What goes on a call sheet (with a template you can copy)

A call sheet is the one document every person on a shoot reads. The actor reads it for a pickup time, the gaffer for the generator location, the caterer for the head count. That is why it has to be accurate, early and easy to scan on a phone at 5 a.m.

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

The 2nd assistant director usually drafts it from the shooting schedule and the day's breakdown. The 1st AD checks it against the plan for the day, and the producer or line producer approves it. It goes out the evening before, once the current day has wrapped and the director and 1st AD have confirmed what tomorrow looks like. If tomorrow changes after it has gone out, send a revised version clearly marked as such, rather than a string of corrections in a chat thread.

What goes on a call sheet?

The header

• Production title, date and day number ("Day 6 of 18").
• General crew call, the time the crew starts, and the shooting call, when the first shot is expected to roll.
• Meal times, so catering and the AD team plan around them.
• Sunrise and sunset, essential for any exterior.
• Weather for the call time and the afternoon, plus the weather alternative if there is one.

Location and safety

The full address with a map link, where to park and where the unit base is, and the nearest hospital with its address, phone number and travel time. Add any specific hazards for the day: working at height, water, vehicles, weapons, animals, open flame. The safety line is not decoration; it is the briefing people read before the briefing.

Scenes in shooting order

A table with scene number, set and short description, day or night, page count in eighths, cast numbers and location. Total the pages at the bottom. This section should match the stripboard exactly; if it does not, one of them is wrong.

Cast times

Each actor gets their own row: cast number, character, artist name, pickup time, makeup and hair, wardrobe and on-set time. Do not give an actor the general crew call. An actor in only the last scene of the day should not sit in a tent from 7 a.m.

Background, departments and the advance schedule

Background artists with counts, look and report time. Then department notes: props and multiples, wardrobe changes and duplicates, makeup continuity, special equipment, effects, vehicles, transport. Finish with an advance schedule for the next day or two, so departments can prep ahead.

Is there a call sheet template I can copy?

Here is a plain-text template with every section above. Replace the bracketed fields and the sample rows with your own. The sample scenes are illustrative.

[PRODUCTION TITLE]                         CALL SHEET
Day [X] of [Y]                             [Weekday, date]

GENERAL CREW CALL    07:00        SHOOTING CALL    08:00
Breakfast            06:30        Lunch            13:00 (1 hr)
Sunrise / sunset     06:12 / 18:24
Weather              [Forecast for the call time and the afternoon]
Weather alternative  [Cover scenes, if the exterior is lost]

LOCATION             [Name, full address, map link]
Unit base / parking  [Where trucks and crew cars go]
Nearest hospital     [Name, address, phone, travel time]

KEY CONTACTS
Director  [name]   Producer  [name, phone]
1st AD    [name, phone]       Line producer  [name, phone]
Location manager  [name, phone]

SCENES
Sc.  Set / description          D/N  Pages  Cast       Location
12   INT. MEERA'S FLAT - KITCHEN  D   1 2/8  1, 3       Loc. A
14   INT. MEERA'S FLAT - HALL     D   3/8    1          Loc. A
27   EXT. TERRACE                 N   2 1/8  1, 2, 5    Loc. A
                                 Total pages: 3 6/8

CAST
#  Character   Artist     Pickup  Makeup/Hair  Wardrobe  On set
1  Meera       [name]     06:00   06:30        07:15     08:00
2  Arjun       [name]     12:30   13:30        14:15     15:00
3  Mrs Rao     [name]     06:30   07:00        07:30     08:00
5  Neighbour   [name]     13:00   14:00        14:30     15:00

BACKGROUND
Sc. 27: 6 neighbours on the terrace, evening wear. Report 14:00.

DEPARTMENT NOTES
Props:      Letter (hero + 3 multiples), steel tiffin
Wardrobe:   Meera, story day 3 look; duplicate kurta for sc. 27 (wet)
Makeup:     Arjun, cut above left eye from sc. 27 onward
Camera:     Second body for sc. 27
SFX:        Rain rig on the terrace, sc. 27. Water source confirmed.
Transport:  [Pickups and vehicle notes]
Safety:     Wet surfaces on the terrace; rig walk-through at 14:30

ADVANCE SCHEDULE: DAY [X+1], [date]
Sc. 31, 32, 33 at Loc. B. Crew call 07:00 (to be confirmed).

Prepared by [2nd AD]        Approved by [1st AD]  /  [Producer]

How should you send a call sheet?

Send from one source so there is one version. On many productions, especially in India, the crew lives in a WhatsApp group, so post the PDF there with a two-line summary (crew call, location, weather alternative) for people who will not open the attachment. Email it as well, because email is easier to search later and works for cast and agents who are not in the group.

• Confirm receipt. The 2nd AD or production coordinator checks that every head of department and every actor called has acknowledged it.
• Version it. Put the version and time on the sheet ("Revised, 21:40") when it changes.
• Put the day in calendars. A shoot day in the crew's own calendar is one more place the call time is visible.

The best call sheet answers questions before anyone has to call the AD to ask them.

What are common call sheet mistakes?

• Scenes that do not match the current schedule after a late change.
• One call time for everyone, so actors wait for hours.
• Missing the hospital, or giving the location name without a usable address.
• No weather alternative on an exterior day.
• Sending it so late that departments cannot prep.