Before the shoot
Low-budget short film budget
The lines a short on nothing actually has, with the sums done: what it costs per person per day, the contingency, the festival run.
Script breakdown
Scene by scene: cast, extras, props, wardrobe, vehicles, special kit, time of day, pages. Fill it once and the schedule writes itself.
Shot list
Scene, shot, size, movement, lens, what is in it, and a tick when it is in the can.
Shooting schedule
The two days, by location and by light: scene, set, day or night, cast, pages, the estimate and the actual.
On the day
Risk assessment
The hazards a small shoot really has (roads, heights, electrics, weather, lone working, fatigue), who is at risk, what you will do about each, and who signed it.
Call sheet
One page for the day: calls, location, the nearest hospital, the weather, the scenes, the cast, the crew, the contacts.
Daily production report
What was scheduled, what was shot, the times, the footage, who was there, what went wrong.
Rights and people
Cast and contributor release
Permission to use the person's performance, name and likeness in the film and in everything around it, for good, everywhere.
Location agreement
The owner's permission to shoot there, on the dates, and to show the place in the film; what you will put back as you found it.
Crew deal memo
One page each: the role, the dates, the rate or the deferral, the credit, the kit they bring, and that the work belongs to the film.
Music licence request
The letter that asks a composer, band or library for the sync and master rights a festival run needs, and the grant to sign.
After
Festival submission checklist
Everything a festival asks for, in one list to keep beside the film: the cut, the DCP, the stills, the synopses, the paperwork.
These are working templates from a community of people at the start of their careers, free to use on any film, and not legal advice: the releases, the location agreement and the deal memo are starting points that a lawyer should read before you rely on them for anything that matters, and a hire house, a location or an insurer may ask for their own. Fill in every blank; delete what does not apply; keep the signed copies with the film. Something missing? Tell us and it goes on the list.