The Complete Call Sheet Checklist (What to Include)

The call sheet checklist below covers every block a professional call sheet should contain, in the order a working 1st AD actually fills them in. Run through it before every send. The first few shoots you'll reference it constantly; after that, it becomes muscle memory, but keep it on the desk — the one time you skip it is the one time something falls through.

There's a downloadable printable version at the bottom. Pin it next to the monitor, not in a drawer.

Production info (top block)

Times and weather

General crew call time (in the biggest type on the page)
Sunrise time
Sunset time
First light and last light (for DPs working magic hour)
Weather forecast (temperature range, precipitation chance, wind)
Weather plan (cover location or interior scenes if the forecast breaks)

Location

Full street address of the shoot location
Parking instructions (which lot, which entrance, who to call if full)
Basecamp address (if separate from shoot location)
Holding area (for cast between setups)
Nearest fuel station (for transport department)
Location contact (property owner or location scout)

Hospital and safety

Nearest hospital name, address, and phone
Estimated drive time from set to hospital
On-set medic name and mobile (if applicable)
Production safety contact
Emergency services info (fire/police non-emergency lines if relevant)
Risk assessment reference (document name + date for any scenes involving stunts, firearms, animals, pyrotechnics, working at height, or high-voltage electrical)

Schedule block

Scene number, in shooting order
Page count per scene (in eighths)
One-line description per scene
Cast in each scene
Location per scene (if multi-location day)
Day/Night, Interior/Exterior per scene
Special notes per scene (stunts, SFX, crane, VFX plate, etc.)

Crew call times

Every crew member on the sheet, exactly once
Department (Camera, G&E, Sound, Art, Wardrobe, Hair, Makeup, Production, Transport, Catering, etc.)
Position title (DP, 1st AC, Gaffer, etc.)
Call time for each (cascaded from general call; hair/makeup earlier, post-set dressing later)
Mobile phone for each (double-check against your source crew list)
Notes column (e.g. "brings own makeup kit", "weekend rate")

Cast call times

Every cast member working that day, by character name and real name
Pickup time
Hair/makeup call
Wardrobe call
On-set call
Dressing room or trailer assignment
Pickup driver name and contact
Dietary requirements
Union status if relevant (affects turnaround math)

Communications

Walkie channel per department (1 for production, 2 for camera, etc.)
Slack / radio app / production comms system the shoot uses
On-call producer's mobile
1st AD's mobile (for crew who need to call in sick)

Advance schedule

Tomorrow's call time (rough)
Tomorrow's location
Tomorrow's scenes in short form
Any company move warnings (early call, location change, night shoot)

Day's notes

Neighbour sensitivities (quiet hours, no-park zones, loading dock access)
Closed-set rules if any
Visitor protocols
COVID / illness protocols if relevant to the production
Any callback cast visits or holdovers
Production stills photographer schedule if applicable

Version control

Call sheet version number (v1, v2 Revised, etc.)
Time of last update on the sheet itself
Clearly marked "REVISED" banner if any version after the first

Before hitting send

Spell-check every name (misspelled crew names erode trust)
Verify all phone numbers against the source crew list
Verify hospital is correct for this specific location
Verify weather forecast is current (pulled today, not yesterday)
Check general call time appears in largest font
Export to PDF (don't send an editable document)
Distribution list includes everyone listed on the sheet, plus above-the-line visibility recipients
No distribution to press, non-working cast, or general public

After sending

Confirm delivery for every recipient (read receipt or per-recipient acknowledge link)
Text crew members who haven't opened it by 10 PM
File the final version to the production drive
Print paper copies for the 1st AD, DP, gaffer, and any off-site vehicles

Common mistakes this checklist prevents

We covered the full mistakes list in our 8 common call sheet mistakes post. Running this checklist before every send catches all eight before they reach the crew:

Wrong hospital (checklist catches: "verify hospital is correct for this specific location")
Stale call times from yesterday's sheet (checklist catches: "verify all phone numbers against the source crew list")
Missing parking details (checklist catches: "parking instructions")
Wrong cast pickup times (checklist catches: "pickup time", "pickup driver name and contact")
Sent too late (checklist catches: the send-time discipline)
No walkie channel block (checklist catches: communications section)
Missing advance schedule (checklist catches: advance schedule section)
Wrong version sent (checklist catches: version control section)

Printable PDF

Download the full checklist as a printable PDF. One page, tick-box format. Pin it next to the production board.

Graduate from the checklist to software

This checklist works on any production. On small shoots, running it manually is fine. On longer productions the same human-error risk shows up every single day — this is where software earns its keep.

Production Slate's call sheet feature auto-populates the production info, times/weather, location, hospital, crew, cast, and walkie channels from your schedule. The human still verifies the safety block, parking instructions, and special notes — those need judgement — but the rote fields handle themselves.

For the underlying workflow, our how to make a call sheet guide walks through each block in depth, and the free template gives you a starting layout in PDF, Docs, and Excel.

The Complete Call Sheet Checklist (What to Include)