9 Best Apps for Call Sheets

The Best Apps for Call Sheets help make the heavy task of production scheduling a whole lot easier to lift. When considering the staggering amount of info that goes into a typical call sheet, you need production scheduling tools that are going ensure you’re not missing a beat (or the location of crew parking). Whether it’s how well a call sheet app integrates a shooting schedule or how much easier it makes going digital, these best apps for Call Sheets will get you to set on time.

The Best Apps for Call Sheets help make the heavy task of production scheduling a whole lot easier to lift. When considering the staggering amount of info that goes into a typical call sheet, you need production scheduling tools that are going ensure you’re not missing a beat (or the location of crew parking). Whether it’s how well a call sheet app integrates a shooting schedule or how much easier it makes going digital, these best apps for Call Sheets will get you to set on time.

Call sheets, the backbone of any production, are a playbook for that day’s shoot. They keep your cast and crew aligned on all the info for any given day’s production, with vital info including:

• Call Time – when to show up
• Pre-Call – for those who need to do work before the shooting day starts
• Crew Parking – where to put in your phone or give your Uber
• Base Camp – Where to go once you’re there
• What’s being shot – the day’s shooting scenes, including cast, set, props and notes for each
• Preview of the next day – get a sense of what lies ahead, to prep and make last minute adjustments
• Crew List – see who’s working in each department, usually listed on the reverse side
• LUNCH – All meal info is listed here, including whether or not it’s a walkaway (go get your food) or catered (we have food here)

But modern productions aren’t relying solely on printouts. Today’s call sheet apps help automate schedules, track confirmations, and keep everyone synced in real time.

Whether you’re working on a short, commercial, episode or feature, here are 9 of the best call sheet app available today.

When talking about how to make digital call sheets, why not go with the app built specifically for making digital call sheets? That’s SetHero, the best app for call sheets that allows you to create and send ’em in minutes via text, email, or even printable PDF (booo – read on for a better solution!).

SetHero focuses on speed and simplicity, allowing productions to generate professional call sheets quickly with a clean interface and automation tools. Drag and drop functionality, FTW. You can even track who’s received, opened, and confirmed what you sent out, eliminating the ‘what email did you send it to?’ excuse from the jump.

Production schedule makers of any ilk use this easy to jump into UI, and ADs ask for it by name. There’s a reason Fox Entertainment, the American Society of Cinematographers, First We Feast, and the UFC, to name just a few, are proud users. Try SetHero for free today.

There’s a million ways to make call sheets; but Scriptation should be the only way you read them. Scriptation isn’t a traditional call sheet app, but that’s exactly why it’s so powerful. It sits at the center of any production, where scripts, revisions, and collaboration actually happen and the sausage gets made.

How does Scriptation fit into traditional call sheet workflows? By being the easiest place to read and note them. As you keep your latest script synced with production changes, you can add the day’s call sheet to your digital self-made sides. Share these custom bits (and notes) with cast and crew instantly, and track the revisions alongside how they might change the schedule.

If call sheets are built from the script, Scriptation ensures everyone is always working from the most up-to-date version, reducing confusion on set.

Best of all? Number 1 and 2 on this list work together! That’s right, the Scriptation and SetHero Integration is live and can get your two favorite call sheet apps working in sync.

Try Scriptation’s free script annotation app and see for yourself.

With Yamdu, the end-to-end production management system, you get production scheduling software for call sheets and more. Yes, there’s a built-in call sheet generator, and yes, streamlined collaboration tools make it easy for a Line Producer to break things down with their ADs.

While your student film may call for the hands-on approach, a larger scale production will greatly benefit from Yamdu’s ability to help manage everything in one place. With production schedules, call sheets, script breakdowns, and even time cards in one place, you’ll have a lot more time for walking the set (where countless other headaches await).

In Yamdu, productions can also assign tasks, follow progress, and confirm how every detail, from set dressing to transpo, is organized and executed. Perfect for producers and coordinators looking to keep a tight rein on the complexities of film production, Yamdu slows down the chaotic buzz of pre-production to help creative visions be executed with precision from early department meetings all the way to shoot days – making sure everything on your call sheet is accounted for.

Build. Send. Track.

As seen in both American Cinematographer and British Cinematographer, CallSheet is an iPhone, iPad and Mac app built by a working DP with over twenty years of experience. Unlike some of the other offerings meant to help your production scheduling, CallSheet builds the, well, call sheet, from the Apple contacts already on your phone; and is the only call sheet app with a built-in map editor. Since it was created by a DP, you can also add the sun’s path for exterior shoots and keep true north locked in to every set up.

