Every studio has unique roles and specializations that go beyond standard job titles. Whether you need to track Digitechs, Stylist Assistants, or other specialized positions, Custom Skills give you the flexibility to define exactly how your team is organized.
Note: This feature is currently available for studios with the ‘Planning’ module add-on enabled.
Getting Started with Custom Skills
To get started with Custom Skills, let's take a look at the first step, creating a new user skill. The menu for creating and managing Custom Skills can be found under 'Production Setup' in your Studio Settings.
Access Team on Set Skills Settings
Click the user icon in the top right corner
Select Studio Settings
Navigate to Production Setup in the left sidebar
Click Team on Set Skills
You'll see a list of all current Team on Set Skills, including both standard (reserved) skills and any Custom Skills you've created.
Create a New Custom Skill
From the Team on Set Skills screen, click Add
Enter a Skill Name (e.g., "Digitech", "Stylist Assistant", "Photo Assistant")
Select a Skill Group:
Photography
Talent
Choose the Double Booking setting:
Allowed - No alerts when assigned to multiple overlapping Sessions
Not Allowed - Alerts will appear for overlapping assignments
Click Save
Your new Custom Skill is now available throughout the Planning module!
Configuring Double Booking for Existing Skills
Sometimes team members can handle multiple sessions simultaneously, while other roles require full attention on a single shoot. The Double Booking configuration gives you control over how the system handles overlapping assignments.
By setting these preferences, you can prevent scheduling conflicts for critical roles while maintaining flexibility for team members who can multitask effectively.
Changes to Double Booking availability take effect immediately for current and future sessions.
To update Double Booking settings for any existing skill:
From the Team on Set Skills screen, locate the skill you want to configure
Click the Actions menu (three dots) for that skill
Select ‘Allow Double Booking’ or ‘Disallow Double Booking’
Tip: If you prefer not to see any Double Booking alerts, enable ‘Allow Double Booking’ for all skills.
Assigning Custom Skills to Team Members
Once you have created your Custom Skills and set your Double Booking preferences, you will be ready to assign those skills to relevant users in your studio.
Custom Skills can be assigned to both Resource Users and Regular Users.
Navigate to Users or Resource Users from the main menu
Select the team member(s) you want to update
Click Edit User
In the Skills section, you'll see your Custom Skills listed under their respective skill group headers (Photography or Talent)
Select the appropriate skills for this team member
Click Save
Using Custom Skills in Planning
Now that your Custom Skills are set up and assigned, you can put them to work in your day-to-day planning. This section shows you how to leverage these skills when building out your Session teams, ensuring every shoot has exactly the expertise it needs.
In Planned Sessions:
Open a planned Session from the Calendar
In the Team on Set section at the bottom left, add team members
Select the Custom Skill from the available options
Click OK to confirm
Where Custom Skills Appear
We've integrated Custom Skills across key areas of the platform where team management matters most, from planning and scheduling to reporting and API access.
We plan to continuously update where and how Custom Skills can be utilized, but currently, Custom Skills are available in the following areas:
Planning & Resources:
Planning Calendar (filters and team member assignment)
Session creation and editing
Resource assignment interfaces
In Talent and Crew:
Talent and Crew screen (filters, slide-in panel, table grid)
Short Lists (filters for Add Talent & Crew)
Custom Skills display in the team member slide-in panel
Custom Skills show in the table grid
User Management:
Team on Set Skills settings screen
Edit User - Skills section
Kelvin:
Team on Set assignment
Reporting & API:
Snapshot reporting in Looker
Existing Planning APIs (Get/Create/Update Session, Team Member assignment)
New Gateway API for retrieving user skills
Custom Skills are not yet available in the following areas:
Merge Fields - Cannot be used in metadata or file naming templates
Production Table Grid - Not available in Production view filters
Task Kanban Filters - Not available in task filtering
Metadata - Cannot be added as image metadata
Note: While Custom Skills aren't yet available in all areas of the system directly, you can still access this information through custom reporting and API integrations.
Important Notes
Custom Skills do not affect permissions or Workflow task assignments.
Double Booking settings apply only to features in the Planning module.
When deleting Custom Skills that are no longer needed:
Historical skill assignment data is preserved for Insight reporting purposes
If a Custom Skill is deleted, users previously assigned with that skill in Sessions will show as "N/A Skill," but the user assignment itself remains