Is a run sheet the same as a call sheet?
The call sheet tells each person where to be and when: call times, the location, contacts, safety notes. The run sheet is the plan of the day itself: every stop, setup, shot block and company move, in order, with times against each. On a feature they are separate documents owned by separate people. On a small commercial, brand or tourism shoot, one document usually does both jobs, and that is fine, as long as it does the run sheet's job properly: honest times, in order, that the whole crew can see.
What fields actually belong on a run sheet?
Every row of a working run sheet answers five questions. Resist adding more columns; a sheet nobody can read at arm's length in the sun is decoration.
- When. Start time, and the duration you actually believe.
- Where. The stop, with the address or pin AND the arrival note ("park behind the kiosk, gate code 4412"). The arrival note saves more time than any other field on the sheet.
- What. The shot block in plain words: "drone the cable car, then 50mm walking shots on the boardwalk". Shots the camera team can tick off.
- Who. Which cast and crew the block needs, and the one phone number for the location contact.
- The move. Between stops: travel time WITH pack-down and parking, not the map estimate.
| Field | Answers | Why it earns its column |
|---|---|---|
| When | Start time and real duration | The number the rest of the day is built on |
| Where | Address or pin, plus the arrival note | Saves more time on the day than any other field |
| What | The shot block in plain words | Something the camera team can tick off |
| Who | Cast, crew and the one location contact number | One phone number beats a group chat when a stop runs late |
| The move | Travel time with pack-down and parking | The map estimate is never the real number |
How much buffer should a run sheet build in?
Run sheets fail on arithmetic, not intent. Three rules keep the times honest:
- Add a quarter to a third to every estimate. A setup you believe is 40 minutes is an hour with a client on set. If the day still fits with the buffers in, you have a real day. If it only fits without them, you have a wish.
- Put the buffer between stops, not at the end. One lump of slack at 4pm is spent by 9:30am. Slack between stops absorbs each overrun where it happens, so one late setup does not cascade through the afternoon.
- Never schedule a company move at map time. The map does not carry tripods, find parking, or wait for the talent's coffee. Map time plus pack-down plus fifteen is the honest number for a small crew.
And sequence for light before you sequence for distance: the golden-hour shot sets its own time, and the rest of the day bends around it, never the reverse.
Build it from the shots backwards
- List every shot the brief owes the client. This is the day's actual job; everything else is logistics in service of it.
- Group the shots by location. Fewest moves wins; a company move is the most expensive line on any run sheet.
- Sequence the locations for light first, then travel.
- Time each block with the buffer rules above, add the moves, and check the sum against the crew's real day, including lunch. If it does not fit, cut shots now, in the calm, not at 3pm in front of the client.
- Put it in everyone's hands, once. One source of truth the whole crew opens, not fourteen PDF versions in a message thread. When wrap moves, the sheet moves, everywhere at once.
Or generate it, and spend the evening on the shoot
This whole structure is mechanical once the shots and locations exist, which is why Runner Runner generates it. Your shoot already holds the locations, contacts and shot list (captured on recon, or extracted from the client's brief when you import it). One tap produces the full timed run sheet: stops in sequence, durations, moves, crew against each block. Then you refine it the way you would brief a coordinator, in plain language: "push everything back 30 minutes", "swap the lookout and the cafe", and the sheet updates. Publish, and the crew opens it from one link, with a call sheet built to keep working when the location has no signal.
The times it drafts are estimates for you to correct, not gospel: you know your crew's pace. What it removes is the 11pm spreadsheet night, not your judgement.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a run sheet and a call sheet?
The call sheet tells each person where to be and when: call times, location, contacts, safety notes. The run sheet is the minute-by-minute plan of the day itself: every stop, setup, shot block and move in order, with times. Small productions often merge them into one document, and that works fine as long as the times are honest.
How do I set up a production run sheet quickly?
Start from the shots, not the times: list what must be captured at each location, group by location to minimise moves, sequence for light, then add durations with travel and pack-down buffers between stops. Runner Runner generates that timed run sheet from your shoot in one tap and lets you refine it in plain language, like push everything back 30 minutes.
How much buffer should a run sheet have?
A working rule: add a quarter to a third on top of every estimate, put the buffer between stops rather than in one lump at the end, and never schedule a location move at its map time. The map does not carry tripods, find parking or wrangle talent.