A production schedule determines what you shoot, when, and in what order. It is the document that turns a stack of pre-production paperwork into an executable plan — and the 1st AD''s most important deliverable.
Before You Schedule
You need three documents completed:
- Locked screenplay with numbered scenes
- Script breakdown with all elements tagged
- Shot list (or at minimum, estimated shot counts per scene)
Without these, scheduling is guesswork.
Step 1: Create Scene Strips
In traditional scheduling, each scene becomes a colored strip on a stripboard:
- Day exterior — yellow
- Day interior — white
- Night exterior — blue
- Night interior — green
Each strip contains: scene number, INT/EXT, location, description, cast numbers, page count.
Digital scheduling tools create these strips automatically from your breakdown data.
Step 2: Group by Location
The most expensive thing in film production is moving the entire company to a new location (a "company move"). Group all scenes at each location together:
- All scenes at "Sarah''s Apartment" shoot on the same day(s)
- All scenes at "Coffee Shop" shoot together
- All scenes at "Park" shoot together
This minimizes moves and maximizes shooting time.
Step 3: Consider Cast Availability
After grouping by location, check cast:
- Which actors are in which scenes?
- Are any actors only available on specific dates?
- Can you group actor-heavy scenes to minimize their total days on set?
Cast daily rates (especially SAG rates) mean that fewer actor-days equals lower costs. A schedule that brings Actor A in for 3 consecutive days is cheaper than 3 scattered days across 2 weeks.
Step 4: Sequence Within Each Day
Within a shoot day, sequence scenes by:
- Lighting complexity — shoot the most complex lighting setups first (when crew is fresh)
- Direction — all shots facing one way, then turn around
- Emotional intensity — save emotionally demanding scenes for when actors are warmed up
- Exterior daylight — schedule day exteriors when the sun is in the right position
Step 5: Estimate Time Per Scene
Use your shot list to estimate:
- 15-30 minutes per camera setup on an indie production
- A scene with 5 shots ≈ 1.5-2.5 hours
- A scene with 15 shots ≈ 4-7.5 hours
- Add 20% buffer for setups, rehearsals, and problems
A typical indie shoot day covers 4-8 pages of script.
Step 6: Build Daily Call Sheets
Once your schedule is set, each day becomes a call sheet:
- Scenes in that day''s shooting order
- Cast and their individual call times
- Location details
- Department-specific notes
Common Scheduling Mistakes
- Overscheduling — trying to shoot too many pages per day. Better to add a shoot day than to rush every scene
- Ignoring travel time — company moves take 1-2 hours minimum
- Back-to-back night shoots — crew needs turnaround time (typically 10-12 hours)
- No weather contingency — have a cover set (interior scenes you can shoot if weather kills your exterior)
Plan your shooting schedule alongside your screenplay, breakdown, and shot list in Seikan. Free to start.