Migrate from Shotgun to Trello

Shotgun Projects map to Trello Workspaces if the studio has multiple unrelated Productions, or to a single Board if all Shots and Assets belong to one Production. We create the Workspace first, then create a Board per Shotgun Project, preserving the Project name, description, and start/end dates as Board metadata in the Board description field. Multiple Boards within one Workspace is the recommended structure for multi-Project studios migrating from Shotgun.

Shotgun Sequences map directly to Trello Lists. The editorial sequence name and cut order are preserved as the List name. Shotgun's sequence-level metadata (description, shotgun code) is appended to the List description. Lists are ordered within the Board to match the editorial cut sequence, which Trello supports via positional ordering.

Shotgun Shots map to Trello Cards. The Shot code (e.g., SQ010_SH010) becomes the Card name, with the Shot description and cut in/cut out values stored in the Card description. Shotgun's pipeline status maps to the Card's List position (the List representing the Sequence acts as the status column). Due dates migrate from the Shot's due date field if set. Assignees map from Shotgun Task assignees to Trello Card members.

Shotgun Assets (characters, props, environments) map to Trello Cards in a dedicated Board or List labeled Assets. The Asset name becomes the Card title. Asset status maps to the Card's List position. We flag any Asset with linked Versions or Notes as requiring a Trello Power-Up (Card Peek or Card Checklist) to approximate the Shotgun version chain.

Shotgun Tasks assigned to a Shot map to Trello Card Checklists. Each unique Task type (Lighting, Comp, Rigging, Layout) becomes a Checklist within the Card. Task status (wip, omit, rev, app) becomes the Checklist item state. Unassigned Tasks or Tasks with no parent Shot map to separate Cards in a dedicated Task Board. Task assignees are preserved as Checklist item assignees if the Trello workspace has Premium access.

Shotgun Versions are linked iterations in the review pipeline and have no native Trello equivalent. We create a linked Card for each Version chain using the Version code as the Card name and store the Version status (wip, pending, mav, omv) in the Card description. The most recent Version's thumbnail becomes the Card cover image. We flag Version chains as requiring manual reconstruction via Card linking or a Power-Up because Trello has no built-in revision history per card.

Shotgun Notes attached to Shots, Assets, or Versions migrate as Card Comments. The Note body migrates as plain text (Shotgun rich text annotations are simplified). Threaded replies are flattened into a sequential comment chain ordered by creation timestamp. Notes attached to entities that cannot be mapped directly (e.g., Versions) are attached to the parent Shot or Asset Card instead.

Shotgun custom fields require a two-tier migration strategy. Text and number custom fields map to Trello Custom Fields Power-Up if the destination workspace is on Premium or Enterprise, where they are accessible via API. Complex types (entity links, list_order, serializable) are injected as structured text into the Card description with a [SHOTGUN CUSTOM FIELD] header so they remain human-readable. We document every Shotgun custom field name, type, and value set during scoping so the customer can decide which to preserve and which to drop.

Shotgun Attachment URLs are downloaded and re-uploaded to Trello Cards as attachments. We flag any file exceeding Trello's size limit (10MB Free, 250MB Standard, 50MB Premium) in the migration report and advise on a Trello Power-Up like Google Drive or Dropbox linking as a workaround for large media files. We chunk attachment downloads in batches to manage memory and studio WAN throughput, and we skip thumbnail-only attachments if the Trello workspace is on the Free plan to avoid attachment count bloat.

Shotgun entity Thumbnails (Shots, Assets, Versions) migrate to Trello Card cover images where the workspace plan supports cover images. Thumbnails are resized to Trello's recommended cover dimensions during migration. If the destination workspace is on Free or Standard, Thumbnails are stored as Card attachments instead. Version Thumbnails are given priority as cover images over Shot or Asset Thumbnails in the migration queue.

Shotgun pipeline status values (e.g., wip, omt, rev, app, ppa) map to List positions within the Sequence Board. If the studio prefers a single List with status labels, we map pipeline status to Trello Labels with color coding. We document the full Shotgun pipeline workflow during scoping and deliver a written mapping table that the Trello admin uses to configure Lists or Labels, because Trello has no native pipeline automation.

Shotgun Users migrate as Trello Workspace members by email match. Shotgun role and permission sets do not map to Trello's workspace permission model and are documented in the written handoff inventory for the customer's admin to reassign. Deactivated Shotgun users are migrated as inactive Workspace members so that historical assignment data is preserved.

Shotgun Tags migrate to Trello Labels by name match. Shotgun tag colors (if configured via custom fields) map to Trello Label colors where supported. Free-form Shotgun tags that do not match any existing Trello Label are created as new Labels with a default color and flagged in the migration report.