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The call sheet template, explained field by field
A call sheet is the one page that tells every person on a production where to be, when to arrive, and what the day holds. Get it right and the day starts on time. Get it wrong and you spend the morning on the phone. Here is every field that belongs on one, what each is for, and the mistakes that cost productions their first hour.
What a call sheet is
It is the daily operating document of a shoot. One is issued for every shoot day, usually the evening before, and it goes to everyone working that day: crew, talent, clients and vendors. It is not a schedule and not a budget. It answers one question per person — what time do I arrive, and where.
What goes on it
Header
Production name, the client, the date, and which shoot day this is out of how many. “Day 2 of 4” tells someone instantly whether they have missed something.
Call times
The general crew call is when the crew arrives. The shooting call is when the camera actually rolls, which is later and is not the same thing. Add lunch and an estimated wrap so people can plan the rest of their day. A call time is an arrival time, never a start time.
Per-person call times
Not everyone arrives together. Hair and makeup come in before talent; talent comes in before the camera team needs them. Put each person's own time next to their name. This is the field most often left blank and the one that causes the most morning phone calls.
Locations
The full address, not a place name. Add parking instructions, because a crew member circling the block is a crew member who is late. If the day moves between locations, put the time next to each one.
Nearest hospital
Name, address and phone number of the closest emergency room to the location. This is not optional and it is not paperwork. Nobody reads it until the one day somebody has to, and on that day nobody should be searching for it on a phone.
Weather, sunrise and sunset
Sunrise and sunset are hard limits on a day shooting outside: they decide how much daylight the schedule actually has. The forecast decides what the crew brings.
The schedule
What happens, in order, with a rough time against each item. It does not need to be precise to the minute. It needs to let someone see where their part of the day sits.
Who to call
One or two names with phone numbers, set apart from everything else. When someone is lost at 6am they should not have to read the whole sheet to find out who to ring.
Four mistakes that cost you the first hour
- 1One call time for everybody. Hair and makeup do not arrive when the grips do.
- 2A place name instead of an address. “The warehouse in Glendale” is not a destination anyone can navigate to.
- 3No hospital line, because the day went fine last time.
- 4Sent as an attachment nobody opens on a phone. Most of the people reading this are standing up, outside, on a small screen.
Or skip the template
SnappSheet fills in most of this for you. Type the location and it adds the forecast, sunrise and sunset, a map link and the nearest hospital. Your crew are saved once and dropped onto any sheet with their own call times. It goes out as a live link each person confirms on, and as a PDF that prints the way it looks.
Three days free. No card to look around.
Questions
What is a call sheet?
A call sheet is the daily document for a film or photo shoot. It tells every cast and crew member what time to arrive, where, and what is happening that day. One is issued per shoot day, usually the evening before.
What is the difference between a crew call and a shooting call?
The crew call is when the crew arrives on location. The shooting call is when the camera starts rolling, once everything is set up. The shooting call is always later, and confusing the two is the most common call-sheet error.
Who makes the call sheet?
Usually the production coordinator or first assistant director on a film set, and the producer on a photo shoot. Whoever makes it also sends it and chases the confirmations.
When should a call sheet go out?
The evening before the shoot day, and no later. People need to plan their travel, and anyone travelling far needs longer than that. Send it as something that opens on a phone, because most of the people reading it will be outdoors.