What Are Call Sheets? [Explanation and Free Templates]

Call Sheets are imperative for efficient production. Stay tuned to know about it and where to get some free templates.

Call Sheets tells you everything about the who, what, when, where, and how, in reference to a film production or photo shoot. They can be as detailed (or personalized) as you would like them to be.

Essentially, they tell the crew about the shoot-day activities, including the date, time, location, nearby parking, lunch timings, etc. The idea is to keep everyone informed about their role to carry production smoothly.

It is generally prepared by an assistant director, producer, or a person of authority.

So you’re at the right place if you want to make one or know about the vital elements. Let’s check out the pointers you should not miss while making a call sheet.

Call Sheet Elements

Before starting, remember that the purpose is to be as informational as you can without creating clutter or stuffing it with unnecessary details.

Title & Time

The very first thing to mention is the time. Start with the call timings for the production, crew, talent, etc. In addition, you should indicate the company name and the shoot’s title.

Authorities

It is important to mention key persons to contact in case of any ambiguity or emergency. This should be stacked right there at the top. These people are generally the director, producers, coordinators, etc.

Schedule

The shooting schedule is another critical thing to include. This should mention call timings, in addition to meal hours, estimated wrap-up, and anything important fixed for the specific shoot day.

Nearby Locations

Avoiding the guesswork, a call sheet can have details about the nearest hospital, eatery, parking, ATM, etc. While anyone can google these details, it’s still better to put them on the call sheet for greater efficiency.

Scene Descriptions

This is the soul of a call sheet. Scene descriptions list all the shooting particulars of the day, including the people involved, reporting times, location, and any other important notes related to every single scene.

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast is vital for every call sheet, especially if you’re shooting outdoors. This informs the crew to come prepared and avoid any last-minute bottlenecks.

Extra Notes

Leave some space for the last-minute additions. This comes in handy for big production sites with a lot of crew members and equipment. However, even small photoshoots should have this to make way for any unexpected alterations.

Communication Channels

It’s better to list out all communication channels if you’re using walkies at the production site.

So these were some of the entries one shouldn’t miss in the call sheet. But don’t hesitate to bring in custom ones, as there is no set formula.

Finally, remember to send everyone their copies and take note of the RSVPs. Because production shoots are complicated, and even the best schedules deviate from the idealized path.

Let’s move on to some tools to create this important document and a few free templates for a healthy head-start.

Call Sheets Tools

These are utilities to spin off your own version of the call sheet from a standard one. In addition, these are loaded with useful collaborative features.

StudioBinder

StudioBinder is one of the finest places to get started with production call sheets. They have very powerful templates you can customize and use for films and photoshoots.

Collaboration, digital approvals, tracking delivery, and views; you name it, and StudioBinder will most probably have it.

This includes automatically updated weather forecasts, digital maps, file attachments, and a mobile responsive design.

In addition, it sends call sheets via SMS as well for better reach. Finally, call sheets are updated online, so don’t bother to send the “updated” one.

And you can try it with its limited-powered free-forever plan.

Set Hero

Set Hero is another premium tool to make call sheets effortlessly. This has all the feats to make your production seamless with a custom call sheet maker.

Similar to StudioBinder, you can insert map links, put weather forecasts, share call sheets with text and email, and track deliveries.

This one also permits file attachments and has the very useful feature of cascading time shifts. This means whenever you change the call time, it gets pushed to the overall schedule.

Anyone on mobile can open the sheet and tap any contact to connect via text, email, etc. In addition, it assists in creating production reports from the call sheets.

Finally, you can customize it with personalized call timings and your company logo, and do much more for free with your first project at Set Hero.

Free Call Sheet Templates

Not a fan of automation? Go the old-fashioned way with 39 free call sheets at Template Archive.

Available as doc files, you can download any number of templates and edit them for your specific use case. But don’t let the free tag make you think otherwise; this library has some of the very detailed and curated sheets that’ll serve most productions.

If you’re unable to find your perfect one, try docformats. They host 14 printable call sheets you can preview, download, and edit as per preference.

Still searching? Fret not; you can still look out in these over 48 call sheet templates to find your match.

Conclusion 🎞️🎦

We hope this helped make your first one or ramp up your game.

However, if you’re into action movies, we have a list of the best VFX tools that will assist in making them power-packed.