I personally feel that one of the coolest aspects of working as a film stand-in is having your name on the daily call sheet. A call sheet is a breakdown of the cast and crew needed for the following day’s work. I vividly remember the first time my name was on a professional call sheet. There was my name on the same sheet as Demi Moore and other famous celebrities. Once the thrill of seeing your name on a call sheet wears off, you must then gather your senses and actually read and understand the call sheet. I have written this article to help those who have never seen a call sheet understand what it means and how it can be used to help ensure you arrive on set on time.
Finding Your Name
The most important thing to review on a call sheet is your name. After reviewing a call sheet, you must locate your name. Typically, your name will be found underneath a section labeled “Stand-Ins” or “Background.” This information is typically found toward the end of the sheet.
Your Expected Time of Arrival
After you have found your name, you should then scan right to locate your specific call time. At the top of the call sheet, you will find the official start time for the day; however, your arrival time may differ from this time. For example, the official call time is 7:30am; however, your call time may be as early as 7:00am to prepare for the shoot or later in the day, such as 3:30pm. The time of your arrival will match that of the actor you’re standing in for.
Determining Your Time Commitment
Once you have located your name and found your arrival time, you can then estimate how long your work day will be by counting the number of scenes your actor is in. There will be a daily scene breakdown above the cast list, which will showcase not only the number of scenes but the number of pages each scene consists of. AS a general rule of thumb, each page of dialogue represents at least 45 minutes of work. Thus, if you have a 5 page scene you are roughly looking at almost four hours of work for that one scene. However, this is only an estimate.