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About this tool
Generate pre-production, shoot-day and post checklists with time estimates and a call-sheet timeline for any video type.
The Video Production Checklist Generator builds a pre-production, shoot-day and post-production checklist for a specific video and attaches a time estimate to every task. It works from two ratios you can measure — the shooting ratio (minutes of footage per finished minute) and the editing ratio (minutes of editing per minute of footage) — then adds fixed setup costs, a contingency buffer and a sequential call-sheet timeline from your call time. Aimed at solo creators and small crews who keep underestimating post.
Open Video Production Checklist Generator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Pick a Video type — Talking head, Interview, Tutorial, Event coverage, Product review or Vlog — then set Finished runtime (minutes), Crew on the day, Call time and the Contingency buffer (%).
Adjust the "Shooting ratio (footage min per finished min)" and "Editing ratio (edit min per footage min)" fields, and tick On location, More than one camera or Titles and graphics as they apply.
Read Total time to deliver and the Shoot-day timeline table from call to wrap, tick tasks off phase by phase, and press "Copy checklist" to copy the plan with times attached.
Editing time is derived from how much you will record, so it scales properly.
Location, multicam and graphics each add only the steps they actually require.
Shoot tasks run sequentially from the call time, so you can see the wrap before you commit.
For most online formats it lands between three and six minutes of editing per minute of raw footage, not per finished minute — which is why a tight shooting ratio saves more time than a fast computer. A ten-minute talking-head at a 3:1 shooting ratio means 30 minutes of footage and roughly two hours of editing.
It is minutes of footage recorded per finished minute. Scripted talking-head work runs about 3:1, interviews around 6:1 and event coverage 10:1 or more, because you cannot ask the event for another take.
Lighting, audio rig and level check, exposure and locked white balance, a test take you actually play back, the main record, safety takes of the open and close, cutaways, 60 seconds of room tone, and a verified card copy to two drives before the set is struck.
Around 20% is a reasonable default for a familiar format in a controlled space, and 25 to 30% for location or event work where you do not control the variables. The buffer here is applied to every phase, not only the shoot.