What is a call sheet?

A call sheet is the daily document sent to cast and crew before each shoot day. It lists call times, the location, the scenes being shot, the schedule, weather, safety notes, and key contacts — everything a person needs to show up prepared.

What must a call sheet include?

The essentials are: date and day number, general and individual call times, location and parking, nearest hospital, weather and sunrise/sunset, the scenes and pages scheduled, cast and their status, crew call times by department, and emergency contacts.

Who makes the call sheet?

The assistant director team prepares the call sheet, usually the 2nd AD, based on the shooting schedule. It's approved by the 1st AD and production before being distributed the night before each shoot day.

Call Sheet Essentials: What Every Indie Filmmaker Needs to Include

What a call sheet is and everything it must include. The complete checklist for a professional daily call sheet that keeps your cast and crew on the same page.

The call sheet is the single most important piece of paper on a production. Every night, it tells tomorrow's cast and crew exactly where to be, when, and what's happening. Get it right and the day starts smoothly; leave something off and people show up late, unfed, or unprepared. Here's everything a professional call sheet needs.

What a call sheet is

A call sheet is the daily brief distributed the night before each shoot day. It's generated from the shooting schedule and prepared by the AD team. Think of it as the day's operating instructions for the whole unit.

The essentials checklist

Header

Production title, date, and day number ("Day 6 of 18").
General call time — when the crew is due.
Shooting call — when the camera is expected to roll.
Estimated wrap.

Location & logistics

Location address(es) and parking/basecamp info.
Nearest hospital — address and distance. Non-negotiable for safety.
Weather, sunrise/sunset — critical for exterior and daylight planning.

The day's work

Scenes and pages scheduled, in shooting order, with brief descriptions.
Total page count for the day.
Set/location per scene, interior/exterior, day/night.

Cast

Each cast member, their character, status (rehearse/shoot), and individual call times.
Makeup/wardrobe times ahead of their on-set call.

Crew

Department call times — camera, sound, grip, electric, art, etc.
Key contacts — 1st AD, UPM, and production office numbers.

Safety & notes

Emergency contacts and safety notes for stunts, weapons, or special conditions.
Meals — when and where.

Why accuracy matters

A call sheet is a chain of dependencies. Makeup call depends on shooting call; shooting call depends on the schedule; the schedule depends on the breakdown. One wrong time cascades into a late, expensive morning. The call sheet is only as accurate as the schedule behind it.

Build it from the schedule, not from scratch

The reason call sheets are error-prone is that people rebuild them by hand each night, retyping scenes and cast from the schedule. When the call sheet is generated from the same project as the breakdown and schedule, the scenes, pages, cast, and elements flow straight through — no retyping, no drift.

That connected workflow — script → breakdown → schedule → call sheet — is what Scriptease is built around, so tomorrow's call sheet reflects today's script.