This report is Day 4 of SALT FLATS, filled in after wrap by the 2nd AD. It's the other half of the Day 4 call sheet: the call sheet said what the company planned to do, and this says what it did. Most of the interesting information on a DPR is in the gaps between the two, like a first shot 14 minutes late or an insert that didn't get shot.
For a general explanation of the DPR and who reads it, see the daily production report guide. This page covers the template section by section and how the cast block relates to the Exhibit G.
Reading the Day 4 report
The top two blocks give the facts of the day and the times. Actual times go here, not planned ones. The call sheet had shooting call at 8:00 AM; the first shot was 8:14 AM, and the notes explain why.
The scenes, pages, and setups block is the progress check. The arithmetic is simple and it has to be exact. Pages shot previously (Days 1 to 3) are 5 7/8 + 6 1/8 + 6, which is 47 + 49 + 48 = 144 eighths, or 18 pages. Add today's 6 7/8 and the total to date is 24 7/8. The script is 70 pages, so 45 1/8 remain. Scheduled to date matches total to date, which is why the status line reads "On schedule". If they didn't match, the difference is how far behind (or ahead) the company is.
Scenes shot today lists every scene worked, with its status. A scene is "Complete" when everything planned is shot or explicitly moved. Scene 17 is marked complete with the badge insert owed and a note saying where it went. A scene with missing coverage and no plan would be marked "Part" and carried into remaining pages.
The cast block and the Exhibit G
On a SAG-AFTRA production, each performer's day is recorded on the Performers Production Time Report, known as the Exhibit G. Its columns include report to makeup and wardrobe, report on set, dismiss on set, dismiss from makeup and wardrobe, non-deductible meal, first and second meal start and finish, travel to and from location, stunt adjustments, minors' tutoring time, wardrobe outfits, forced calls, and meal period violations. The performer signs it at the end of the day to confirm the times.
The DPR's cast section carries the same times for the same people. The usual workflow is for the 2nd AD to fill in the Exhibit G during the day, get signatures at dismissal, and copy the times onto the DPR. Payroll and SAG-AFTRA work from the signed Exhibit G, so if the two documents disagree, the DPR is the one that gets corrected. That's why the template has an "Ex. G signed" column. A "No" there is something the UPM needs to chase before payroll closes for the week.
On Day 4 the times show how the schedule protected meals. Hollis was dismissed from makeup and wardrobe at 12:50 PM after a 7:00 AM report, so he went home before lunch. Pace reported at 12:30 PM and was dismissed at 5:30 PM. Bev reported at 1:15 PM and was out at 6:45 PM. None of the three needed a meal, and the MPV column is zero for everyone. The Exhibit G walkthrough covers each column of the union form, and the meal penalty calculator checks times like these.
How to fill in the template
- Start from the day's call sheet. Copy production info, sets, and the scheduled scenes.
- Enter actual times from the 1st AD's and 2nd AD's logs: first shot, meal in and out, move times, camera wrap, last person out.
- Get the script supervisor's report and fill in scenes shot, pages, setups, and status per scene. Any owed shot goes in both the status and the notes.
- Update the running totals: shot previously is yesterday's total to date. Add today. Subtract from the script total for remaining.
- Copy cast times from the signed Exhibit G. Check each performer's status code against the day out of days.
- Count background and stand-ins from the vouchers, with in and out times.
- Fill media from the camera and sound reports, and crew in and out times from the time cards or department heads.
- Write delays, injuries, property damage, and equipment problems with times. Say what happened, how long it cost, and what was done.
- Give it to the UPM to review and sign, and send it to the producers and the production accountant.
Mistakes that come back later
Planned times instead of actual times. A DPR that copies "first shot 8:00 AM" from the call sheet is simply wrong, and when hours or meals are questioned later, the signed Exhibit G is the record the union and payroll will look at.
Cast times that don't match the Exhibit G. Even five minutes of difference on a dismissal time can hide a meal penalty.
Owed shots with nowhere to go. "Insert not shot" with no day assigned means it gets forgotten until the edit.
Delays without a cause. A line producer reading "first shot 8:14 AM" needs to know it was the crusher, not the crew, because the fix is a conversation with the location owner.
After the UPM signs it
The DPR is the source for the hot cost report, which turns hours and overages into dollars the next morning. At the end of the shoot, the reports roll up into the wrap report. The daily production report glossary entry has the short definition.
In Storiara
Storiara builds each day's call sheet from the schedule, with scenes, cast and crew call times, locations, weather, and the hospital the ADs enter. That gives you the planned side of the day, which is what the production report is checked against.