Day Out of Days
Encyclopedia
The Day Out of Days is a chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member. The chart must be prepared after the shooting schedule
. Once it has been completed, work can begin on a budget
.
The Day Out of Days is arranged as a grid, with columns representing days and rows representing cast members. Letters are used to indicate paid days. Typically, W is used to indicate a work day (the cast member will perform on that day), T indicates a travel day, and R a rehearsal day. All three count as paid days.
The letters S (Start) and F (Finish) are used to indicate the first and last paid days. For example, a cast member's first paid day (usually a rehearsal day) appears as SR; the last paid day (usually a work day) appears as WF.
Special consideration must be given to idle periods in the Day Out of Days. A cast member can either be held (paid) or dropped (not paid) during an idle period. The Screen Actors Guild
has very specific rules addressing when an actor can -- or especially can't -- be dropped. (The rules don't apply for actors with run-of-show agreements.)
In the Day Out of Days chart, hold days are indicated by an H. When a cast member is to be dropped, a D marks the last paid day before the drop, and a P indicates the day when the cast member will be picked back up.
Shooting schedule
A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production. It is normally created and managed by the assistant director, who reports to the production manager managing the production schedule...
. Once it has been completed, work can begin on a budget
Film budgeting
Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager or filmmaker prepares a budget for a film production. This document, which could be over 150 pages long, is used to secure financing for the film and lead to pre-production and production of the film. Multiple...
.
The Day Out of Days is arranged as a grid, with columns representing days and rows representing cast members. Letters are used to indicate paid days. Typically, W is used to indicate a work day (the cast member will perform on that day), T indicates a travel day, and R a rehearsal day. All three count as paid days.
The letters S (Start) and F (Finish) are used to indicate the first and last paid days. For example, a cast member's first paid day (usually a rehearsal day) appears as SR; the last paid day (usually a work day) appears as WF.
Special consideration must be given to idle periods in the Day Out of Days. A cast member can either be held (paid) or dropped (not paid) during an idle period. The Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
has very specific rules addressing when an actor can -- or especially can't -- be dropped. (The rules don't apply for actors with run-of-show agreements.)
In the Day Out of Days chart, hold days are indicated by an H. When a cast member is to be dropped, a D marks the last paid day before the drop, and a P indicates the day when the cast member will be picked back up.