Types of Film production reports
Production report
A production report is a common term that refers to the different types of paperwork/reports that should be completed each day to help keep the film on track. As with any project, the bigger the film, the more types of production reports you are going to have and the more important a production report becomes.
The most common reports are from the AD department, the Script Supervisor, the Camera department, Sound, Food and Crafty, and SAG Exhibit G paperwork if you are using SAG actors.
Production Schedule and Call Sheet
During production, the 2nd AD tracks the daily progress of the film according to the production Schedule and Call Sheet. In the report, the AD will list all of the completed scenes and make note of which scenes were not completed and what shots are missing. The report may also include other important information including totals hours worked for the day, locations, vehicles, special equipment and extras used.
The 2nd AD typically completes the call sheet for the next day
The call sheet shows all the pertinent information for that specific day of shooting, including call time, location, personnel involved and all the scenes that should be filmed that day. The call sheet is distributed at the end of the day or emailed to all cast and crew.
The production report is essentially the opposite of the call sheet, since it list the actual work done that day as opposed to the work proposed for that day. The production report completed by the AD department is the report most commonly associated with the term production report. This report may include the reports from each department as well.
Editors Daily Log
The script supervisor’s daily notes are commonly referred to as the Editors Daily Log which is a report that will be used for the editing of the film. There are many templates used for script supervision. The Editors log is a report of each shot, the number of takes, lenses used, the length of take, description and comments of the script supervisor and the director (ex: Good take, bad take, great take).
Daily Progress report
The Script Supervisor may also complete the Daily Progress report, although this report may also be completed by the AD department. The daily progress report includes the total number of scenes, added and deleted scenes, numbers of setups and the amount of pages that have been completed. The daily progress report also shows the call time, time of the first shot, lunch and time of wrap. The report also includes the camera card numbers and sound card numbers.
Camera Report
The Camera Report is completed by the 2nd Assistant Camera. This report details all the important technical information for each take. Similar to the Script Supervisors report, that camera report has columns for the scene #, take, duration, and a column for notes from DP. The camera report also includes Focus, F-stop, filters, ISO, height and tilt. The 2nd AC communicates with Script Supervisor so he or she can list the correct roll, hard drive, or card used on their report.
Sound report
The sound report is not completed on smaller projects but it is very useful. The report is usually only filled out when there is at least two members of the sound department, otherwise it would be much harder to do. Similar to the camera report, this reports include all the information for the slate, and also includes time code information, format, Sample Frequency, and notes from the Sound Mixer (Ex: clear, unclear, Airplane). These notes may overlap with Script Supervisors since the Sound Mixer will let the Scripty know if the take was good.
Food and Craft Services are the last thing you ever want to run out of onset,
especially on a smaller low budget set where cast and crew are working for little but expecting a good meal and enough to eat.
Usually a PA is given this responsibility. They will take note of how many meals were served and how much crafty was consumed that day. This report is given to the UPM and line producer, so they can decide if there is an adequate amount of food and make adjustments with the caterer for the rest of the shoot.
SAG Exhibit G
Last but certainly not the least, is the SAG Exhibit G paper work. We always save the best for the last. This is the Performer’s Production Time Report. Completing this paperwork properly and on time is key and can cause a major headache if it is not completed correctly (Ex: not writing down the correct hours or forgetting to have an actor sign the form).
You do not want to hunt down your actors after the film is in the can because you forgot to complete the paperwork on set.
The exhibit G paperwork is completed by the 2nd AD. At the top of the form there is a space for the name of the film, company, contact info, location and type of project.
The report will list the cast and characters, a checkbox if they are a minor, and the call time. Next to each cast member name you find Work Time, Meals, Travel Time, Wardrobe and a space for the cast member to sign on the right side of the form. Within the Work Time section there is a column which lists the time the actor reports to and leaves the set, followed by their meal times.
This log can get more complicated when dealing with minors so it is very important that times are kept track of and noted appropriately, since this report will reflect the actors pay. Remember, a standard filming day is 12 hours, but after 8 hours it is still considered overtime.