Illustrative film-production planning scenario
Illustrative two-unit film-production catering plan
This illustrative scenario shows how an 80-person, two-unit production could structure two shoot days of scheduled meals and craft service. The numbers are planning assumptions—not a completed LunchLink order, testimonial, production credit, or measured result.
This fictional brief is educational. It is not attributed to a customer, and it does not claim that LunchLink completed this order or achieved a result.
Scenario type
Fictional planning example
Working headcount
80 people: 55 main, 25 second
Working schedule
Two consecutive shoot days
Planning focus
Meals, craft, routes, dietary handoff
Planning takeaways
- Give every unit its own count, timing, address, route, receiver, and fallback
- Plan scheduled meal periods separately from continuous craft-service coverage
- Keep named dietary meals identifiable from the selected partner to the recipient
- Treat a schedule or location change as pending until the revised plan is reconfirmed
Read the example correctly
The 80-person headcount, 55/25 unit split, service windows, and two-day schedule below are invented assumptions used to demonstrate a planning method. They are not a record of a production that LunchLink served.
The operational boundaries are different: LunchLink has owner-approved authority to say it can coordinate production meals, continuous craft service, multiple units, and multi-day service through selected partners, subject to at least 24 hours' notice and written confirmation.
Split the call sheet into two service records
A single total headcount hides the route and handoff differences between units. The working brief below assigns each hypothetical unit its own service window, receiver, and station plan before menus are discussed.
These times are examples inside LunchLink's approved 5 a.m. to 3 a.m. production-service window. The production must supply the actual meal periods and any applicable agreement requirements.
| Planning field | Main unit | Second unit |
|---|---|---|
| Working count | 55 people | 25 people |
| Breakfast window | 5:30–6:00 a.m. | 6:00–6:30 a.m. |
| Scheduled meal window | 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | 12:00–12:30 p.m. |
| Craft coverage | Continuous main station | Continuous satellite station |
| Handoff owner | Named main-unit receiver | Named second-unit receiver |
| Route record | Address, pin, parking, access, meal area | Address, pin, parking, access, meal area |
Separate meal periods from craft service
Scheduled catering and continuous craft service solve different problems. A complete meal belongs to a defined service period and count; craft service needs its own operating hours, replenishment plan, station location, power or water requirements when applicable, and onsite ownership.
Combining both into one line such as “food all day” makes it difficult to compare partner scope or identify what is missing from a quote.
- List breakfast, first meal, dinner, and overnight service separately when required
- Define craft-service opening, replenishment, relocation, and closing times by unit
- Confirm beverages, snacks, disposables, equipment, attendants, setup, and teardown as separate scope items
- Do not assume a staffed craft station is included with a delivered crew meal
Rotate formats without promising an unconfirmed menu
A two-day rotation should change the eating experience while staying inside the real route, service window, dietary, equipment, and partner-capacity constraints. The example below rotates service formats rather than inventing restaurant dishes or availability.
The selected partner's current menu, substitutions, portions, pricing, and capacity still require written confirmation for the actual dates.
| Service | Day one planning format | Day two planning format |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Individually packed hot meal with labelled exceptions | Shared hot breakfast with protected individual dietary meals |
| Scheduled meal | Shared service where the location and break allow it | Individually packed meals for a tighter or split handoff |
| Craft service | Main and satellite stations with defined restock records | Revised station mix based on the second day's locations and hours |
| Overnight service | Include only if the real schedule requires it | Include only if the real schedule requires it |
Protect dietary meals through the handoff
Dietary coordination is not complete when an item leaves the selected partner. The production needs one controlled list, a clarification owner, approved label text, separation during transport and distribution, and a named onsite receiver for each unit.
LunchLink can coordinate recipient names and dietary tags on applicable individual meals. Ingredients, substitutions, kitchen practices, and cross-contact limitations still require current partner verification; a label is not an allergen-free guarantee.
- Collect the person's name and exact stated requirement rather than relying on shorthand
- Resolve unclear or conflicting requests before the final partner cutoff
- Keep labelled meals separate from the general meal distribution area
- Confirm who answers a dietary question during each service window
Plan each route before dispatch
Every location or drop needs its own route record. A street address alone does not identify a production entrance, parking instruction, security process, internal travel path, meal area, or the person authorized to receive the order.
For this hypothetical split, the main and second units would be dispatched as separate location records. LunchLink's approved standard delivery input is CAD $40 for each location or drop; complex access, staffing, equipment, and other separately quoted services remain additional inputs.
| Route field | What the production supplies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Destination | Address, approved pin, unit/base designation | Prevents the two unit records from being confused |
| Vehicle access | Parking, loading, gate, security, permits supplied by production | Defines the usable arrival path |
| Internal handoff | Entrance, floor, room or meal-area instructions | Connects arrival to the actual service point |
| Receiver | Name and reachable mobile number for the full window | Creates one accountable onsite handoff |
| Fallback | Alternate receiver and approved holding instruction | Gives the team a controlled exception path |
Reconfirm changes in one written record
Production schedules move, but a text or email requesting a change is not the same as an accepted revision. LunchLink coordinates changes by email or text and plans multi-week work weekly; the revised partner, route, menu, count, capacity, and timing must be reconfirmed before the new plan is treated as active.
The cleanest record keeps the old value, requested value, requester, request time, affected unit and service, confirmation owner, and final status together. That prevents one team from acting on an unconfirmed location or window while another still holds the accepted plan.
- Mark every requested change as pending first
- Identify the affected unit, service period, headcount, route, and dietary meals
- Record the selected partner's revised confirmation
- Redistribute one final accepted version to dispatch and onsite receivers
Normalize the known budget inputs
This scenario does not claim a total price. A real production budget starts with the approved CAD $12–$75 per-person food range for each meal, adds CAD $40 for every location or drop, and then adds only the staffing, cleanup, supplies, rentals, equipment, waste removal, and tax that the confirmed scope requires.
Approved reusable inputs include CAD $0.50 per person for a disposable napkin, cutlery and plate set and CAD $20 per hour for each staffing or cleanup worker. There is no additional overnight surcharge. Rentals, chafing equipment, and catering-waste removal remain quote items. This example does not establish or describe rush service.
- Budget each meal period against its own confirmed count
- Count each location or drop separately
- Enter staff quantity and hours instead of using a flat staffing guess
- Keep unresolved equipment, rental, waste, parking, and tax amounts visible until quoted
Convert the example into a real production request
LunchLink production catering begins at 10 people and can scale to 1,000+ through the approved partner network, subject to current capacity, route, and partner confirmation. A real request needs at least 24 hours' notice; multiple units, complex access, dietary verification, staffing, equipment, and multi-day rotations benefit from more planning time.
Before acceptance, send the production type, dates, each unit and location, approved service windows, headcount by service, dietary handoff list, serving format, craft-service hours, route instructions, onsite receivers, staffing and equipment scope, waste-removal need, vendor-document requirements, billing method, and authorized change contacts.