Written log of daily shoot progress — scenes completed, hours, stock used, issues, next-day plan. UPM submits to production office same evening.
At the end of each shooting day, the production manager or their assistant sits at the laptop and documents what actually happened—not what was planned. The daily progress report is the daily updated memory of a production, the interface between the set and the production office. It records: which scenes are in the can, how many hours were shot, what material is available and in what quality, what technical or personnel problems have arisen, and above all—what needs to be done differently tomorrow.
The form itself is standardized, but its significance depends on how honestly and detailed it is filled out. A vague entry like "Scene 12 shot" is useless. The depth is crucial: How many takes did Scene 12 require? Why? Were there lighting technical delays? Actor issues? Did the location unexpectedly present different requirements? The production manager must gather all this information—from the cinematographer, the amount of material and technical status; from the set manager, the hours and mood; from the 1st AD, the actor availability for tomorrow. A good daily progress report explains why one is behind or ahead of schedule.
Practical use: The producer sits in the office in the morning, reads the report from the previous day, and immediately knows if adjustments are necessary. If the action sequence takes twice as long as calculated, another scene may have to be cut. If the DP has communicated special requirements for tomorrow's location scout, they can be prepared in advance. The daily progress report also serves as protection—it documents what was possible and what was not, in case discrepancies arise later between the shooting schedule and the footage shot. Some production offices also use it in reverse: after the shoot, the report becomes the basis for the final production logbook, which records all technical and qualitative parameters for post-production.
Filled out digitally, usually emailed from the set to the office around 10 PM—the daily progress report is the unglamorous but indispensable administrative skeleton of every professional production. Those who ignore it or treat it superficially will notice it at the latest in post-production, when materials are unfindable or continuity data is missing.