Making a film production is a complex and often expensive process. Sets must be staged and ready, and equipment must be rented. Moreover, you will need a lot of people for your crew (including the cast) to be well-organized. Plus, you will deal with time constraints over the production of your project. So, yes, doing film production is a demanding job.

One way to ease your project organization is employing a call sheet template. It is a crucial production document with all the information you need for your film. But you can't do it just right away, as there are many important points to touch on, and a bad call sheet could damage your production.

This guide will teach you all the main elements of a call sheet and how to make your own call sheet template. We will also provide free call sheet templates that you can download and adjust to fit your needs.

As we stated above, a movie call sheet is one of the most important documents in film production. The assistant director is typically responsible for issuing the call sheet document that would be disseminated at the beginning of each shooting day. 

You can break down a call sheet into four different sections:

• 1st Section: It will contain crucial production information. It must be before any other section.
• 2nd Section: It will cover the location and time of the shooting. It should include extra relevant information like the hospitals that are near the set, as well as the weather forecast.
• 3rd Section: It covers the shoot details, and all the information provided here will be organized for the shooting schedule. It will give the crew an idea of how long the day will last and what would need execution in every scene.
• 4th Section: A crew grid that organizes all the people involved in the shoot, which you can divide into different departments.

Let’s dive into the subject matter. A production call sheet must contain everything you need to know when shooting. This will include call times, phone numbers, crew members, crew calls, and many more things, which we will see in detail right below. 

Contact Details

At the very top, you should include the contact details of the most important people on the shoot and the current production schedule.

It usually would be the First Assistant Director, Second Assistant Director, and Unit Production Manager.

Production Name and Crew Call

Always write down the production name. To make it pop, you can include the project's logo or any other iconography. If you are working on a TV show or series, be sure to include the episode title and number, too.

Next, put a general call time when most of your crew will be on set. However, most call sheets include unique call times, as certain departments might be needed early on for doing some tasks ahead of time, or someone from the cast isn't needed until later in the day.

Schedule, Days, and Weather

Include the date near the top with the “DOOD” (day out of days).

Write down the local weather forecasts, including the high and low temperatures within the vicinity for the day, sunrise and sunset times, and possible precipitation. It will help people to come ready for the day.

For feature film call sheets, you could include a mini schedule for the day with big events, such as the shooting call, meal breaks, and an estimated wrap time. 

Set Location

On the set location segment, write the address of where the crew will be rather than the actual shooting location. 

If your production is on multiple locations, you can label each one with a number like Location 1, Location 2, and so on.

Nearest Hospital

If an accident or a serious emergency happens, make sure that your call sheet has a hospital listing with a 24-hour emergency center.

Parking Information

Many people might be rolling up on vehicles to the film shoot. Things will go more smoothly on the day if everyone knows where they can park, whether it is a car park or any other alternative arrangement. 

For big studios, production leaders might devote more thought to handling the streams of trailers and trucks correctly. Suppose you are going to shoot in a built-up area. In that case, you might need to collaborate with the city to close some streets close to your location and enable you to get your gear in without any problem.

Shooting Schedule

We are getting into the final sections of the call sheet. After setting all the location details, you have to list the scenes you are going to shoot during the day, which will be dictated by the daily shooting schedule. 

It should include the scene numbers, a list of each cast member for each scene, the set, and a short description. It could also include extra information such as meal breaks, load-in times, company moves, and more details about each scene.

Cast List

Make a list of your cast members on the front page of each daily call sheet. You should write down other helpful information like their IDs, character names, workday status, and different call times. 

In regards to the last one, you might also include pick-up time, their arrival time, make-up time, and any other relevant information.

Crew List

Most people usually group their crew members list by department. It would include the name, title, and call time of each crew member. 

It is very important to get crew positions and departments in the right order, as some unions might require you to respect crew members' hierarchies.

You already know what elements compose a competent call sheet that will help you better organize your production team. Now, let’s look at some practices that will improve your call sheets.

Create a New Folder For Each Shooting Day

Create one folder for each shooting day and enter all the things you need for the day inside the folder. 

This will be very helpful if you have multiple projects or foresee a busy schedule.

Always Back Up Your Call Sheets

Back up all your call sheets. Computers are mostly reliable tools until something unexpected or a crash happens, and you find that things are missing or that weren't saved. Make a habit of regularly backing up your files to avoid such situations.

Only One Call Sheet For The Day

In the world of film production, things are constantly subjected to change. For this reason, you should send your call sheets only once each day and lock in everything instead of sending, for example, the whole week of call sheets in one go.

Send It in PDF Format

While you can make your call sheet in Excel or any other software, we recommend never sending it in their native format. You might run the risk of someone editing it and sending them out as a different version. Also, not everyone has the proper software to view it. Also, there may be mistakes or something missing during the conversion process (especially if they are viewing the call sheet on a smartphone).

What you should do after preparing the call sheet is to save it as a PDF file and then send it to the cast and crew members.

Do Proofreading Before Sending It

Sending the wrong call sheet might cause more trouble than not sending it at all. If you want to proceed without any problem, it is highly recommended to proofread your work first before sending it.

It is a daunting task, especially when you are dealing with a spreadsheet that contains a lot of names and information, but it is a necessary one. It will take you a few minutes and if you want to make sure that the call sheet is completely error-free.

Get Approval

Check it before with the crew chiefs. If they are happy with it, you can send it out. But if you think that some final changes are required, you need to get approval from them.

This free call sheet template covers all the mandatory points that we described in the article. It is a two pages document that comprises all the main elements that a call sheet needs to have.

You can download this template as a Word file from SetHeroApp.com.

Call Sheet Template

This is a more extensive call sheet example, and it is better suited for films as it has a place to cover the entire production team. Yet, it remains intuitive and easy to understand, as each position and section is clearly stated.

You can download it as an Excel spreadsheet from Soundstripe.com.

Easy Call Sheet Template

This Word document has a simple and easy-to-understand structure to make your own call sheet. Plus, it already comes with example information to better guide your way through. It's quite short, so you might add columns or rows to better fit your needs.

Get this free download from the TemplateArchive website.

One-Page Call Sheet Template

This free call sheet template comprises everything you need on only one page. It has all the main elements, such as the production title, all the relevant contact details, the scene section, the nearest hospital, and more.

You can get this template for free as a Word document from Boords.com.

Photoshoot Call Sheet Template

As the name suggests, this call sheet example is perfect if you plan a photoshoot. It could be to promote a film, series, or show, or it will fit if you are working as a photographer. You can write down the campaign, client name, photographer name, location and parking, date, and call times.

You can get it for free from the TemplateArchive website as a Word file.

Commercials Call Sheet Template

A well-structured, simple, one-page call sheet template that works ideally for filming commercials. You have each crew position covered with the producer, director, and production manager. You can also set which is the sponsor and the product to be promoted alongside the contact information.

You can download this Word document from TemplateArchive.com.