Kitsu Documentation

Kitsu is a collaboration platform for animation and VFX productions. Through its clean UI and shared database, it connects all relevant stakeholders throughout the production process, including artists, production managers, supervisors, vendors, and clients.

Start Here

Here are some links to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts in Kitsu you'll need to be successful with your production:

1. Getting Started - Learn key principles and common vocabulary terms used within Kitsu to better plan your production workflow.

2. Quickstart for TV Shows - Create a TV show production with assets, shots, sequences, episodes and edits.

3. Quickstart for Feature Films - Create a feature film production (approximately 1 000 entities) with assets, shots, sequences and edit.

4. Quickstart for Shorts - Create a short production (approximately 500 assets and shots) with assets, shots, sequences and edit.

5. Quickstart for Video Games - Create a Video game production with Assets, Maps, Level and Chapters.

6. Quickstart for Shots-Only Productions - Create a short production (about 500 shots) with only shots, sequences and edit.

7. Quickstart for Assets-Only Productions - Create a short production (about 500 assets) with only assets.

Workflows

1. For Supervisors -
2. For Producers -
3. For Artists -
4. For Clients -
5. For Developers -

Guides

Team Management

1. Managing Departments - Discover methods for effectively managing and overseeing your team.
2. Managing Teams - Learn how to add, organize, and manage the people working on your productions.
3. User Permission Roles - Understand the different permission roles available and how to assign the right level of access to each team member.
4. Import Team - Quickly add multiple team members at once by importing them from a file instead of creating accounts one by one.
5. User Profile Settings - Customize personal account settings, including contact details, preferences, and notification options.

Production Structure

1. Manage Studio Labels - Create and organize the studio labels used to identify which studio is responsible for each task.
2. Manage Productions - Create, configure, and organize the productions (projects) tracked in Kitsu.
3. Manage Episodes - Add, edit, and organize episodes within a production.
4. Manage Sequences - Add, edit, and organize sequences within a production or episode.
5. Manage Shots - Add, edit, and organize the shots that make up a sequence.

Task Configuration

1. Manage Task Types - Define the pipeline stages (like Modeling, Rigging, or Compositing) that assets, shots, and other entities move through during production.
2. Manage Task Statuses - Configure the review and approval states (like To Do, Work in Progress, or Done) that track a task's progress through the workflow.

Production

1. Manage Concepts - Learn how to create, organize, and validate concept art for your production.
2. Manage Asset Types - Create and organize categories (like Characters, Props, or Environments) used to group and classify assets across a production.
3. Manage Assets - Learn how to create, organize, and track the assets used throughout your production.
4. Assign Tasks - Learn how to assign tasks to people
5. Find Assignments - Learn how to find tasks assigned to you
6. Breakdown & Casting - Learn how to break down your scripts or storyboards and cast assets into shots.
7. Meta-Columns - Learn how to create and organize metadata from your production.
8. 3D Background - Improve 3D reviews with a .HDR background

Scheduling

1. Schedules - Discover the different scheduling views of Kitsu, from the studio level to the task level
2. Estimates - Learn how to set and calculate the number of days estimated to do a task (bids)
3. Durations vs Estimates - Find the difference between estimated (bid) days and actual duration, and how to improve your bidding process

Review & Publishing

1. Update Task Progress - How to change statuses and keep your team updated on the progress of work.
2. Publish - How to publish and share work with your team.
3. Review - Learn how to review all feedback on a task.
4. Playlist - Quickly gather video versions and stay focused during internal and client reviews.
5. Manage Edits - Upload and track editorial cuts to keep shot timing and versions in sync with the latest edit.

Tracking & Reporting

1. Ensure Tasks are On-Time - Keep production on schedule by monitoring task progress and deadlines
2. Understand Why a Task Is Late - Identify the causes behind delayed tasks so you can address bottlenecks quickly
3. Quotas - Learn how to check your team efficiency against estimates
4. Studio Overview - Ensure you're ahead of the plan with your studio's productions
5. Production Overview - Get a bird's-eye view of a production's progress, tasks, and status at a glance
6. Timesheets - Track and log time spent on tasks to keep production hours accurate
7. Advanced Search & Filters - Hone in on key information with powerful search functionality
8. Budget - Monitor spending and compare actual costs against your production budget forecast
9. Thumbnails - How to apply thumbnails to entities like assets or shots

Privacy & Security

1. Authentication - Manage how users sign in to Kitsu, including password policies and Two-Factor Authentication (TOTP, Email OTP, or a FIDO security key).
2. Logs - Review login and activity logs to track who accessed your Kitsu instance and when.

Resources

1. Frequently Asked Questions -
2. Changelog -

Tutorials

Access comprehensive video tutorials on YouTube, highlighting crucial functionalities of Kitsu. Click the link below to view.

Kitsu Tutorials Channel

About the Authors

Kitsu is written by CG Wire, a company based in France. We help animation studios to manage their productions and build efficient pipelines.

We adhere to software craftsmanship principles whenever feasible. Our passion for coding is reflected in our commitment to delivering robust quality and providing an exceptional developer experience. With our extensive expertise, we help studios navigate the complexities of production, fostering more efficient collaboration, quicker delivery, resulting in better pictures.

Visit cg-wire.com for more information.