Step 1 of 11
Welcome to FilmCage.App
Your complete equipment checkout system for film and media programs. Manage inventory, handle student checkout requests, track signatures, and keep everything synced across devices.
Checkouts
Request & approve
Signatures
Digital sign-off
Appointments
Scheduled slots
Firebase Sync
Real-time data
Real-Time Sync
All data syncs across devices via Firebase in real time.
Student Mode
Students access the system on their own devices to request gear and sign.
Digital Signatures
Students sign on their phone when checking out and returning equipment.
Export & Backup
Export your full inventory and checkout data as Excel, CSV, or JSON.
Step 2 of 11
User Roles & Access
FilmCage supports four roles. Admins set up the system; Staff run the equipment room; Faculty and Affiliates can self-checkout gear for the courses they're authorized to teach or work with.
🌟 Admin
Full access. Manage inventory, users, settings, and all checkouts. The first registered user is admin.
👨🔨 Staff (Equipment Room)
Approves student requests, processes checkouts and returns, scans equipment in/out. Can be granted granular permissions.
🎓 Faculty
Teachers and professors. Can self-checkout for their courses. Admin can limit them to specific courses, all courses, or view-only.
🧑🎤 Affiliate
Other authorized borrowers — dept staff, guest artists, visiting filmmakers. Same course-access controls as Faculty.
⚡ Faculty and Affiliate users only see Dashboard and Checkouts tabs. Their New Checkout modal auto-fills their info and pre-enables non-student mode for fast self-checkout.
Step 3 of 11
Managing Your Inventory
The Inventory tab is your equipment database. Add items, organize by department and category, track availability, and manage assets vs. stock vs. expendables.
+ Add Item
Settings
Search...
NameDeptCategoryStatusQty
Canon C300 Mk III Camera available
Sennheiser MKH 416 Sound available
Three Item Types
Assets are unique, serialized items. Stock items have quantities. Expendables are consumables.
Departments
Camera, Sound, Lighting, Grip, Power, Media, Other — color-coded throughout.
Categories & Groups
Organize gear into categories and groups within each department.
Batch Edit
Select multiple items to edit department, category, or status all at once.
Step 4 of 11
Finder-Style Browser
The Browser tab gives you a column-based view of your entire inventory — just like Finder on Mac. Navigate through Departments, Categories, Groups, and individual items.
Column Navigation
Click through columns: Department → Category → Group → Items → Details. Each selection narrows the next column.
Add Anywhere
Use the "+" button in each column header to create new categories, groups, or items directly in the browser.
Drag & Drop
Reorganize your inventory by dragging items, groups, or categories and dropping them into different departments, categories, or groups — just like moving files in Finder.
Edit In-Place
Select any item to see full details, edit, duplicate, retire, or delete it — all from the detail pane on the right.
Step 5 of 11
Barcode Scanner
Quickly look up equipment and checkout records by scanning barcodes. Works with both USB/Bluetooth barcode scanners and your device's camera.
Camera Scanning
Click "Scan" in the Checkouts or Inventory toolbar, then "Start Camera" to use your device's camera to read barcodes and QR codes.
USB/Bluetooth Scanners
Physical barcode scanners work automatically — just scan while the scanner modal is open. The barcode input is captured and looked up instantly.
Smart Matching
Scanned codes are matched against item IDs and names. Results show both inventory items and active checkout records.
Quick Actions
From scan results, click any item to jump directly to its detail view, or click a checkout to open its record for processing.
Step 6 of 11
New Checkout (Two-Column Flow)
Either a student submits a request from their own device, or staff create a checkout in person. The New Checkout modal has two columns: borrower info and appointments on the left, equipment selection on the right.
Left Column
Pick course (or toggle Non-student checkout for walk-ins/faculty), enter borrower info, add group members, pick check-out and return appointment times on the unified calendar.
Right Column
Top half lists available equipment with a search bar that searches all inventory. Bottom half shows your selected gear with quantity controls.
Equipment Search
Type to search across all inventory, not just course-tagged gear. Items not tagged to the course are labeled as such but still available to add.
