The pencil system is a long-established way of organising freelance bookings in film, television, VFX, animation and post-production.
It allows studios and freelancers to plan future projects before anything is confirmed, offering flexibility for both sides.
A pencil (also called a hold) is a tentative booking for a specific period. The name comes from the habit of writing someone’s name in pencil on a wall calendar, a mark that can be erased or changed as plans evolve.
🎬 Purpose
Creative schedules often change. Budgets shift, projects pause, and start dates move.
The pencil system developed to cope with this uncertainty by letting studios plan ahead without committing too early and allowing freelancers to manage their availability across multiple potential jobs.
It keeps the industry moving by balancing flexibility with fairness.
🥇 1st, 2nd and 3rd Pencils
Bookings are ranked to show who has the first claim on a freelancer’s time.
Rank | Meaning | Typical Outcome |
1st Pencil | The first studio or client to request those dates. | Has priority and usually confirms if the project proceeds. |
2nd Pencil | A secondary hold for the same dates. | Moves up if the 1st pencil releases. |
3rd Pencil (and beyond) | Additional backup holds. | Only promoted if higher pencils release. |
It’s common for freelancers to have several pencils overlapping the same dates, each from different clients.
The ranking order determines who gets first refusal when projects overlap.
⚔️ Challenges
A challenge occurs when someone lower in the order, usually holding a 2nd pencil - needs to know whether the 1st pencil intends to confirm.
They formally ask the 1st pencil to either confirm the booking or release the dates.
Challenges prevent uncertainty from dragging on and ensure that work can progress.
Once a challenge is issued, the 1st pencil has a limited period to respond, determined by industry expectation. PencilCase uses its own defined challenge window.
If the 1st pencil confirms, the booking becomes official and all lower pencils for those dates are released.
If they release, the challenger gets the confirm.
✅ Confirmation
A confirmation turns a tentative pencil into a real booking.
This usually happens when the project is green-lit and both sides agree to proceed.
At that point:
- The freelancer is committed to those dates.
- Lower pencils for the same period are released.
- The booking is considered secure and final.
❌ Release
A release means cancelling a pencil so that someone else can use the dates.
Releases are a normal part of the process and simply indicate that the project has changed or the freelancer is no longer available.
🔁 Typical Lifecycle
- A studio asks a freelancer for certain dates.
- The freelancer agrees and notes a 1st pencil.
- Another studio requests the same dates and receives a 2nd pencil.
- The 2nd studio later issues a challenge to the 1st.
- The 1st either confirms or releases.
- If released, the 2nd pencil becomes confirmed.
🧭 Summary
The pencil system works because it lets everyone plan around uncertainty.
It’s a transparent queue of intentions rather than fixed contracts, designed to keep creative projects flexible until they are ready to begin.