Rate every exterior day for exposure
The cover set and weather cover glossary entries explain the terms. This is how the plan gets built on a real board.
BREAKWATER is a fictional feature shooting on the Oregon coast in March. Rain is likely on any given day, and wind off the ocean is the other problem. In prep, the 1st AD goes through the exterior days one by one with the DP and asks what weather would actually stop each one.
| Day | Main work | Ext. pages | What stops it | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | EXT. JETTY - DAY, Sc. 40 to 43 | 4 3/8 | Rain, high surf, wind | High |
| 11 | EXT. HARBOR DOCKS - DAY, Sc. 51, 52 | 2 6/8 | Heavy rain (light rain can play) | Medium |
| 12 | INT. CANNERY OFFICE - DAY | 0 | Nothing | None |
| 13 | EXT. LIGHTHOUSE ROAD (DRIVING) - DAY, Sc. 60 to 62 | 3 1/8 | Rain on the windshield matches nothing shot; wind on the tow rig | High |
| 14 | EXT. MAIN ST. - NIGHT, Sc. 70, 71 | 2 2/8 | Heavy rain (would need rain towers anyway) | Low |
Day 14 is a good reminder that exposure isn't the same as "exterior." Scene 70 is already written as a rainy night, so real rain just saves water. Day 11's dock scenes can play in drizzle, since nothing else on the docks has been shot yet. The jetty and the driving scenes are the days that need real cover.
Pick the cover, and rank the candidates
A cover needs to be ready to shoot on short notice. Go through the interior strips on the stripboard and score each candidate on the questions that decide whether a switch actually works:
| Candidate | Distance from jetty | Dressed and held? | Cast | Story days already shot? | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INT. MAGGIE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN, Sc. 45, 46 | 10 min | Yes, rented house held all week | 1, 2 (both on the jetty day) | No, safe to shoot any time | 2 5/8 |
| INT. BAIT SHOP, Sc. 33 | 25 min | Only dressed Day 16 | 1, 6 (cast 6 not working week 3) | Yes, follows Sc. 32 on Day 18 | 1 1/8 |
| INT. HARBOR BAR, Sc. 55, 57 | 15 min | Bar open to public at 4:00P | 1, 2, 4, 20 background | No | 3 2/8 |
The kitchen wins. The bait shop isn't dressed, needs an actor who isn't around, and depends on a scene not yet shot. The bar has the most pages, but the location is only available until the bar opens and it needs 20 background actors who'd have to be booked in case it rains. Keep the bar as a possible cover for later in the schedule, when its extras are already working another day.
Look closely at page counts. The kitchen cover is 2 5/8 pages against a planned 4 3/8 on the jetty. Covers almost never match the day they replace, so the difference, 1 6/8 pages, will need a home somewhere. Decide where before it rains.
Price what the plan costs
Covers aren't free, and a producer needs the numbers to agree to them.
Location. Maggie's house is rented for the whole week at a weekly rate in the location agreement, so holding the kitchen costs nothing extra. If it had only been booked for Day 17, holding it all week would mean paying for the extra days.
Set dressing. The kitchen stays dressed from Day 9 until it's shot. The set decorator can't borrow the hero table for another set in the meantime.
Cast. The kitchen scenes use cast 1 and 2, who are working the jetty anyway. That's the ideal. A cover that needs someone who isn't working the exterior day puts that person on hold, and on many deals a hold day is paid. It shows up on the day out of days as an H, and accounting will ask about it.
Crew and equipment. If the switch happens the night before, nothing changes. If it happens at 9:00A after the trucks are parked at the jetty, the company pays for a company move as well.
Compare the total with the cost of losing the day outright. A shoot day at full crew with no footage is the most expensive outcome in the schedule.
