# Day Out of Days Template With Standard DOOD Codes

Source: https://storiara.com/templates/day-out-of-days
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> A day out of days template is a grid with cast down the side and shoot days across the top. Each cell holds a status code: SW start work, W work, H hold, WF work finish, SWF start-work-finish, T travel, R rehearsal, D dropped, PW pickup work. Totals at the right give each performer's travel, rehearsal, work, hold, and paid days for payroll and the budget.

This DOOD covers the full SALT FLATS schedule: eight speaking roles, 12 shoot days, and the two prep days before Day 1 when June travels in and the leads rehearse. It's built from the [stripboard](https://storiara.com/templates/stripboard) and [one-line schedule](https://storiara.com/templates/one-line-schedule) templates for the same film, so if you move a scene on the board you can see which cells change here.

For why the DOOD matters to payroll and deal-making, read the [day out of days guide](https://storiara.com/blog/day-out-of-days-template). This page walks through the codes as they appear on a real grid and how to fill one in without errors.

## The codes, using this grid

Dell's row is the simplest. He rehearses Saturday 10/3 (R), starts on Day 1 (SW), works every day (W), and finishes on Day 12 (WF). His totals are 1 rehearsal day and 12 work days, 13 paid days.

June's row adds travel and a hold. Tessa Quill flies in on Friday 10/2 (T), rehearses Saturday (R), and starts Day 1. She isn't in any Day 3 scene, but she works Day 2 and Day 4, so Day 3 is H. Holds only fall between a performer's start and finish. Her paid days are 1 + 1 + 11 + 1 = 14.

Bev and Nadia each work one day, so they're SWF.

Hollis shows the drop codes. He starts Day 2, works Days 3 and 4, then has no scenes until the salt flats on Days 10 and 11. Instead of five holds, his row shows D on Days 5 through 9, PW on Day 10, and WF on Day 11. Before you mark a D, check the performer's contract and the union agreement. Both set a minimum gap between the drop and the pickup, and if yours is shorter those five D cells become H and his paid days go from 5 to 10. Scheduling software asks for this number too. Movie Magic Scheduling's DOOD rules let you set the minimum calendar days between a drop and a pickup.

Pace is the row to worry about: 4 work days and 5 holds, 9 paid days to get 4 days of work. His scenes are at the diner (Day 4), the motel at night (Day 6), the substation (Day 9), and the orchard road (Day 12), and those locations can't move much. This is the row the line producer will ask about, and it's the reason to look at the DOOD before the schedule is locked, not after.

Company days off are left out of the grid. Sunday 10/11 is not a hold for anyone.

## How to fill in the template

1. Lock the stripboard first, or at least freeze a version. Every cell here comes from it.
2. List cast in ID order, with the same numbers used on the breakdown, board, and call sheets.
3. Set up day columns for every shoot day, labeled with the day number and date. Add columns before Day 1 for travel, fittings, or rehearsals you intend to pay.
4. For each performer, go through the board day by day and mark W on every day they have a scene.
5. Change the first W to SW and the last to WF. If there's only one, make it SWF.
6. Fill every blank cell between SW and WF with H.
7. Look at long runs of H. If a run is long enough that the contract allows a drop, change them to D and mark the next work day PW. If not, leave them as holds.
8. Add T and R days from the travel plan and the rehearsal schedule.
9. Count each performer's T, R, W, H, and D cells and fill the totals. Paid days are T + R + W + H.
10. Add the daily counts at the bottom and check them against the call sheets: Day 4 should show 5 working, matching the five cast on that call sheet.
11. Put the schedule version on the header so nobody pairs this DOOD with an older board.

## The lower grid

Stunt doubles, the stunt coordinator, and background don't need full status tracking on most indies, but they need to be counted by day for the budget and for booking. The second section does that. The doubles and coordinator rehearse on Day 10 at lunch and shoot Scene 39 on Day 11. Background is a head count per day: 6 at the diner on Day 4, 4 on Union Ave on Day 6.

## Mistakes that cost money

Holds that aren't marked because the actor "isn't needed". If a performer is between start and finish and wasn't dropped under their contract, they're on hold whether or not anyone told them to stay available. A missing H understates the budget.

Drops marked without checking the contract. A D that the agreement doesn't allow turns back into paid days after the fact, usually when payroll is already closed for the week.

Status codes on call sheets that don't match. The 2nd AD copies the status for each performer onto the [call sheet](https://storiara.com/templates/call-sheet) from this grid. If the DOOD is a version behind, Pace can show up as W on his first day instead of SW.

Counting off days as holds. That inflates hold totals and makes a schedule look worse than it is.

Not re-issuing after a board change. Moving Scene 26 from Day 6 to Day 9 would turn Pace's Day 6 into a hold, so he'd be paid the same 9 days for 3 days of work. Reissue the DOOD with the new schedule color every time.

## Who reads the totals

The DOOD's paid-day totals go into the cast lines of the budget and to the production accountant. Casting and agents see each performer's start and finish dates. The [hold day](https://storiara.com/glossary/hold-day) and [drop and pickup](https://storiara.com/glossary/drop-pickup) entries cover those terms in more detail, and the free [DOOD generator](https://storiara.com/tools/dood-generator) will build a grid from a scene list if you don't want to do it by hand.

## The DOOD view in Storiara

Storiara's Day out of Days view is on the Schedule page. It fills in from the schedule and shows start work, work, and work finish days for each cast member, so moving a scene between days updates the grid. The [DOOD docs page](https://storiara.com/docs/dood) shows where to find it.

## Frequently asked questions

### What do SW, W, H, and WF mean on a day out of days?

SW is start work, the performer's first work day. W is a work day. H is a hold, a paid day between work days when the performer isn't needed. WF is work finish, the last day. A performer who works a single day is SWF.

### What do D and PW mean on a DOOD?

D marks days when a performer has been dropped from payroll between two stretches of work. PW, pickup work, is the first work day after the drop. Only drop a performer when their contract and the union agreement allow it for that length of gap.

### Are days off counted as hold days?

No. Company days off, like a Sunday on a six-day week, are not hold days. This template leaves them out of the grid entirely so hold counts only include shoot days.

### Who uses the day out of days?

The line producer and production accountant use it for cast costs and payroll, casting uses it to make deals with agents, and the 2nd AD checks it when writing status codes on each call sheet.

### Should background actors go on the DOOD?

Principal cast always do. Many productions add a second grid for stunt doubles, stand-ins, and background counts per day, which is what the lower section of this template is for.

## Sources

- [Movie Magic Scheduling Manual: DOOD Rules](https://mms-docs.ep.com/DayOutofDays/DOODRules.html)