When you’re ready to distro, the app sends every crew member their own private link with confirmation tracking. You see who opened it and who confirmed receipt, and any revisions are only sent to the people it affects (saving a ton of paper on Blue, Pink, and worse Call Sheet Revisions). Every device receives the same document that can be opened by any crew member without needing to create an account, whether the Wifi is perfect or the location is a dead zone.

Get a seven day free trial today in the App Store.

Celtx jumps into the best apps for call sheets conversation by being a beacon to writer your script and prep shooting it in one place. Perfect for smaller teams, Celtx automatically pulls data from the script you just wrote and integrates the info into the broader pre-production suite of tools. Now that’s a script breakdown you can count on (and if there’s anyone to blame for missing info? Look in the mirror).

Celtx has an intuitive Breakdown mode that transforms the steep climb of script analysis into a smoother, writer-friendly process, getting you your scene strips ready to be organized however the shoot needs. When it comes to the shoot day, Celtx’s dynamically generated call sheets directly reference the details from your scripts, schedule, and production catalog in real-time. You can download one of their free templates here to get a sense of what you’ll be working with.

For a call sheet software that takes you from blank page to the martini, Celtx has you ready for everything in between.

What’s in a name? For Simple Callsheet, everything. It’s simple. It helps you make call sheets. It’s Simple Callsheet by Set Scouter. If you’re an AD who has too many apps on their device, Simple Callsheet can be the solution to your manic pixie scrolling. Cloud-based and focused solely getting the next day’s Call Sheet made, they have a free plan that let’s you do one at a time; or look into their pricing plans for more features (and more Call Sheets).

We recommend Simple Callsheet for indie & student filmmakers who want a no-frills solution without a steep learning curve. 7:00 AM call? Let’s get it.

From your friends at Jungle Software comes Koala Call Sheets, ready to join the production zoo by integrating seamlessly into Gorilla Scheduling (and budgeting). I assure you, this is a real thing, and so are the bevy of call sheet templates you can choose from when you add Koala Call Sheets to your existing account. For long episodic shoots, you can also save your settings and make the process a whole lot easier.

The best apps for call sheets list recommends Koala Call Sheets for larger productions, specifically ones already running Jungle Software tools.

(Copyright protected team of meta-humans) Assemble? No, this Assemble is a simplified production scheduling tool touting Amazon Studios and Lionsgate as happy users. Stripping down features to highlight only the necessary details, Assemble’s no frills/just focus approach places them among the best apps for call sheets.

When it comes to just focusing on the key details, that’s when it’s a call sheet’s time to shine. If something isn’t right in that document, it could derail a whole production and throw them dangerously behind schedule. To help, Assemble offers a free cast and crew call sheet template that can easily be distributed through their project management tools. Their call sheet template breaks down everything an APOC, AD, or film student should include on their call sheets, and is fully adaptable to any type of production – whether TV, documentary, and even a photo shoot.

Want to try making a call sheet, but not sure which of the best apps for call sheets is worth the incredibly valuable investment of your time? Then check out Callsheet.Tools and make one today. For free.

Callsheet.Tools offers professional call sheets for your film, TV, or photo production in a web-based set up that’s there as long as your internet’s connected. Fill in your shoot day’s details into the easy-to-read call sheet template, then print or save as PDF — no signup, no watermarks, no credit card needed. It’s completely free. With that price tag comes a few things that are left to be desired; but you won’t find a better value to test your daily production scheduling than this thanks to Lina, the pre-production software aimed at helping students and low-budget filmmakers.

Determining what’s the best call sheet app for you and your crew depends on your production, your budget, and, honestly, your talent at production scheduling. Here’s a quick guide on what we recommend based on what you’re making that call sheet for in the first place:

Indie & StudenT projects: Simple Callsheet, Callsheet.Tools

Mid-size productions: Celtx, Assemble

Large teams: Yamdu, Koala Call Sheets, CallSheet

Modern workflows (of any size or budget): SetHero

And no matter what you’re making, you have to tie it all together is Scriptation, which ensures that every call sheet is grounded in the latest version of your script—the single source of truth on set.

Plus, you never have to worry about what color or size of paper to print your call sheet on when you’re reading it as a PDF, and when you’re distributing them to over 200 crew members? Reviewing that daily PDF in Scriptation is going to save you a ton on call sheet expenses alone.

Follow the Scriptation blog for more on the best production schedule tools, crew apps, and craft insight for all your film and TV-making needs.