# Base camp

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/base-camp
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> Base camp is the parking area on a location shoot where the production puts cast trailers, the honeywagon, hair and makeup, wardrobe, catering, and sometimes the production office trailer. It's separate from the shooting set and from crew parking, and it's listed with its own address on the call sheet.

## What gets parked there

A typical base camp on a mid-budget feature has a few cast trailers (two- or three-room "star wagons" split between actors), a [honeywagon](https://storiara.com/glossary/honeywagon) with restrooms and small dressing rooms for day players, a hair and makeup trailer, a wardrobe trailer, the catering truck with a dining tent, and the generator for the trailers. The production office trailer and the AD trailer, where the 2nd AD does paperwork, usually park here too. Camera, grip, and electric trucks tend to park closer to set, since those departments need their gear within reach.

On a small indie, base camp might be a church parking lot with a rented RV and a folding table for makeup. The idea is the same: the place actors get ready, eat, and wait, away from the shooting space.

## How it runs on the day

The [transportation captain](https://storiara.com/roles/transportation-captain) and drivers bring the vehicles in before crew call, often in the dark. The 2nd 2nd AD assigns trailer rooms and posts them. When cast arrive, they report to base camp, go through hair, makeup, and wardrobe, then get walked or driven to set when the 1st AD calls for them. That travel time counts, so a base camp ten minutes from set by van adds twenty minutes of round trip every time an actor goes back to change.

A call sheet line might read:

| Set | Base camp | Crew park |
|---|---|---|
| 1847 Alder Rd (house) | Lot C, Riverside Elementary, 1920 Alder Rd | 400 Mill St, shuttle every 15 min from 5:30A |

## Where it goes wrong

The usual problems are distance, noise, and neighbors. A generator parked upwind of a quiet dialogue scene will show up in the sound report. Trailers lined up on a residential street without a proper [parking permit](https://storiara.com/glossary/parking-permit) will get the permit office on the phone before lunch. And if the base camp is far enough away that the actors need a shuttle, the 1st AD has to build that time into every "first team" call.

## How it connects to the schedule

A base camp that can serve two or three locations saves money, because moving trailers is part of what makes a [company move](https://storiara.com/glossary/company-move) expensive. The [location manager](https://storiara.com/roles/location-manager) often scouts base camp at the same time as the set, and the film permit usually spells out which lots and streets the production can use for it.

## Frequently asked questions

### What's the difference between base camp and crew parking?

Base camp holds the working vehicles and trailers: cast trailers, hair and makeup, wardrobe, catering, the honeywagon. Crew parking is where people leave their personal cars, often farther away with a shuttle van running to set or base camp.

### Who picks the base camp?

The location manager finds and permits it, working with the transportation coordinator on whether the trucks fit and can turn around. The UPM and 1st AD sign off on the distance to set.

### Does base camp go on the call sheet?

Yes. Most call sheets list the set address, base camp address, and crew parking address separately, along with the nearest hospital and any shuttle times.