What goes on a pickup list
The list usually comes out of the edit. The editor cuts a rough cut, and the gaps become obvious: no insert of the letter the audience needs to read, no clean angle to get out of a scene, a plate for a visual effect that was never shot. The post supervisor collects the notes, the producer decides which ones are worth money, and the result is a short shoot list.
A pickup list for an indie feature might look like this:
| Sc. | Shot | Cast | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Insert: letter in Maya's hand, readable text | Hand double | Office, any table | Match ring and sleeve from Day 9 |
| 41A | Car exterior pass, dusk | None | Any two-lane road | Same picture vehicle, plates as in Sc. 41 |
| 58 | Joe's close up, "I never asked you to stay." | 2 (Joe) | INT. KITCHEN, redress | Haircut since wrap, check photos |
Many pickups can be shot without the original location. A hand double, a tabletop, and the same prop can pass for a set that no longer exists.
Continuity is the hard part
Weeks may have passed since wrap. Actors have had haircuts, wardrobe has been returned, the picture car has gone back to its owner. Before scheduling, pull the script supervisor's notes, continuity photos, and the camera reports for lens, height, and filtration on the original setups. Costume and props should check whether the pieces still exist. It is common for a pickup day to fail on something small, like a watch that was a rental.
Budgeting and scheduling
Pickups cost more per shot than anything done during principal photography, because you pay for a fresh crew call, equipment rental minimums, insurance, and sometimes travel for one or two people. Carrying a line for them in the film budget keeps the conversation calm when the edit asks for them. If not, the money comes out of contingency.
For cast, check the deal memos. Some include a free day or a recall window, and union agreements have their own rules for recalls. Book the day late enough that the edit knows what it needs, and early enough that the footage can still be cut in before picture lock. Once picture is locked, adding shots reopens the conform, the sound work, and sometimes the VFX schedule.
On the call sheet, a pickup day reads like any other day, just much shorter. Keep the scene numbers the same as the script, with A or B suffixes for new setups, so editorial can file them correctly.