Free Camera Report Template and Sound Report Template (PDF)
Your editor wasn’t on set. The camera report and the sound report are how they find out what happened. Which takes were good, what lens was on, what broke and where the room tone is. This free camera report template and sound report template are fillable PDFs in US Letter and A4, with a filled-in example of each from a short film.
TL;DR: Log Every Take, Circle the Good Ones
Start a camera report for every roll or card and a sound report for every sound roll. Write one line per take with the scene, take number and settings. Circle the takes the director likes and note every problem. Send both reports to the editor with the footage.
Download the Free Camera and Sound Report Templates
Both reports are fillable one-page PDFs with 24 take rows. Print one camera report per card and one sound report per sound roll. The examples show day 2 of Dead Air.
What Is a Camera Report?
A camera report is a log of every take recorded on one roll of film or one memory card. The 2nd AC usually fills it in, often with the report taped to the back of the slate, according to ProVideo Coalition.
- Who uses it: the editor, the DIT or lab, and the production office
- What it holds: scene and take, lens, stop, focus distance, filters, frame rate and shutter
- Circled takes: the ones the director wants to see first
- Card notes: when the card was offloaded and whether the backups checked out
What Is a Sound Report?
A sound report is the same idea for audio. The sound mixer fills it in during or after each take, noting wild lines and unwanted noise, and the editor and dialogue editor use it to find the best takes without listening to every one, according to Wikipedia.
- Track key: what’s on each track, like mix, boom and each lav mic
- Timecode: the start time of every file, so sound and picture line up
- Wild tracks and room tone: sound recorded without picture, for the editor to fill gaps
What’s in the Templates
- Camera report: production, date, camera, roll or card, DP and ACs, format, frame rate, codec and look. 24 take rows with scene, take, lens, T-stop, focus, filter, fps, shutter, circle and notes
- Sound report: production, date, mixer, boom op, sound roll, recorder, sample rate, bit depth, timecode rate and a four-track key. 24 take rows with file, scene, take, start timecode, tracks, circle and notes
- Footer boxes: card and offload notes on the camera report, wild tracks and room tone on the sound report
Camera Report and Sound Report Example: Dead Air
Here are both reports filled in for day 2 of Dead Air, the made-up short film from our shooting schedule template. The crew shoots scene 4 in the radio studio.
- The reports agree. Scene 4 take 2 is circled on both. That’s the take the editor cuts first.
- Problems get written down. Take 1 has the boom in frame on the camera report and the same note on the sound report. Nobody has to guess why it wasn’t used.
- Inserts can be silent. Scene 4B, the blinking phone light, is marked MOS on the sound report. That means no sync sound was needed.
- Room tone is logged. 60 seconds of the studio with everyone still. The editor uses it to smooth cuts between lines.
- Frame rate changes get flagged. Take 2 of 4B was shot at 47.952 fps for slow motion. Without that note, the editor would play it at normal speed.
Here’s a tip for your 2nd AC and your sound mixer.
Compare reports at lunch and at wrap.
If the scene and take numbers don’t match, fix it that day, while everyone still remembers.
How to Fill In a Camera Report
- Start a new sheet for every card. Write the card or roll number at the top, like A007.
- Log each take as it happens. Scene, take and settings, before the next slate.
- Write settings that change. Lens, stop and focus change between setups. Fill them in every line anyway, so a line never depends on the one above.
- Circle on the director’s word. When the director says “print that” or “that’s the one,” circle it.
- Note the offload. When the card comes off the camera, write the time, the number of copies and whether the checks passed.
How to Fill In a Sound Report
- Fill in the track key first. Track 1 mix, track 2 boom, then each lav by character.
- Log the file name and start timecode. These are what the editor searches for.
- Note every noise. Planes, fridges, lav rustle, a line stepped on.
- Record wild lines. If a line was spoiled by noise, record the actor saying it again without picture and log it.
- Get room tone. At least 30 to 60 seconds for every location.
Why the Paperwork Matters: Singin’ in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rain is a comedy about a studio making its first talkie. The Dueling Cavalier has awkward microphone placements, and at its preview screening the sound goes out of sync with the picture, according to Wikipedia. The audience laughs at the wrong moments.
Sync problems still happen on real shoots, and the fix starts on set. A clean slate, matching take numbers and a logged timecode let the editor line up every file. When something goes wrong, the camera and sound reports are the first thing they check.
Want a quick way to keep reports readable?
Skip the letters I and O when you name shots like 4A and 4B.
They look like the numbers 1 and 0 on a slate.
For a whole shoot day in one document, use our call sheet template. For continuity and take notes, see our script supervisor template.
More On-Set Paperwork
This template is part of a free set of on-set forms. Use them together and your whole crew works from the same paperwork.
- Cast list template: every actor, role and contact on one page
- Prop list template: every prop by scene, with hero props and backups
- Script supervisor template: take notes and a continuity sheet for every scene
- Call sheet template: who needs to be where, and when, for each shoot day
Card and roll numbers from this report go straight into the daily production report at wrap.
FAQs About Camera and Sound Reports
Do I Still Need a Camera Report on a Digital Shoot?
Yes. The camera records file names and some settings, but not which takes the director liked, what went wrong or what filter was on the lens. That’s what editors ask for.
Who Fills in the Camera Report on a Small Crew?
The 2nd AC. If you don’t have one, the 1st AC or the DP does it. On a one-person shoot, a quick note on your phone after every take is better than nothing.
What Does MOS Mean on a Sound Report?
It means a shot was filmed without sound. Nobody agrees on where the term came from, but everyone agrees what it means: don’t look for audio for this take.
The Final Cut on the Camera Report Template
A camera report template and a sound report template turn a day of footage into files your editor can find.
Log every take, circle the good ones and write down every problem while it’s fresh.
Who on your crew is going to own the reports?
Jay Neill
Jay Neill is the founder and managing editor of iFILMthings and believes everyone should have access to the film resources they need to plan their filmmaking project, which is why he’s dedicated iFILMthings to helping all filmmakers.