The 17-Day Schedule That Needs 24 Days
A producer boards a 90-page feature at four scenes per day and locks 17 shooting days. Day 1 contains a six-page dinner scene, two company moves, and 18 planned angles. By lunch, the crew has completed three setups. The page count looked manageable, but the setup load never did.
That error can consume contingency, trigger overtime, and force the director to cut coverage. Scenes and pages describe script volume. They do not measure camera moves, relights, rehearsals, resets, or safety work.
This post turns a 12-hour day into a minute budget. You will calculate setup capacity, stress-test a stripboard, and use the Production Schedule Calculator before the call sheet becomes a promise.
The method follows the setup-schedule workflow published by the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts. Its handbook requires estimates for load-in, staging, rehearsal, shooting, lunch, company moves, and wrap.
The Setup-Minute Formula
A setup is one camera and lighting configuration, not one take. Changing a lens without moving lights may add only a few minutes. Turning the camera around can require a new key, background control, sound treatment, marks, rehearsal, and lens checks.
Use this planning formula:
available setup minutes = workday - meal - load-in - wrap - fixed delays - contingency
Then calculate:
setup capacity = available setup minutes / weighted average minutes per setup
Consider a 12-hour day, or 720 minutes. Deduct 30 minutes for initial blocking and readiness, 60 for meal, 45 for wrap, and 60 for contingency. That leaves 525 setup minutes.
A day with six 30-minute setups, four 55-minute setups, and two 90-minute setups needs 580 minutes. The board is 55 minutes over capacity before any company move. Removing one complex setup or pre-lighting the reverse makes the day plausible.
The DGA agreement governs covered work conditions, but it does not publish a universal setup quota. Treat setup durations as production-specific estimates tested during prep, not union guarantees.
Three Real-World Setup Budgets
Micro-Budget Dialogue Day
A 5-person crew shoots a two-character apartment scene on a Sony FX6 with tripod and shoulder coverage. The plan uses eight setups averaging 42 minutes, plus 45 minutes for inserts. Total camera work is 381 minutes. The remaining setup budget absorbs sound holds and a modest bathroom relight.
Low-Budget Night Exterior
A 14-person crew shoots an ARRI ALEXA 35 street sequence with wet-down, background vehicles, and six lighting positions. Four standard setups at 55 minutes plus three complex setups at 95 minutes total 505 minutes. The 525-minute budget leaves only 20 minutes, so the 1st AD drops a nonessential profile before call.
Two-Camera Interview Day
A documentary unit records six interviews with two Canon C400 bodies. Each interview needs one shared lighting setup, two camera frames, and a 20-minute company reset. Two cameras increase captured angles, not available time. The producer schedules five interviews and holds the sixth as a pickup rather than treating 12 camera angles as 12 setups.
Setup Times and Daily Capacity
These are planning assumptions for a controlled narrative day, not published industry minimums. Replace them with data from your crew’s test day or recent production reports.
| Setup type | Planning time | Capacity in 525 setup minutes | Typical hidden task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insert or pickup, no relight | 20 min | 26 | Prop reset and focus check |
| Simple dialogue, light adjustment | 35 min | 15 | Marks, rehearsal, boom position |
| Standard coverage, minor relight | 55 min | 9 | Camera move and background control |
| Full reverse or dolly relight | 90 min | 5 | Grip move, relight, track, rehearsal |
| Stunt or practical effect | 120 min | 4 | Safety meeting, reset, inspection |
No real day contains one setup type. A weighted schedule is more honest than dividing the day by a single optimistic average.
How to Calculate a 12-Hour Shooting Day
- Convert the shot list into setups. Group takes that share camera position, lens family, lighting direction, and blocking. Separate a reverse that needs a full relight.
- Assign minutes with department heads. Ask the DP, gaffer, key grip, sound mixer, art department, and stunt coordinator for estimates. Record the highest credible number when departments cannot work in parallel.
- Deduct fixed time first. Remove meal, load-in, wrap, cast changes, travel, mandated schooling, and planned safety meetings. The FSU setup schedule specifically calls for load-ins, load-outs, lunch, and company moves.
- Add weighted setup minutes. Multiply each setup count by its estimate. Six simple setups at 35 minutes plus four standard setups at 55 minutes need 430 minutes.
- Reserve 10% to 15%. A 60-minute reserve in a 12-hour day covers one delayed reset or sound hold. It does not cover a second location that was never timed.
- Compare demand with capacity. If setup demand exceeds available minutes, remove coverage, pre-light, split the day, or change the blocking. Do not relabel the excess as “flex.”
- Run the board through the calculator. Use the Production Schedule Calculator, then confirm crew depth with the Crew Size Estimator.
The final output is a timed setup schedule that the director, DP, and 1st AD have approved.
Pro Tips and Common Mistakes
Pro Tip: Time the first completed setup from crew call to print, then reforecast before setup three. If the day is already 35 minutes down, identify the shot to cut before lunch.
Pro Tip: Put the most uncertain setup before a controllable group of inserts. The inserts become a release valve without sacrificing the scene’s editorial spine.
Pro Tip: Count a two-camera arrangement as one lighting setup but track both frames on the shot list. A second camera saves time only when its angle does not force compromised light or eyelines.
Common Mistake: The board gives every shot 30 minutes. The fix: classify inserts, standard coverage, full reverses, and safety work separately, then calculate a weighted total.
Common Mistake: The schedule subtracts transit but not load-out and load-in. The fix: time the company move from the last usable take at location A to camera-ready status at location B.
Common Mistake: The producer cites DGA rules as proof that 12 hours equal 12 shooting hours. The fix: review the current DGA agreements and deduct every non-shooting obligation from capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many setups fit in a 12-hour day?
A mixed indie narrative day often plans 8 to 12 setups, but genre, crew, location, and coverage can move that number sharply. Calculate minutes for the actual shot list instead of adopting a universal target.
How does a company move affect setup count?
Deduct the full door-to-ready interval, not only drive time. A 75-minute move removes one 55-minute setup plus most of the reserve from the example day.
Can two cameras double the daily setup count?
No. They can capture two compatible angles during one lighting setup. Cross-shooting may also slow the day when each frame exposes the other camera, lighting units, or crew.
Why is page count still used in scheduling?
Page count helps estimate script volume, actor workload, and broad pace. It fails when two equal-length scenes need different coverage, effects, or location control. Use pages and setups together.
When should a production add a pickup day?
Add one when required setups exceed realistic capacity after coverage cuts and pre-light options. A planned pickup day costs less than repeated overtime followed by an emergency return to a released location.
Related Tools and Resources
Start with the Production Schedule Calculator, size the departments with the Crew Size Estimator, and issue the result through the Call Sheet Generator. For deeper prep, read What a 1st AD Does, How to Build a Call Sheet, and Skeleton Crew Filmmaking.
Every Shooting Day Is a Minute Budget
A workable schedule prices every setup in minutes after fixed obligations, not before them. These assumptions fit controlled narrative production and should be replaced with your own crew data whenever possible.
If you have run a day that held or collapsed, which estimate was wrong: lighting, blocking, company moves, cast readiness, or the number of takes?
