Call Sheets for Location Scout Days: How 1st ADs Turn a Scout Into a Shoot Day That Works

A location scout call sheet is the one page plan for your scout day. It tells the scout team where to meet, which locations to visit in order, how long to spend at each stop, and exactly what to capture before you leave. Done well, it does more than organize the scout, because every answer you record on that sheet becomes a finished block on the shoot day call sheet.

That matters because most call sheet errors are born on the scout. A wrong parking note, a missing gate code, or a guessed drive time will follow you into the shoot day, when 20 or more people are waiting for a fix. A scout sheet forces those questions to be answered while the group is small and changing the plan costs nothing.

What should a location scout call sheet include?

Keep it to what the scout team needs in the car and at each stop. List the meet point and time, the full address for every location in visit order, the drive time between stops, and a named contact at each location who can open doors. Add the phone number for the 1st AD running the day, so a locked gate gets solved with one call.

• Meet point, meet time, and who is driving or riding together
• Each location in order, with the address as a phone map needs it, not as the script names it
• Planned arrival and departure times for every stop, with a buffer built in
• Location contact name and phone number for each stop
• A capture list for each location, covering parking, base area, power, noise, and restrooms
• Sunrise, sunset, and weather notes for the planned shoot date

Two numbers make the day realistic. Allow at least 15 minutes at each location for photos and notes after the walk through, because that documentation is the whole point of the visit. Add a 20 percent buffer to every drive time the map suggests, since a shoot day convoy moves slower than one car.

How do I make a film call sheet for a scout day?

Start from the shoot day, not the scout day. List the scenes planned for each location, then order the scout stops in the sequence the company will actually use them. Scout at a similar time of day when you can, so light, traffic, and street noise match what the crew will face.

1. Confirm the scene list and the order of locations with the director and producer
2. Set the meet time early enough that the first stop happens in light that matches the shoot
3. Write the capture list for each stop before you leave, not from memory in the car
4. At each stop, record parking, load in route, base area, power points, and the nearest hospital
5. Note anything that changes the schedule, such as a hard out time, a noise cutoff, or a permit limit
6. The same evening, turn the notes into shoot day call sheet blocks while the details are fresh

The capture step is where scouts go soft. Teams photograph the pretty angle and forget the working details, like where 15 vehicles will park or whether the location has enough power. A written capture list fixes that, because the scout is not finished until every item has a photo or a written answer.

What do assistant directors use to send call sheets?

Assistant directors increasingly use a dedicated call sheet app instead of rebuilding a spreadsheet for every day, scout days included. With Easy Call Sheets, you create the production, add cast and crew with individual call times, and send in one click. The sheet can be built in about 2 minutes, and each person gets their own call time, the location, parking, and notes in their own timezone, plus a calendar file they can save straight to their phone.

For a scout day, that structure is perfect. The team is small, often 4 to 6 people, but each person still needs the meet point, the route, and any change sent cleanly. When the route changes, you revise and resend with one click instead of starting a new text thread. The same production then carries forward into the shoot day, with your contact book already saved.

How do I know my crew got the call sheet and confirmed?

You know because confirmations are tracked, not assumed. In Easy Call Sheets, each person confirms or declines with one tap and no account, so there is no login friction slowing down a reply. You can see at a glance who has confirmed, who has declined, and who has not answered yet, for a scout sheet with 5 people or a shoot day sheet with 50.

Automatic reminder emails help close the gap, and on Pro, reminder texts go to unconfirmed crew. Pro is $9 per month and adds unlimited email sends, shareable links, weather forecasts, file attachments, and custom branding. The Free plan is $0, with unlimited productions and 2 email sends per month.

How do you turn scout notes into the shoot day sheet?

Treat the scout sheet as a first draft of the shoot day sheet. The parking note becomes the parking block, the load in route becomes the report to instruction, and the nearest hospital at each location goes into the safety block. Power, noise limits, and hard out times become department notes, so every department plans from facts instead of hopes.

Do this conversion the same evening. If you wait a week, the photos lose context and small details, like which street gets loud at 3 in the afternoon, are gone. Converting the same day also surfaces problems early, when a location can still be swapped or a permit adjusted.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Easy Call Sheets Pro cost?

Pro is $9 per month, billed monthly, and you can cancel anytime. It includes unlimited email sends, shareable links, weather forecasts, file attachments, custom branding, and SMS notifications. The Free plan is $0 with unlimited productions and 2 email sends per month.

Do crew need an account to confirm a call sheet?

No. Each person confirms or declines with one tap and no account, and they receive a calendar file with their own call time, the location, parking, and notes shown in their timezone.

Should a scout day really get its own call sheet?

Yes, even for a small team. It keeps the route, timing, and capture list in one place, and it becomes the working draft of the shoot day sheet, saving a full rebuild later.