  • Project-wide character roster

03 Cameras

  • Field-of-view cone
  • 6 rig types (tripod, Steadicam, handheld, drone, action cam, crane)
  • Auto-aim at a character or an object
  • FoV from focal length & sensor format
  • Cone depth tied to focal length
  • Multi-cam setups
  • 180° line with line-crossing warning
  • Static pan with arc, degrees and end frame
  • Pan target: „from Anna to Ben“

04 Lighting

  • Type symbols (key/fill/back/HMI/Kino …)
  • Sun as a light object of its own
  • Beam cone & 360° mode
  • Colour temperature (Kelvin)
  • Watts, dimmer, gel, diffusion, height
  • Gel presets

05 Walls & set

  • Walls with 90° snap & chaining
  • Corner snap, clean rooms
  • Curved walls
  • Real wall thickness, architectural look
  • Connected walls: drag a corner, the room stays closed
  • Doors, windows, patio doors & window fronts
  • Openings cut real holes into the wall
  • Freely chosen wall colour
  • Locking & transparency

06 Props

  • Prop library with search
  • Tintable, scalable, stretchable, mirrorable
  • Your own labels
  • Free text field as a prop
  • Import your own PNGs
  • Your library synced via iCloud

07 Shot list & planning

  • Automatic, two-way shot list
  • Card and compact view
  • Setup numbers (1A/1B)
  • Shot sizes in the language you work in: Extreme Wide to Extreme Close-Up, plus Over the Shoulder, Point of View, Insert
  • Project aspect ratio (2.39:1 · 1.85:1 · 16:9 · 4:3 · 1:1 or custom)
  • A storyboard per shot, on iPad straight from the camera
  • Coverage status
  • Shooting time counted per setup, not per camera
  • Status filter, line-crossing hint
  • Slugline bar
  • Shoot day & shoot-day filter

08 Animation

  • Timeline with keyframes
  • „Move to“ target points
  • Facing per keyframe
  • Dollies & orbits (Bézier)
  • „Follow“: camera follows a character
  • Props & lights animate too
  • „Move from“: entrances with a ghost
  • Delete single waypoints
  • Clickable ghosts, playhead snapping

09 Sun position / available light

  • Real sun position (NOAA)
  • City list or coordinates
  • Compass & golden hour
  • Shadow direction as arrows
  • Set the north orientation of the set
  • Tied to the shoot day

10 Presentation & set modes

  • Presentation / full-screen mode
  • Click a camera to see its storyboard
  • Dim, night & red-light mode

11 Script

  • Import TXT / FDX / PDF
  • Screenplay-accurate layout
  • Single scenes from a full script
  • FDX & PDF create project, scenes & roles
  • Clean up the role roster before importing
  • OFF, V.O. & spellings unified
  • Coloured pages: revision in industry colours
  • Revision suggested from the header
  • Sluglines in German too (INNEN/AUSSEN)
  • Pick scenes individually, exclude OMITTED
  • Final Draft summary as the scene name

12 Export & deliverables

  • Scene PDF: plan + shots
  • Lighting plot PDF (with legend)
  • Shot list as Excel & CSV
  • Canvas as JPG
  • Project overview as PDF
  • Scale bar always included in exports
  • Always print-ready: exports render on a light stage
  • Lean files instead of 30 MB PDFs
  • Backup as JSON, loads as a new project

13 Projects & collaboration

  • Nestable project folders
  • Collapse and expand folders, state is remembered
  • Auto-save (.smproj)
  • iCloud sync iPad ↔ Mac
  • Share in-app (iCloud)
  • Scene-level merge
  • Snapshots & backups

14 Platform & handling

  • Runs on iPad and Mac
  • Bilingual English / German
  • In-app manual: 19 chapters with keyword search
  • Keyboard shortcuts & touch
  • Performance-optimised
  • Settings persist
Pricing

A price that stays fair.

Try it free for 7 days, with the full feature set. Then you choose how to continue.

Monthly
€8.99 / month
Flexible, cancel anytime.
  • Full feature set
  • All exports: PDF, Excel, CSV
  • iCloud sync iPad and Mac
  • All updates included
2 months free Yearly
€89.99 / year
About €7.50 a month.
  • Everything in Monthly
  • Two months free
  • Best price per month
  • Cancel anytime
Lifetime
€199.99 once
Pay once, use forever.
  • Full feature set
  • No subscription, no renewal
  • All future updates
  • iCloud sync iPad and Mac

7-day free trial · full access · no risk

Ready?

Your next blocking
starts with the script.

Back-to-One for iPad and Mac. Import your screenplay and see your scene take shape in minutes.

Download on the App Store

Questions or press enquiries: mail@back-to-one.de