From notebook and Google Calendar to a single platform for a fast-moving production crew
Method Event Productions is a Los Angeles-based staffing and production company, providing crews for major studios and productions across LA, Orange County, and Santa Barbara. Founded in 2017 as a team of two, the company has since grown to a network of over 100 subcontractors, fluctuating between 70 and 300 depending on the season and the productions on the books.
We spoke to Method Events Productions Founder Chad Stalbaum to understand how the company manages its workforce and how Parim fits into that process.
Can you tell us a bit about Method Event Productions background story?
Method Event Productions has grown a lot over the past eight years. We started as a duo of two back in August 2017, and we're now a full-on production company staffing major studios across Los Angeles, down into Orange County and up to Santa Barbara.
Because we're based in LA, things change all the time — people come and go, so our turnover rate is high. We've made it through a strike and through COVID, and we're still here, still growing. We're always adding new features and new experiences for our clients, and growth is always our main focus.
How does Method Events manage its workforce, both long-term and day-to-day?
Our whole team is made up of subcontractors, since the industry changes constantly — everyone in LA is an actor, a model, or has another job on the side. People come and go as they please, so we don't lock anyone into fixed days. Everyone puts in their availability, and we plan around that, which is part of why our roster is bigger than most companies our size.
Day-to-day, we're constantly getting requests — one of our largest contracts is with a major studio, and at this point we have it down to a science. It only takes a couple of minutes to put an event into Parim. Staff can go in and mark the days they can't work, which makes staffing easy — I can put together a 40-person event in about 10 minutes. That's huge for me, since it's essentially just me and one assistant running the whole operation.
What solutions and processes were you using before Parim?
We were actually quite lucky — we started with Parim just two months after we opened. We knew right away we weren't going to be able to manage this on our own. Before that, we were using a notebook and Google Calendar, which obviously didn't work very well.
What were the main operational challenges you needed to overcome?
Before Parim, staying on top of a large, constantly changing subcontractor base with a notebook and a calendar just wasn't sustainable. We needed a system that could keep up with a team that's always in flux — people joining, leaving, and coming back — while still giving us tight control over scheduling, attendance, and documentation for a fast-moving events business.
How did Parim stand out from the competition? Why was it chosen?
We've grown alongside Parim, really. David has become more than just a point of contact — he's a colleague I can go to for advice, and Parim has expanded things for us over the years as we've grown. Compared to other providers who've tried to win us over with quotes, the value we get from Parim is double, sometimes triple, what we'd get elsewhere — and some of them offer less than Parim does for more money.
How did Parim fit into your operations? Were there any changes in your processes? How was the adoption?
Very quickly — we activated it fast and got our team uploaded. We've probably run 800–900 people in and out of the system over the years. Loading people in is easy, and terminating someone doesn't delete their record, which is amazing. If someone leaves for a six-month shoot, I can deactivate them and reactivate them later in about 30 seconds — no re-entering their information, just a click and an email, and they're good to go.
What are Parim's standout features for you?
- Event Module: We create an event, attach it to a location — for studio work, that might be a specific stage or lot — and build out the shifts in full detail, sometimes up to 18 different shifts a day. We also assign job types like servers, bartenders, coat check, and stewards across multiple simultaneous events, so there's never any confusion about where people need to be.
- Long-term scheduling & availability: We book far out — if I have events in October, I'm staffing for October now. Staff put in their availability and blockout days upfront, so they know what's coming and can plan their lives around it, which means fewer last-minute call-outs.
- Time tracking & geofencing: This has been invaluable, especially for accountability. People can't clock in unless they're within the radius we set, which protects us when a client claims someone wasn't on site — we can show they were clocked in and exactly where. It's saved us money more than once.
- Absence management: If someone's booked elsewhere or needs time off, they log it as a blockout, and Parim simply won't let us book them by mistake. It removes the risk of double-booking entirely.
- Timesheets & reporting: We run payroll every two weeks, and being able to pull a report at the end of each period — including tracking who's in overtime, which matters for our union clients — saves us a huge amount of time before it goes into our payroll system. We manage custom hourly rates outside Parim, since some of our staff have six or seven different pay rates depending on the role they're working.
- Staff database & documents: We keep licenses like food handler's cards and RBS certifications on file, along with emergency contacts and birthdays. Profile pictures are a small thing that makes a big difference — when I'm running an event with dozens of people, I can match a face to a name instantly.
We tried open shifts and self-scheduling early on, but it didn't suit how our team works — we found people would pick up shifts and forget about them. We now assign everyone directly based on the availability they've submitted instead.
What's it like managing your staff database day-to-day?
We currently have around 70–80 active people, though that number moves with the seasons — we've had as many as 120 active at once. When things slow down, we move people to inactive rather than losing their information, and reactivating them takes seconds. That's a big deal for us, since people come and go constantly and we never want to lose their history with us.
How would you describe the overall value Parim brings to Method Events Productions?
I'm big on hospitality — it's actually why I started my own company — and Parim has always been on the ball and there when we've needed them. That matters a lot to me in any partner I work with. David has stuck with us for eight years, through small events and $50,000 productions alike, and I can reach him any time. That kind of relationship, combined with everything the platform does, is why we've never had a reason to leave.
In summary
For Method Events, Parim replaced a notebook and a Google Calendar with a single platform that scales with a fast-changing, subcontractor-based workforce — handling everything from detailed multi-event scheduling and geofenced time tracking to absence management, payroll reporting, and staff records. Booking shifts is only part of it: Parim has become woven into how Method Events runs its day-to-day operation.
"I genuinely appreciate the relationship we've built. Parim has helped us grow, and honestly, if I wasn't happy, I could have left a long time ago."
