Production: Creating call sheets for Filming

As the Producer for Young & Famous, it was my job to create and distribute the call sheets for filming. Call sheets are created to alert all who is on set what they will be filming on each day, when lunch is, what time they are meant to arrive, when filming will begin, when they are due into costume & makeup and also what to bring with them.  It gives the actors and crew a good idea of exactly what will be happening on set and also who will be on set. Industry standard call sheets look like the example from James Bond's Skyfall movie below:  

This call sheet packs a lot of information because of how big the production is.  Its well laid out and gives everything a call sheet should for a production of this scale as it clearly defines who is meant to be where and when. It gives a very brief synopsis of the scenes that will be taking place on that day, but gives the scene number, the location, which pages of the script it is and which cast members are needed.  I like the way that the cast members are listed in number order.  The number correlates to the actor which is written underneath the synopsis, detailing who each actor is playing and their individual call times, including where they are based when not on set.  By using their number rather than writing down each individual's name it makes the call sheet more concise.  

The call sheets I have created for each day of filming are very similar to the example above, however it is on a much smaller scale due to the production being a student sitcom with a small budget and not as many people compared to the Hollywood Blockbuster. They are similar in terms of layout and the information I provide correlates to that of the example, showing that the call sheets are to Industry Standard. 

Please see an example of my call sheet below:

By using the template above I used what I had learnt from previous years of creating call sheets, and the example of the professional call sheet to conduct a coherent, organised and professional call sheet for our production.  I chose to name the actors when explaining who is needed in each scene as it is only a small scale production and on this particular day there was only two actors needed. This call sheet was one of the more simpler ones due to the nature of the scenes and amount of cast needed.  Below is a more complicated one that required a lot more cast and extras along with set design and props.  Even though it was only a single scene being shot on that day, it was our most complicated for set up and creating authenticity. 

I made the call sheet as concise and simple as possible to ensure there was no confusion between crew and actors.  Everyone was able to understand what was expected of them on the day and how things would run. 

I sent all of the call sheets to the actors a few days before the shoot to give them time to go over it, understand it and ask any questions they may have in plenty of time.  Along with the call sheets I sent across the meal plan for the week long shoot in February, the Script again in case they had misplaced theirs previously and the schedule by day so they knew exactly what was happening by the hour. I was informed by one of my main actresses that I had made everything clear and was very well organised, making my team the most professional students she has ever worked with.  This gave me confidence that I was doing my job well as the Producer. 

I will go into further detail about the meal plan and schedule by day in other blogs.