Camera report template
For digital shoots. Updated 9 November 2026.
A camera report is the sheet the 2nd AC keeps for each camera and card: one line per take, with the clip name, lens, stop and whether the take is circled. It goes to the DIT with the card, and copies go to editorial and the script supervisor, so they know which clips matter and how each was shot. These three files are free to download, copy and change.
- Blank camera report, CSV (opens in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers; 30 empty rows)
- Blank camera report, printable PDF (one page, US Letter landscape, 25 rows)
- Filled example, CSV (8 takes from a made-up shoot called Low Tide)
Header: one per card
Fill these once at the top of each report: production, date, shoot day, camera (A, B, C), card or roll, camera body, format and codec, project frame rate, EI, color temperature, LUT or look, DP and 2nd AC. Start a new report when the card changes.
Columns: one row per take
| Scene | The scene and setup. The first setup is the scene number alone, such as 12. The next angle or lens is 12A, then 12B, and the take count starts again at 1. Every crew skips I and O because they look like 1 and 0; many also skip S and Z, and some skip Q. |
|---|---|
| Take | The take number on the slate. |
| Clip | The file name the camera gave the clip, such as A004C003. This is what the DIT and the editor search for. Use the name the camera wrote: A004C003 is an ARRI name, and RED, Sony and Blackmagic name clips differently. |
| Timecode | The camera's timecode when the sticks close, read off the camera: hours, minutes, seconds and frames, as in 09:36:41:12. On a time-of-day jam this matches the clock. The editor uses it to find the clap in the clip. |
| Lens | Focal length, such as 35mm. |
| T-stop | The stop the lens was set to. |
| Focus | Focus distance for the take, if the 1st AC wants it logged. |
| Filter | ND, diffusion or other filters in front of the lens. |
| fps | Frame rate for this take, written on every row. An off-speed take gets its own number, such as 47.952 on a slow-motion pass. |
| Shutter | Shutter angle or speed. 180 means 180 degrees; a speed is written as a fraction, such as 1/48. |
| Circle | Mark the takes the director wants editorial to use. On the PDF, circle the take number. In the CSV, write Yes. |
| Notes | What went wrong, or a backup worth keeping: NG (no good), false start, boom in shot. Hold marks a backup take, which is not the circled one. |
This sheet is for digital cameras, so there are no film footage counters. Add or delete columns to suit the shoot; the CSV is plain text.
What a filled report looks like
The first five takes from the example file (camera A, card A004, 35mm and 50mm at T2.8):
| Scene | Take | Clip | Timecode | Circle | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | A004C001 | 09:30:04:00 | False start | |
| 12 | 2 | A004C002 | 09:33:18:01 | Boom in shot | |
| 12 | 3 | A004C003 | 09:36:41:12 | Yes | |
| 12A | 1 | A004C004 | 09:52:10:05 | Focus soft | |
| 12A | 2 | A004C005 | 09:55:02:20 | Yes |
Shot log from the slate
Take Slate is a digital clapperboard app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Each take you clap is a line in its shot log: scene, take, roll, the phone's clock (to the frame when the FPS field is set), circle and note. Share CSV sends that log through the phone's share sheet. That clock is not the camera's timecode. Timecode, lens, stop, focus, filter, shutter and clip stay on this sheet for the camera team to fill in. The app and its CSV are free. Take Slate Pro is US$9.99 once and adds a PDF shot log and Wrap day.
Get it on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
No phone at hand? Film slate runs in the browser.