Booking System: How Pencil Bookings Work

The Booking System is a core part of how crew availability is managed across productions in Aotearoa. Terms like confirmed booking, pencil, confirm or release, and second pencil are widely used throughout the industry, but the process can often be misunderstood when multiple productions and overlapping dates are involved. This guide outlines the key booking principles covered in the Blue Book.

‍Confirmed Bookings and Pencil Bookings

All bookings are considered a pencil unless otherwise stated at the time of booking, or within 24 hours of call time.

A Confirmed Booking means the Production Company has committed to engaging the Crew Member, and the Crew Member has agreed to make themselves available for the booked period. If the Production Company subsequently cancels a Confirmed Booking, cancellation fees from the Crew Member may apply, if within the scaled time range.

A booking may also become confirmed once pre-production meetings begin, excluding initial meetings regarding the job, tech recce days, or crew travel to location.

A Pencil Booking, or Quote Hold, indicates that a Production intends to use a Crew Member’s services, and that the Crew Member is currently available for the proposed dates.

A Pencil Booking is not yet a confirmed engagement.
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First Pencil and Second Pencil

When a Crew Member already holds a Pencil Booking, another Production may place a Second Pencil, or subsequent booking, on the same or overlapping dates.

This creates an order of priority between Productions.

The first pencil takes priority unless released.

If a second Production wants to confirm dates already held under a First Pencil Booking, the Crew Member may issue a “confirm or release” request to the first pencil booking holder.

The First Pencil Holder must then decide whether to:

• confirm the booking for that individual Crew Member for the dates requested; or
• release that Crew Member to the second pencil holder.
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A Pencil Booking must be confirmed or released within 24 hours of such a request from the Crew Member or their representative.

The Blue Book also recognises that requests made immediately before weekends or public holidays may require additional communication time. For example, a 4pm Friday confirm or release request shall be responded to no later than 10am on the following Monday morning.
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Multiple Pencil Bookings

Where a Crew Member has more than one Pencil Booking, the Production wanting to confirm must request a “confirm or release” in order of priority for all Pencil Bookings in place.

Priority is determined by the date order in which the pencilling occurred.

For example, a third Production wanting to confirm their booking must first issue a confirm/release request to the first pencil holder, and then request a confirm/release from the second pencil holder. The third Production can only confirm the booking if the previous two pencil holders have both released.

And likewise, if the first pencil holder releases, and the second pencil holder confirms, then the third Production forfeits the booking.
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Automatic Confirmation

A Pencil Booking automatically becomes a Confirmed Booking 24 hours before commencement of the engagement.

At that point, the Producer may seek to extend the Pencil Booking status through individual negotiation. However, the Crew Member may, if the pencil is not confirmed, choose to immediately confirm any second or subsequent booking they have in place.
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Cancellation and Replacement Bookings

A Pencil Booking does not usually attract cancellation fees while it remains a Pencil Booking. However, once a Pencil Booking becomes a Confirmed Booking, cancellation fees may apply.

A Pencil Booking may become confirmed when:

• the Production confirms the booking;
• the booking automatically confirms 24 hours before commencement of the engagement; or
• the Crew Member commences pre-production meetings, excluding the initial meeting regarding the job, attends recces and/or travels to location.
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If a confirmed booking is later cancelled or postponed, cancellation fees depend on the type of engagement, the amount of notice given, and whether the Crew Member has been disadvantaged by loss of work or loss of other booking opportunities.

The exception: no cancellation fee is charged if the Production offers the Crew Member other confirmed booking days to replace the cancelled or postponed ones.
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Why It Matters

These rules protect Crew Members from losing income after they have declined other work opportunities to remain available for a confirmed job.

Pencil Bookings allow Productions to check and hold availability before fully committing, but once a booking becomes confirmed, the Crew Member may have declined other work to remain available.

For full details, refer to the Booking System section of the Blue Book, or speak to your diary service, who can manage this on your behalf.

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