Set the decision points
A cover plan without deadlines turns into a crew standing on a jetty at 10:30A waiting for the rain to stop. BREAKWATER uses four decision points for every high-exposure day:
- Two days out. The 1st AD, UPM, and DP read the National Weather Service point forecast for the jetty's coordinates, including the Detailed Forecast and the Forecast Discussion, where forecasters explain how confident they are. If the day looks bad, the cover cast get a heads-up and the set decorator confirms the kitchen is ready.
- The afternoon before, around 3:00P. Check the Hourly Weather Graph. Decide: main plan, cover, or a split that starts on cover and moves to the exterior if a front passes.
- When the call sheet goes out, around 6:00P. The call sheet states the decision in plain words.
- The morning of. A hard deadline written on the call sheet. At BREAKWATER it's 8:00A: if it's raining or the surf is over the jetty at 8:00A, the unit moves to cover.
Here's how Day 10's call sheet shows it:
| Sc. | Set | D/N | Pgs | Cast | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43 | EXT. JETTY. WEATHER PERMITTING | D | 4 3/8 | 1, 2, 5 | South Jetty, lot B |
| COVER SET | Decision by 8:00A. Cover cast on call | ||||
| 45, 46 | INT. MAGGIE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN | D | 2 5/8 | 1, 2 | 1210 SW Elm St. |
Cast 5 is only in the jetty scenes. If the unit goes to cover, cast 5 has been called and may be paid without working, which is one more reason to make the decision the night before when you can.
When it rains: re-boarding the lost pages
It rains on Day 10. The unit shoots the kitchen. Now the jetty's 4 3/8 pages and cast 5 need a new day, and the cover set is used up.
The AD looks for days where the jetty scenes could fit. Day 13 is the driving day, also high exposure, so stacking the jetty there would put two weather-dependent jobs in one day. Day 17 is an interior day at the cannery with 3 pages and cast 1 and 2, three minutes from the jetty.
| Option | Result | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Put all of Sc. 40 to 43 on Day 17 | 3 + 4 3/8 = 7 3/8 pages | Far too heavy with a surf-dependent exterior |
| Put Sc. 40, 41 (2 2/8) on Day 17 and Sc. 42, 43 (2 1/8) on Day 19 | Day 17 is 5 2/8, Day 19 becomes 5 1/8 | Cast 5 now works two days instead of one |
| Move the cannery's Sc. 81 (1 pg) from Day 17 to Day 12 and put all jetty scenes on Day 17 | Day 12: 3 5/8 + 1 = 4 5/8; Day 17: 2 + 4 3/8 = 6 3/8 | Day 17 is still heavy, but cast 5 stays at one day |
Check the arithmetic on option 2. Sc. 40 and 41 total 2 2/8; add Day 17's 3 pages for 5 2/8. Sc. 42 and 43 total 2 1/8, and together with 2 2/8 that makes 4 3/8, which matches the lost day. Day 19 had 3 pages, so it becomes 5 1/8.
The team picks option 2, and books cast 5 for the extra day, because a 6 3/8-page day with surf on the jetty is how you end up losing the scene a second time. Then the AD names a new cover for Day 13 on the next call sheet: the harbor bar, now that its background actors are booked for Day 15 anyway.
Weather that isn't rain
Wind grounds drones and limits condors, lifts, and overhead rigs; the rigging and equipment rules come from the manufacturer and your safety department, so get the limits in writing during prep. Overcast light can ruin a match with sunny coverage already in the can, which is a DP conversation for every exterior. Heat and cold change how long cast can work outdoors in wardrobe and how many breaks crew need. And the light window itself counts: a cover decision at 8:00A can leave a late-afternoon exterior with too little sun, which the sunrise sunset planner will tell you before you promise it.
Don't count on insurance for ordinary weather delays. Ask your broker early what a production package covers for weather, and read production insurance before assuming anything.
Storiara's call sheets and weather
Storiara's call sheets include a weather forecast for the shoot location, pulled from a weather service rather than typed in. The cover decision is still yours, so settle the cover scenes and the morning deadline, and tell cover cast, before the call sheet is emailed or shared as a link.