By Kelly Mackey, Associate Producer of Television at JWP
READING A CALL SHEET
TOP LEFT
Episode Title
Executive and Director Credits
Production Office Address and Phone Number
Closed Set – This indicates that there are no guests without prior approval
Current Script – Which draft of the script you’re working from, in this case YELLOW
Current Schedule – Which draft of the One Liner you’re working from, in this case WHITE
TOP CENTER
CREW CALL: This indicates what time everyone should be on the set and ready to work for that day. This day should begin with your 1st AD leading a safety meeting explaining the day ahead, any necessary safety-based announcements, and detailing any crew movements for the day.
TOP RIGHT
Date
This is Day 3 of our 7-day an episode shoot
Lunch – This can be 1-hour or ½-hour. If it is 1-hour, it begins the second lunch is called and ends 1-hour after that. A 1-hour lunch called on set means crew is back to work an hour after lunch is called. A ½-hour lunch called on set means that the crew is back 30 mins after the last crew member is through the line. Lunch should be called 6 hours after Crew Call to avoid a meal penalty payment for every crew member
Weather: Your Callsheet should indicate that day’s weather forecast, along with any health advisories. On ours, you will see we were having warmer weather, so we attached a heat illness prevention plan. When the Callsheet is emailed out the night before (and not the early morning hours the day of) safety attachments will be included. These can be weather advisories which recommend certain clothing for inclement weather, warnings about heat to prevent heat stroke and recommend sunscreen, weaponry being used on set that day, or special effects that may require safety equipment the set will provide (e.g., eyewear, earplugs, etc.)
BOTTOM
This will include Basecamp, Breakfast, Crew Parking and Shooting Locations. This allows your crew to see where they will be served breakfast, where they will be parking for the day (and potentially being transported to set), and where the locations are throughout the day. In this case, we had 3 shooting locations on this day.
The middle of the Callsheet will show what scenes we’re filming that day. As you can see indicated on the left, we shot 6 different scenes on this day.
SC #s - The scene numbers matching the script
SET DESCRIPTION – This will be the slugline matching the script, along with a brief description of the scene being filmed
CAST #s – This indicates the Cast Number that corresponds with the actor’s name. When casting, cast is given a cast number. Series Regulars are in the top numbers. For Example: William H Macy was #1, Emmy Rossum was #2, and so-on. A ‘K’ next to the cast number indicates it is a minor on set. In this case, we had 2 minors working that day
D/N - Indicates whether this scene is set during the day or during the night
PGS - The total page count being shot in that scene. You can see at the bottom of this grid, how many total pages we shot for the day: 6 5/8ths
NOTES/LOCATIONS – Will be the shooting location/address. If it is being shot at a studio, this will list what STAGE or BACKLOT location at which we are filming
# - Cast Number associated with your actors
CAST – Actor’s Name
CHARACTER – Character’s name
S/W/F – – Indicates where in the shooting schedule the actor has worked. For example: Emmy Rossum has a W by her name. This indicates that she has already worked on this episode. Christian Isaiah has SWF indicating on this day he is a START WORK FINISH; this means it is his first day of filming and his last day of filming. Kate Miner is WORK FINISH, indicating she already had her first START WORK earlier in the schedule, and today was her last day of work on our episode
MU/HAIR – This shows what time the actors need to be in the hair and make-up trailer before their call time. Some actors take longer than others and you should be in communication with your Hair and Make Up team to find out how long your actors take to get ready. This will ensure they don’t arrive too early or too late before they need to get to work. It also allows you to know how to adjust these times depending on how work is going that day. If you are moving right along, you may want to pull Emmy’s start time up. Therefore, if you think you’ll be ready to shoot her at 330P, she needs to get into the H/MU trailer by 230P
SET – Indicates what time that cast member should be in their costume, done with hair and make-up, and on the set, ready to shoot
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS – In this case, all the cast were to park at basecamp. However, depending on your location, it is sometimes better or more convenient for your cast member to park at the set’s location. They may be able to park on the set or Transpo will move their vehicle. This is typically cast/location dependent
PUMPKIN TIME – This is listed particularly for your minor actors, dependent on their age, and tells you what time they are to be off the set. If the minor is under 6 years old, they are allowed to work for 6-hours, excluding meal periods, but including school time. Minors between 6-9 years old may work for 8 hours excluding meal periods and including school time. Minors between 9 – 16 years old may work for 9 hours, excluding meal periods, but including school time. Workdays for minors cannot start before 5 am and cannot go later than 10P on evenings before a school day. If there is no school the next day, the latest a minor can work is 1230A.
STAND-INS: Tells you which Stand-Ins are working that day and their Call Time
BG PARKING – In this case, our background actors were parking in the same location as our crew. It shows what scenes require BG actors and what time they should be on the set. In this case we had 3 Stand-Ins and 23 BG actors
RIGHT SECTION – This indicates what necessary items different departments need to have on set that day
PROPS: A list of the necessary props for the day and their corresponding scene numbers
GRIPS – For scene 41 the house needed to be tented in to make it look like night
VIDEO PLAYBACK – This scene has a TV in the background and needed to play footage of New York City (Oops, a typo! They sometimes make it through!)
POST – SC 19 – This is a reminder to our post team that they will need to digitally add (known as burn-in) a photo from the ER on a laptop
LOCATIONS – They needed to be able to control the PA system at this location
NOTES – This included the safety memo needed for that day. As previously mentioned, we had a heat advisory warning to remind crew to remain hydrated, stay out of the sun, and keep an eye out for signs of heat exhaustion or stroke
ADVANCE SHOOTING SCHEDULE – This shows your crew what is expected to be filmed the next day and provides all the same information as the top of the Callsheet’s shooting day. This should not be taken as final as many factors can change the advance shooting schedule such as weather, a cast member feeling unwell, or reasons beyond our control
