The Complete Guide to Call Sheets

A call sheet is the set of instructions for one shooting day. It identifies the production, date and shoot day; tells cast and crew when and where to report; lists the scenes planned; and provides the contacts and practical information needed to get the day started. It is prepared from a reviewed shooting schedule, then checked against what the production can actually do tomorrow.

You can follow this guide with the free call sheet template. It is editable in the browser without an account. Use the print dialog to print or save a PDF.

What belongs on a call sheet?

The layout can vary. The test is whether the intended reader can find the instruction they need without phoning the production office to interpret it.

• Production identity: project title, production contact, shoot date and day number.
• Version: a revision identifier or issue time that distinguishes this document from an earlier copy.
• General crew call: the time most crew members are expected to report, with exceptions made explicit.
• Locations: reporting address, unit base, parking, access directions and any planned moves.
• Scenes: scene numbers, short descriptions, interior/exterior, day/night, cast requirements and page lengths where used.
• Cast calls: individual report, preparation and ready times, according to the production's agreed format.
• Crew instructions: department calls, pre-calls, key contacts and any exceptions to general call.
• Weather and daylight: the forecast and relevant daylight information for the actual location and date.
• Safety and emergency information: the production's verified emergency arrangements, site-specific notes and responsible contacts.
• Advance information: a brief view of the following day's plan where available.

Do not fill a field solely because the template has a box for it. A stale address is worse than a box that clearly says the location is still being confirmed. Resolve critical unknowns before issuing instructions people will travel on.

A call sheet and a shooting schedule do different jobs

The shooting schedule describes the production's planned scene order across days. It is where the team groups locations, works around availability and balances the workload.

The call sheet turns one of those days into instructions. Knowing that scene 18 is scheduled tomorrow does not tell an actor when to arrive for preparation, where to park, or which contact to call if access is blocked.

Start from the scheduled day, but review its details with the people responsible for carrying it out. A location move, a changed cast requirement or an earlier department call can make a copied call sheet misleading even when the scene list is correct.

General crew call is not everyone's call

Crew call is the reporting time for the crew it applies to. An individual may have a different call for an agreed reason. Talent call is a performer's reporting time. A ready time tells preparation departments when that performer is needed ready for the next step. The intended first shot is another milestone again.

Use labels your production understands. If a call sheet gives a performer two times without explaining them, the document has created a question instead of answering one.

Work backward from a realistic plan and confirm the durations with the relevant departments. Do not copy yesterday's preparation assumptions onto a different scene, performer or location.

A worked example: preparing the first setup

This is a fictional planning example, not a standard timing rule.

The first scene is a cafe conversation between Maya and Ethan. The planned first shot is 09:00. The team wants both performers ready for a final rehearsal at 08:30. Hair, makeup and costume confirm that Maya needs 45 minutes and Ethan needs 30 minutes of preparation. The location team allows 15 minutes between reporting at unit base and starting preparation.

Working backward gives Maya a 07:30 report, a 07:45 preparation start and an 08:30 ready time. Ethan reports at 07:45, starts preparation at 08:00 and is ready at 08:30. These are different calls for the same scene.

The important part is not the arithmetic alone. Someone must confirm that the preparation space is open, the required departments are available, and the travel allowance reflects the route. If the production changes any of those assumptions, revisit the calls.

Review the day's practical instructions

Read the document in the order a crew member will use it.

First: can they identify the right date and version? Next: do they know their call and where to report? Then: can they find parking, get through the correct entrance and reach the right contact? Finally: can they understand their work and the relevant notes?

Use the reporting address, not merely the location's name. A building may have a public entrance, a delivery entrance and a separate unit base. Spell out which one the reader needs. Check that map links point to the intended place.

Review the cast list against the scenes. Check names, identifiers and department notes. A late script change can add a performer or element without changing the location or scene number.

Verify the safety block with the production's responsible people. Copying a previous day's emergency information is not verification. Different locations can require different arrangements.

Who checks and approves it?

Assign preparation and approval responsibilities clearly. The AD and production teams should agree who checks the schedule, who confirms individual calls, who validates location instructions and who authorizes distribution.

Avoid a review process where several people believe someone else is checking a critical field. A short, explicit handover is useful: scene list reviewed, calls confirmed, addresses checked, special instructions resolved, version identified.

Keep unresolved decisions visible while drafting. The issued document should make clear what the recipient is expected to do.

Sending the call sheet

Use the agreed distribution list and check it before sending. Include the people who need the instructions, and handle contact information according to your production's sharing arrangements. A crew call sheet is not a public promotional document.

Give the message a useful subject: production title, shoot date, day number and revision when applicable. Attach or link the reviewed document using the method the crew expects. Open the PDF yourself to check that the content is legible and the pages have not clipped important instructions.

Delivery tracking can help identify a bounced email. Open tracking can be incomplete and does not establish that somebody has understood a change. For a material change to an individual's call or reporting location, use the production's agreed confirmation process.

What to do when the plan changes after sending

Correct the source, review the affected instructions and issue a clearly identified revision. Say what changed and which version it replaces. If only a small group is affected, still ensure the production's working copy and the relevant recipients agree.

Do not assume that updating an online document changes an attached PDF already sitting in someone's inbox. The old attachment remains an old attachment.

A revised scene order can affect preparation, transport, location access and the advance schedule. Check the consequences before treating a change as cosmetic.

A final check before issuing

1. Confirm production, shoot date, day number and revision.
2. Check the scene list against the current shooting schedule.
3. Confirm general call and every exception or individual call.
4. Verify reporting, parking, access and contact information.
5. Review weather, daylight and the production's emergency arrangements.
6. Resolve open questions with the people responsible.
7. Open the final PDF and check every page.
8. Check recipients, distribute the approved version and follow up where necessary.

A good call sheet makes the first decisions of the day easy for its reader. Clear instructions, verified details and a consistent revision process matter more than how much information fits on the page.

Step eight is the one that gets skipped. If chasing confirmations has become somebody's evening job, what delivery tracking can and cannot tell you is worth reading before you buy software to do it.