# Film Equipment Checklist Template by Department (Free XLSX) Source: https://storiara.com/templates/equipment-checklist Last updated: 2026-09-14 Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara > A film equipment checklist lists every piece of rented or owned gear by department, with quantities and columns to tick at check-out and again at return. Camera, grip, electric, and sound each get their own section, and add-on days like a car rig or a second camera are marked by shoot day. This template is filled in for a 12-day indie feature shooting a Sony VENICE 2. SALT FLATS rents one camera package, one grip and electric package on a cube truck, and one sound package that belongs to the mixer. The list above is what the line producer sent to the vendors, combined from four department head lists. Every row has two tick columns: one at check-out, one at return. The gear is sized for this show. Twelve days, two night exteriors, a day of driving shots, and two days on a salt flat where the wind will pick up anything that isn't bagged. Your own list will change with the script. The shape (department sections, quantities, owner, two check columns, and notes that name the shoot day) carries over. ## How each department builds its section ### Camera The [director of photography](https://storiara.com/roles/director-of-photography) picks the body and lenses. The [1st AC](https://storiara.com/roles/first-assistant-camera) turns that into a complete list, because a camera body without the right batteries, media, and cables isn't a working camera. For the VENICE 2 that means AXS cards and readers, the viewfinder, a follow focus, monitors, and enough 150Wh batteries to get through a day without waiting on a charger. Filters are listed by size and strength. The heavy NDs (1.5 and 1.8) are there because Days 10 and 11 are bright exteriors on white ground. Notes like "Day 11 only, Sc. 39 fight" matter for one-day add-ons, which is where the B-cam body on this list comes from: the [script breakdown sheet](https://storiara.com/templates/script-breakdown-sheet) for Scene 39 lists a second body under special equipment. ### Grip The [key grip](https://storiara.com/roles/key-grip) builds the grip list from the tech scout. Most of it is standard: C-stands, flags, nets, apple boxes, clamps. The quantities come from the locations. Thirty 25 lb sandbags looks like a lot until you put a 12x12 frame up on a salt flat. The hood mount and hostess tray for Day 8 are listed here, but the process trailer is booked through a car rig vendor and shouldn't be assumed to be on the truck. ### Electric The [gaffer](https://storiara.com/roles/gaffer) and [best boy electric](https://storiara.com/roles/best-boy-electric) own this section. A salvage yard, a diner, and a motel room each need different fixtures, so the list mixes an M18 for daylight with LED panels and tubes for interiors. The Honda EU7000is covers the two night exteriors where there's no house power. The last row is a cross-department item. The work lights in Scene 42 are props, but electric has to power them. Putting them on both lists stops each department from assuming the other has it. ### Sound The [production sound mixer](https://storiara.com/roles/production-sound-mixer) brings her own package on SALT FLATS, so the owner column says "Hannah Cole (kit rental)" and the serial numbers live on the inventory attached to her [crew deal memo](https://storiara.com/templates/crew-deal-memo). The SD cards are a production purchase because they're kept as backup media and stay with the production after wrap. ## Check-out day, step by step 1. Send the certificate of insurance to every vendor at least a week before pickup. Rental houses won't release gear without one. 2. Send the final list to each vendor two days before check-out and ask for their pull sheet back, so you can compare line by line. 3. At the camera house, the 1st AC and 2nd AC build the camera completely. Power it up with every battery, format every card, and record a test clip on each one. 4. Shoot a lens chart for every lens, including the zoom at both ends of its range. 5. Tick the Out column as each item is checked, and write serial numbers for anything expensive in the notes. 6. For grip and electric, count every item onto the truck with the best boys. Test each fixture and the generator. 7. Note anything missing or swapped, and get the vendor to initial the change before you leave. 8. Photograph damage already on the gear, like a cracked flag frame, so it isn't charged to the show at return. 9. On return day, reverse the process: count it back in, tick the In column, and list anything lost or damaged for the [wrap report](https://storiara.com/templates/wrap-report). ## Where equipment lists fail Batteries and chargers are the most common gap. A list with "V-mount batteries" and no quantity arrives with four, and the camera team spends Day 1 managing power. Adapters and cables aren't written down because everybody assumes they come with the item. Write the mount, the cable, and the power plate. The difference between PL and E-mount on a rented lens is a half-day problem. One-day items go back late. The B-cam for Day 11 needs a return plan, or the production pays for it through the weekend. Nothing on the list says who owns what. When a DPA lav disappears on Day 7, the list has to say whether it belongs to the rental house or the mixer. Salt flat days leave everything coated in dust. They need rain covers and dust bags on the list, plus time budgeted at return for cleaning, or the rental house may bill for it. ## What the checklist connects to Owned gear on this list becomes [kit rental](https://storiara.com/glossary/kit-rental) lines on crew deal memos. Rental totals feed the camera, lighting, and sound accounts of the budget. Special equipment tagged on the breakdown sheet should always show up here with a shoot day. Walkie channels go on the [call sheet](https://storiara.com/templates/call-sheet), and loss and damage at return goes on the wrap report. ## Tracking gear in Storiara Storiara's Equipment page is a list you build yourself: add or remove gear, enter cost and rate fields, set availability, import a list from CSV or XLSX, and print it. It doesn't suggest equipment from the script. Entered costs are used by the Budget module. The [equipment feature page](https://storiara.com/feature/equipment) shows the layout. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who makes the equipment list on a film? Each department head builds their own: the DP and 1st AC for camera, the key grip for grip, the gaffer for electric, the sound mixer for sound. The line producer or production coordinator combines them, gets quotes from rental houses, and tracks what's on order. ### What is a checkout day? The prep day when the camera team goes to the rental house, builds the camera, tests every lens and card, and checks the order against the list. Grip and electric usually do the same at the truck before the first shoot day. ### Should owned kit go on the equipment checklist? Yes. Anything a crew member rents to the production, like a sound package, goes on the list with a note that it's their kit. That list becomes the inventory attached to their deal memo and the record for insurance claims. ### How do I handle gear only needed for one day? Give it its own row with the shoot day in the notes, like the B-camera body for Day 11 on this template. Rental houses will often do a day rate for add-ons, and the row reminds everyone to return it. ### What's the difference between an equipment checklist and a camera report? The checklist tracks gear coming in and going back. A camera report is filled out on set by the 2nd AC and records rolls or cards, scenes, takes, and lens information for post.