Drop and Pick Up: What It Means in Filmmaking
By Muhammad Wisal and Muhammad Ali / 2 min read
Drop and pick up means releasing an actor from the schedule during a long gap between their work days and bringing them back later, so the production does not pay hold days for the time in between.
What does drop and pick up mean?
When an actor works early in a shoot and again near the end, the production has two choices for the days in between. It can hold them, paying for each day they wait (marked H on the day out of days), or it can drop them after their last day in the first block and pick them up for the second. During the drop, the actor is unpaid and free to take other work.
On union productions, drop and pick up is limited. Under SAG-AFTRA rules for day performers, for example, the actor usually has to be given a firm pick-up date when first engaged, the gap has to meet a minimum number of calendar days (the agreement sets it, and it differs by type of production), and it is generally allowed only once per production. If those conditions are not met, the days in between are paid. The rules change between agreements and countries, so check with your union contact or production lawyer before you count on a drop. On non-union shoots, agree on it in the deal memo.
Example: a drop on the day out of days
Here is part of a day out of days for a feature about a fishing town. Ilse, who plays the harbor master, works days 2 and 3, then returns on days 18 and 19. Scheduling software often marks the last day before a drop as WD and the return as PW (pick up and work).
| Cast | Day 2 | Day 3 | Days 4 to 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Work | Hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Ilse (Harbor master) | SW | WD | (dropped) | PW | WF | 4 | 0 |
Without the drop, Ilse would be held for 14 days to work 4. With it, she is paid for her 4 work days. The trade-off is risk: once dropped, she may book another job, so the pick-up date must be firm and in writing.
When should you use it?
Use drop and pick up when the gap is long and the actor's day rate is high enough that holding them costs more than the risk of losing their availability. For short gaps, it is often cheaper and simpler to move scenes so the actor's days sit together, or just pay the hold days.
Related terms
- Hold day: a paid day between work days when the actor is not on set.
- Day out of days: the report that shows each actor's work, hold and drop days.
- Deal memo: where non-union drop and pick-up terms should be written down.
FAQ
Is a drop and pick up the same as a pickup shot?
No. A pickup shot is a small shot filmed later to fix or add to a scene. Drop and pick up is about an actor's booking on the schedule.
Can I drop an actor more than once?
Under union agreements it is usually allowed only once per production. On non-union shoots it depends on what you agree with the actor.
