What Should a Run Sheet Actually Contain Before Crew Call?

The question behind the question

Almost every technical writing enquiry we receive opens the same way: what should a run sheet contain, and how much is too much? It sounds like a formatting query, but it is really a question about who will be holding the page at the worst moment of the day, and what they need to find within two seconds.

A run sheet is not a script and not a manual. It is a working document read standing up, often in low light, with a headset on and a producer talking in one ear. That reader is rarely short of intelligence. They are short of attention, so the page has to hand over the next action without asking them to interpret anything.

When we are asked to write one, the first thing we do is ask who will read it and where they will be standing. A vision mixer, a floor manager and a sound supervisor need different things from the same programme, and a single page rarely serves all three well.

What belongs on the page

Every run sheet we write carries the same core. Each item has a number, a clock time or a duration, a plain description of what happens, the source or camera involved, the audio state, and the cue that moves the show to the next item. If any of those is missing, someone in the gallery will ask for it aloud during transmission.

Cues deserve the most care. A cue written as a vague event, such as the presenter wrapping up, invites argument. A cue written as the last spoken words of a line, or a specific graphic leaving the screen, can be heard and agreed by everyone at once.

We also include a short block of contact points at the top: who to call if a link drops, where the nearest spare is kept, and who holds authority to change the running order. Crews do not read it often, but they are glad of it the one time they need it.

• Item number and timing
• Source, camera or playout reference
• Audio state for the item
• Exact cue to the next item
• Names for the key decisions

How long should it be

Producers often assume that a thorough document is a long one. In our experience the reverse tends to be true on the day. A one-page running order with a second page of notes will be used. A fourteen-page pack will be skimmed on the morning and abandoned by the first break.

Our rule is to keep the live sheet short and push everything else into supporting pages. Rigging details, equipment lists and fallback procedures matter, but they belong in a separate section that people read before the day, not during it.

For a typical studio programme this means a live sheet that fits on two sides of paper at a legible size, with a briefing pack behind it. If the live sheet does not fit, we treat that as a sign the show structure is too complicated, and say so in our notes rather than shrinking the type.

Writing for people who skim

Crews read in glances, so layout does a lot of the work. We use consistent column positions, so the eye learns where timings sit, and we avoid colour as the only signal, since printouts get photocopied and screens get dimmed in the gallery.

Language matters as much as layout. We prefer short imperative lines, the same term for the same thing throughout, and no abbreviations that only one person on the team understands. If a graphics operator calls something a lower third and the director calls it a strap, the document picks one and defines it once.

Oliver Banks, our technical editor, reads every document aloud before it leaves us. Anything that makes him stumble gets rewritten, because a line that cannot be said smoothly will not be followed smoothly under pressure.

Keeping it accurate after the first draft

A run sheet is out of date the moment someone changes the running order, which on most productions happens several times. The practical answer is version control that anyone can follow: a revision number and a time printed in the corner of every page, and one named person who issues updates.

We ask clients to retire old copies physically where they can. The most expensive errors we hear about are not mistakes in the writing but a camera operator working from an earlier revision because it was still pinned to a board.

For recurring programmes we write a master template with the stable parts fixed, so each edition needs only the items and cues updated. This saves time and, more importantly, keeps the structure familiar to a crew who see it every week.

What to send us before we start

If you ask us to write or rework a run sheet, the most useful material is the current running order, any existing documentation, a plain description of the studio and gallery layout, and the names or roles of the people who will use it. A recording of a recent rehearsal helps us hear how the crew actually speaks.

We would also like to know what has gone wrong before. Late cues, confused handovers and unclear audio states are exactly the points a good document should settle. Knowing them lets us spend effort where the show is fragile rather than polishing the parts that already work.

Prices for this work are set out on our prices page, and an enquiry through the contact page is the way to begin. We reply with a written quotation once we understand the size of the programme and the documents involved.