So What is a Call Sheet?
In essence, it gives all the information required for a shoot. A bad call shoot can ruin a job.
These are just some of the things that will nearly always be included in your call shoot: Shoot address, arrival times, flight times, hotel details, taxi times and numbers, kit lists, crew lists with roles and contact details, any clothing guidelines, a full breakdown of the day, lunchtime details, nearest emergency services, the weather, parking and useful language tips.
And anything and everything that will help to make a job run smoothly.
A call sheet can be one page long or the size of the book depending on the complexity of the job Share on XWho creates it
The Production Manager writes it, circulates it and updates it. A great Production Manager saves you money by doing mega amounts of pre planning and part of this is creating a ninja call sheet.
Who is it for
Client and crew
Without a call sheet
If it is a simple shoot, perhaps one of a series with the same client then the crew and client can forgo this document. But we don’t advise it. Even a one day bicycle training shoot for Bikeability and Promote PR, we didn’t go without!
A word to the wise
Work hard to ensure there aren’t any mistakes. This can have serious consequences on a shoot. A missed digit in a mobile phone number can cause havoc.
When to circulate
At the latest a couple of days before the shoot, sometimes weeks in advance if it’s a big complicated job and then sometimes revised ones get sent out. It is digital document up until the day of the shoot when hard copies are circulated.
Here is some more information about the role of a Production Manager, and if you would like to talk to us about your planned filming projects, please get in touch.
