A company move is the transfer of the shooting unit from one location to another during the day. The time you need includes packing, travel, unloading, and getting ready to shoot again. A twenty-minute drive can take a much bigger bite out of your shooting day.
What counts as a company move?
Moving the shooting unit to a different location counts. Moving the camera from a diner booth into its kitchen may only be a change of set, although the equipment work can still take time.
The useful question is what has to stop and restart. Does the truck need repacking? Will cast change holding rooms? Does the next space need dressing before lighting can begin? Write those dependencies down before choosing a duration. A move label with no allowance beside it contributes nothing to the schedule.
StudioBinder describes the basic sequence in its guide to load-in and load-out. The estimates below are an illustrative planning exercise for Nightfall, not standard move times.
How long should you allow for a company move?
Allow the time the departments actually need to leave, travel, and become ready at the next location. Start with separate estimates, then check which tasks can overlap without using the same people or equipment twice.
| Activity | Illustrative time | What must be complete |
|---|---|---|
| Load out office | 12:00–12:35 · 35 min | Pack equipment and clear the working area |
| Meal break | 12:35–13:05 · 30 min | A separate planned break, subject to applicable terms |
| Travel | 13:05–13:25 · 20 min | Approved route and vehicle access |
| Park and unload | 13:25–13:45 · 20 min | Correct entrance open; unloading space ready |
| Set up and rehearse | 13:45–14:30 · 45 min | Camera, lighting, sound, and cast ready |
| Next camera-ready target | 14:30 | 150 min after the last office take |
The move and preparation total 120 minutes. The separate meal adds 30 minutes to the gap between takes. Whether these allowances work depends on the equipment, the building, and the crew. If apartment access starts at 14:00, the plan has to change before anyone receives it.
Who checks the move before the day?
The AD coordinates the timing with production, locations, transport, and the department heads. Production needs to know who can release the first location and who will receive the unit at the second.
For the Nightfall example, B. Ruiz checks apartment access and the unloading route. A. Kimura and D. Osei estimate the camera and lighting work. S. Moreau puts the resulting allowance into the day. If someone proposes sending a crew ahead, identify exactly which people and kit can leave early without delaying the office scene.
What belongs on the call sheet?
Give people the destination they can actually use: the crew entrance, parking instructions, and a contact for access. An address alone can put an entire unit at a locked front door.
Label each location and identify which scenes belong there. Include the move order, relevant arrival instructions, and any separate cast arrangements. A person reporting directly to the apartment needs their own reporting instruction; they should not have to infer it from the general crew call.
Use the call sheet guide to carry those decisions into the document everyone receives.
How can you make the move shorter?
First check whether the move can disappear. Grouping scenes at one location may save more time than any faster packing plan.
When the move is necessary, confirm access, prepare the receiving location where agreed, and pack in the order equipment will be needed. Keep a named person responsible for the first location until it is properly handed back. Do not save ten minutes by leaving that responsibility undefined.
Mark the move as its own line in the shooting schedule template and ask each affected department to check the allowance before the call sheet goes out.
Frequently asked questions
Is a company move the same as a location change?
A company move usually means the unit relocates between locations. A change between sets inside one building can be smaller, but still needs a realistic allowance for equipment and preparation.
Can the crew eat during the drive?
Do not assume travel counts as a meal break. Build the plan using the applicable agreements and local requirements, and show a separate break where one is required.
Should every company move take the same time?
No. A small camera package on one floor and a truck-based unit crossing a city have different needs. Get an estimate for the particular move and compare it with actuals afterward.
Where do you record the actual move time?
Record the last take, departure, arrival, and readiness times in the production record. Those timestamps help you distinguish slow travel from slow unloading when planning the next move.