Call Sheet

What is a call sheet in film?

Every production runs on a stack of planning documents: the script breakdown tags what each scene needs, the shooting schedule sorts scenes into days, the budget puts a cost on all of it. The call sheet is where that planning becomes an instruction for a specific person on a specific morning.

A 30-day shoot produces at least 30 call sheets, usually more, because weather, a sick actor or a lost location forces revisions. The call sheet is also the working record of who was expected on set that day, so it sits next to the production report, which records what actually happened. Of all the paperwork created in pre-production, the call sheet is the one that everyone on set reads, every day.

What goes on a call sheet?

Formats vary between companies, but a working call sheet carries the same blocks:

• Header. Production title, day number ("Day 12 of 30"), date, director, producers, the 1st AD and 2nd AD with phone numbers, and the production office contact.
• General crew call. The time the shooting crew is due on set, often with a breakfast window before it and a "shooting call" when the first shot should roll. Departments that need a head start, like hair, makeup, costume and grip, get earlier individual calls.
• Weather and light. Forecast, temperature, chance of rain, sunrise and sunset.
• Scenes. A table in shooting order: scene numbers, set name (INT./EXT.), a one-line description, day or night, page count in eighths, cast numbers and location. This mirrors the one-line schedule for that day.
• Cast. Each actor by cast number and character, with pickup, hair and makeup, wardrobe and on-set times. Stand-ins and background actors get their own block with counts and call times.
• Locations and logistics. Set addresses, crew parking, basecamp, unit base, meal location, map or GPS pin, and anything unusual about access.
• Department notes. Special equipment, vehicles, animals, stunts, effects, props and wardrobe changes.
• Safety. The nearest hospital or emergency room with its address, the set medic, and safety notes for stunts, water, heights, firearms or night traffic.
• Advance schedule. A short look at the next one or two days so departments can prepare.

Who makes the call sheet and when does it go out?

On a professional set the 2nd AD drafts the call sheet. They work from the shooting schedule, the day out of days and the day's progress, then pass it to the 1st AD, who checks the scene order and timing against what the director and camera department need. The production manager or line producer usually signs off on it, because every call time commits crew hours and overtime.

It cannot be finished early: the final version goes out once the director and 1st AD agree on tomorrow's plan, often near wrap.

On union productions, turnaround rules (the minimum rest between wrap and the next call) limit how early each person can be called, which is why individual call times sometimes differ from the general call. Production assistants often confirm receipt with cast and key crew.

When plans change after it has gone out, the sheet is reissued with a revision label and the change clearly marked, and the ADs announce it over walkie, using the conventions in walkie-talkie lingo, and by message.

How to write a call sheet for a short or indie film

A usable call sheet template for a short film needs the date and day number, one general call time, the address with a map pin and parking instructions, the scenes in shooting order with page counts, each actor's call time, the weather and sunset, one producer phone number and the nearest hospital. That fits on one page, and it should.

A few habits come from larger sets and are worth keeping at any budget:

• Call the crew before the cast. Lights, camera and the set should be ready by the time actors finish makeup, so their calls are staggered, not identical.
• Write the order you will really shoot. If the sun sets at 19:40 and scene 8 needs it, put scene 8 first after lunch, and note it.
• Leave a cover set. An interior scene you can move to if it rains saves the day and should be named on the sheet.
• Number every revision. "Revised 2" at the top prevents half the crew from arriving at the old location.
• Include meals and a wrap estimate. Long days without a planned meal break are how small crews burn out.

For crews who plan visually, the call sheet can link to the board. In FlashBoards you can keep a section of the board for each shoot day, holding the storyboard frames, shot list notes and reference stills for the scenes on that day's sheet. The call sheet then says what and when, and the board shows what it should look like.

Call sheet vs. shooting schedule

The shooting schedule is the master plan for the whole shoot: it groups every scene into days by location, cast availability and day or night, and it is built weeks before the first day.

The call sheet is one day of that schedule, turned into orders for every person and updated to reality. It adds what the schedule does not carry: exact call times per person, weather, sunrise and sunset, addresses and parking, the nearest hospital, meals, special equipment and last-minute changes. If the schedule says scenes 14, 15 and 22 are shot on day 12, the call sheet for day 12 says who arrives at 05:45, where the trucks park and what to do if it rains.

The chain runs in one direction: breakdown, then schedule, then call sheet, then production report at the end of the day. For how the rest of the process fits together, see the film production hub and the roles described in film crew.

Further reading

Maureen Ryan, Producer to Producer (Michael Wiese Productions) · Eve Light Honthaner, The Complete Film Production Handbook (Focal Press)