What a shoot schedule covers
A shoot schedule maps the dates of a production from the moment prep starts through final delivery, so the crew, the client and any agency all work from the same plan.
Whatever the format, most shoots track the same stages:
- Pre-production — brief, casting, locations, wardrobe and scouting
- Client milestones — pre-production meeting, approvals and reviews
- Shoot days — call times, travel and rest days
- Post — edit, retouching or color, and client rounds
- Delivery — final files, versions and hand-off dates
What's in the template
The downloadable PDF is a real calendar exported from Calendar by unabase — a clean month view with color-coded stages, working days and key dates already laid out. Use it as a reference for structuring your own shoot.
It shows how the pieces fit on one timeline: stages, weekends and holidays accounted for, in a polished layout you can hand to a client or agency.
Pick the right starting point
A commercial, a photo shoot and a single shoot day each have their own rhythm. Start from the version closest to your job and adjust from there:
- Commercial and branded content — see the commercial production schedule template.
- Photo and content shoots — see the photo production schedule template.
- A single shoot day — see the daily production schedule template.
Static template vs. a live schedule
A PDF or spreadsheet is a fine start, but a shoot changes constantly — a location falls through, a day shifts, an approval slips. With a static file, every change means recalculating dates by hand and emailing a version nobody trusts.
A live schedule recalculates dependent dates automatically when one moves, counts only working days and the production country's holidays, and stays shareable as a single source of truth. Export the same polished PDF — Draft or official — whenever a client needs one.
How to use it
Download the sample PDF below to see the structure. When you're ready to make it live, start from a template in Calendar by unabase, set your shoot dates, and invite your team — everyone sees the latest version, and you export a branded PDF whenever a client asks.