The problem
Every shoot needs a call sheet and a risk assessment, and both are written from scratch each time. If a producer runs 10 shoots a month, with 45 minutes on the call sheet and 60 minutes on the risk assessment, that's 1,050 minutes, 17.5 hours a month.
What the AI does
Give ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini the shoot details (location, times, crew roles, equipment, scene list) with no personal phone numbers, and ask for a call sheet in your layout and a draft risk assessment for the activities and location. The producer or a competent person then visits or checks the location, adds the hazards the assistant could not know, and signs off the risk assessment. Anything involving drones, children, public places or hazardous locations has its own rules and licences.
A worked example
A video production company in Cardiff runs about 10 location shoots a month. The producer writes a call sheet and a risk assessment for each.
Before
10 shoots at 45 minutes for the call sheet and 60 for the risk assessment: 1,050 minutes, 17.5 hours
After
If the draft plus a check takes about 20 minutes and 30 minutes: 500 minutes, about 8.3 hours
What it's worth
About 9.2 hours a month saved (550 minutes), worth about £367 at £40 an hour, if the checking takes about 50 minutes per shoot (an assumption to test). The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can do this; a paid plan costs up to about £20 a month for one person if you hit usage limits.
How to set it up
- Create a template call sheet and a risk assessment checklist that fit your kind of shoots.
- Paste the shoot details into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for the call sheet and a draft risk assessment in your layout.
- Check the location yourself or with the venue, and add hazards the draft missed.
- Have a competent person sign off the risk assessment before the shoot, and brief the crew.
- Keep the final versions with the project records.
What goes wrong
- An assistant produces generic hazards and misses site-specific ones. A risk assessment is a legal duty for the business, not something to delegate.
- Filming children, using drones or filming in public places has its own rules, licences and consent requirements.
- Crew phone numbers and personal data on a call sheet shouldn't go into a consumer AI plan.
- Check venue and insurance requirements separately; a draft doesn't confirm permissions.