How to Write a Call Sheet for a Music Video Shoot

Music Video Days Are a Different Beast

On a narrative shoot, the call sheet follows the script. On a music video, it follows the vibe, the choreography, the artist's schedule, and three locations you are somehow shooting before the sun goes down. Dancers need warmup blocks. The artist needs glam. The director wants golden hour. The label wants the performance locked by 4. A generic call sheet template will not survive contact with a music video day. You need one built for how these shoots actually run.

Lead With the Shoot Blocks, Not the Scenes

Music videos are organized in blocks, not scenes. List each block in the schedule with its own call time, setup window, and wrap time. A typical day might run: load in and lighting prelight, artist glam block, dance rehearsal, performance setups, narrative or beauty inserts, company move, and the final location. Give every block a numbered row with estimated setup and shoot times. This is how your department heads think, and it is how you keep a 14 hour day from slipping to 18.

Separate Your Talent Into Tiers

A music video call sheet has more talent tiers than most indie films. List them separately so nobody reads the wrong call time. Your tiers usually run: artist (lead talent), featured artists, dancers, extras, and cameo or special guests. Dancers and the artist almost always need earlier calls for hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Extras can arrive hours later. If you lump them into one cast list with staggered times and no grouping, someone will show up at the wrong hour. Group first, then order each group by call time.

Glam Call Times Are Real Call Times

On a music video, hair and makeup is not a footnote, it is a department with its own mini schedule. List HMU call times directly under each talent row, plus wardrobe fitting windows and glam departure times. The artist's glam call is often 2 to 3 hours before general crew call. Flag it in bold so the artist's manager sees it. A missed glam call cascades into every setup for the rest of the day, and no amount of rushing fixes it.

Flag Every Location Move Like It Is a Separate Shoot

Music videos jump locations more than almost any format: the stage, the rooftop, the desert road at dusk. Treat each location as its own section with address, parking, nearest hospital, and load out time from the previous spot. Put the company move itself on the schedule as a timed block with a target arrival. Most music video days blow up during moves, not during setups. When everyone knows where they are going and when the trucks roll, the move takes 30 minutes instead of 90.

Note the Playback and Tech Requirements

Playback is the heartbeat of a music video day, and it belongs on the call sheet. List the playback operator, the playback system, and who controls the master track. If you are shooting at multiple frame rates or speeds, note which blocks shoot high speed versus real time so the DP and playback operator stay synced. Add tech notes for cranes, Steadicam, drones, and specialty rigs in the relevant block. Surprises with tech are the number one reason music video days run long.

Confirmations Matter More on Music Video Days

Music video crews assemble fast, often in 48 hours, and last minute bookings are normal. That makes confirmation tracking critical. Do not just send the sheet and hope. Ask every cast and crew member to confirm digitally, and follow up on the ones who do not. A missing dancer at call time can cancel a choreography block. Tools like Easy Call Sheets let you build the sheet, distribute it in one click, and track live digital confirmations so you know exactly who is locked in before the sun comes up.

Do Not Forget Minors, Safety, and Permits

Music videos frequently book underage dancers or extras, which means guardians, work permits, and hour limits. List the guardian contact and the minor's allowed hours right on the talent row. Add the stunt or intimacy coordinator if the treatment calls for one, and keep the nearest hospital and the safety rep's number in the header. Labels and artists move fast, but the AD's job is to be the person who remembered the permit while everyone else was picking lenses.

The Night Before Checklist

Before you send the sheet, run the music video specific audit: every talent tier has a glam call listed, every location has parking and a hospital, every move has a timed block, playback is named, minors have guardians listed, and the artist's manager has confirmed. One clean, accurate call sheet does more for morale than any pep talk. On a day built around creativity and chaos, the sheet is the one thing that keeps everyone in the same song.