Group Checkouts
Add multiple students sharing the same equipment. All group members will need to sign before checkout completes.
💡 Students access the system at filmcage.app/?mode=student. They log in with their Student ID and last name from the course roster.
Step 7 of 11
Approve, Sign & Edit
Pending requests appear in the Checkouts tab. Approve, deny, or open the detail modal to edit anything — student info, dates, equipment, group members, even swap allocated assets after approval.
1
Pending
Student submits — staff reviews and can edit before approving
2
Approved
Equipment reserved — specific assets auto-allocated
3
Awaiting Signature
Student signs on their phone (group members all sign too)
4
Checked Out
Staff completes — gear handed to borrower
Edit Anything
Open the checkout detail modal to change student info, equipment quantities, add/remove items, edit check-out and check-in dates, or update group members.
Swap Allocated Assets
Auto-allocation picks specific units (e.g. UX-90 #2). Use the Swap dropdown next to each allocated asset to switch to a different unit of the same model.
⚡ Signatures ensure accountability. The signed image is stored with the checkout record and appears on printed slips and shared PDFs.
Step 8 of 11
The Return Process
When equipment comes back, staff click "Return" on a checked-out item. The student must sign again on their phone to confirm the return, then staff completes it.
1
Staff clicks "Return"
Status changes to "Awaiting Return Signature"
2
Student signs on their phone
Confirms equipment returned in good condition
3
Staff completes return
Equipment marked available again
Both Signatures Stored
Checkout and return signatures are both saved with the record for accountability.
Equipment Auto-Releases
When a return is completed, the items automatically go back to "available" status.
Step 9 of 11
Tags & Course Setup
Tags let you label and organize equipment. Course tags are special — they define which gear is available for each class and let you set checkout limits per equipment group.
How Course Tags Work
1Create a Course Tag
Go to Inventory › Tags and create a tag in the Course category (e.g., "FILM 201")
2Tag Your Equipment
In the Browser or Table view, tag the gear groups you want available for that course
3Set Limits
Click the course tag — you'll see all tagged equipment in a table. Set a checkout limit per group.
4Upload Roster
Add your student roster to the course tag. Students will see only their enrolled courses.
Two-Column Detail View
Click a course tag to see equipment grouped by department on the left and the student roster on the right (with inline group/position editing).
Main vs Supplemental Tiers
Toggle each equipment group as Main (essential, teal) or Supp (optional). Students see two sections: Main Equipment and Supplemental.
Limits Per Group
Set how many of each group a student can check out. Limit "Camera Bodies" to 1 but allow 4 "Batteries".
💡 The equipment groups come from your existing inventory — just tag them with the course tag and set limits. No need to manually create groups.
Step 10 of 11
Settings & Configuration
Click "Settings" on the Inventory toolbar to access all configuration options. Manage departments, categories, groups, checkout groups, appointment slots, and users.
Settings Sections
Departments & Categories
Organize your gear taxonomy
Appointments
Time slots, lead time, max per slot
Email Notifications
Resend-powered alerts & reminders
Name Normalization
Merge similar gear name variants
Staff Schedules
Per-user weekly availability & shift emails
Import/Export
JSON backups & bulk imports
Email Notifications
Auto-send confirmations, approval emails, return reminders, and overdue alerts. Configured via Resend on the server — no API keys to manage.
Staff Scheduling
Set each staff member's weekly availability with multiple time blocks per day. The system auto-assigns checkouts to whoever's on shift and emails them at shift start.
💡 Set up Appointments first so students can pick checkout and return times. Then enable Email Notifications for automated reminders.
Step 11 of 11
You're Ready to Go!
Start by adding your inventory, importing student rosters, and configuring appointment times. You can reopen this guide anytime with the "? Guide" button in the header.
Quick Start Checklist
☐Add your equipment to the Inventory tab
☐Import student rosters in the Students tab
☐Configure appointment slots in Settings
☐Share the student URL with your class
☐Export a JSON backup regularly
☐Share the staff registration code with your team
✦ To reopen this tutorial anytime, click the ? Guide button in the top-right header bar.