Call sheet template: what goes on it, with a filled example

A call sheet is the one page that tells everyone working on a shoot day where to be, when, and what will be shot. The assistant director sends it the evening before; cast and crew read it that night and again in the morning. The template below follows the order people read it in: first their own call time, then the place, then the work.

Call sheet template (PDF)One page, US Letter. print it or fill it in a PDF editor

Call sheet template (CSV)Opens in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers. free, no sign-up

What is a call sheet?

A call sheet is the daily schedule of a film or video shoot, sent to the whole cast and crew. It lists the general crew call, the time the first shot is planned, the location with parking and the nearest hospital, the scenes to be shot in order, and each actor's pickup, hair and makeup and on-set times. On a small shoot it is one page; on a large one it runs to several, but the first page always carries the essentials.

The sections of a call sheet template

• Production and day: the title, the date and the shoot day ("Day 3 of 12"), with the director and producer.
• Calls: the general crew call, the shooting call (when the first shot rolls), lunch and the estimated wrap. Departments that start earlier, such as hair and makeup, get their own times.
• Location and safety: the set address, where to park, the nearest hospital with its address and phone number, the weather, and sunrise and sunset for exteriors.
• Schedule: the scenes in shooting order, each with its set, a short description, DAY or NIGHT, page count in eighths, the cast numbers in it and the location.
• Cast: each actor by cast number and character, with pickup, hair and makeup, and on-set times.
• Extras and stand-ins: how many, what they play, their call time and what to wear.
• Crew: role, name, phone and call time for each department head.
• Notes: special requirements for the day (a rain rig, an animal, a closed set) and, on longer shoots, an advance schedule for the next day.

How to make a call sheet

1. Start from the script breakdown: it lists, scene by scene, the cast, props, wardrobe and effects each scene needs. See how to break down a script.
2. Take the day's scenes from the shooting schedule, in the order they will be shot, with their page counts in eighths.
3. Work the cast times backwards from the shooting call: an actor who is on set at 08:00 and needs 45 minutes in hair and makeup starts there by 07:15, and is picked up before that.
4. Fill in the location and safety details last, checking the address, parking and hospital against the location agreement, and the weather that evening.
5. Send it the evening before, and send a revised call sheet if anything changes — never a correction in a group chat that half the crew miss.

A filled call sheet example

A night shoot for the opening scene of Last Call, one of the Screenplay Museum's short scripts:

The notes for this day would list the rain effect on the windows, the cash props (which must read as real on camera without being real) and a closed set while the diner is lit for night.

Common call sheet mistakes

• A shooting call that leaves no time to light and rehearse after the crew call.
• Cast times that ignore hair and makeup, so the first shot waits for an actor in the chair.
• Scenes listed in script order instead of shooting order.
• No hospital, no parking, or an address that leads to the wrong entrance of a large building.

From script to call sheet in Scenaloom

Scenaloom doesn't make call sheets, but it holds what goes into one. The Scenes view lists every scene of your script with its heading and length; under Story bible, each character, location and prop shows the scenes it appears in; and the scene, casting, location and prop sheets export as CSV, ready to paste into this template. See storyboards and production.