On this page
How to use it
- Replace the sample shots with yours, in the order you will shoot them, grouped by setup.
- Give each shot a size, movement, lens and sound note.
- Put an honest number of minutes on each shot, and add the column up.
- Press Add a row for any shot that is missing.
- Download the CSV for your shared drive, or print it for set.
The columns, and the words people use
| Column | What to write | Common entries |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | One camera position and lighting setup | A, B, C, with the place |
| Size | How much of the subject is in frame | Wide, medium, medium close-up, close-up, insert |
| Movement | What the camera does | Locked off, pan, tilt, slider, gimbal, handheld, drone |
| Lens | Focal length, so the look is planned | 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm |
| Sound | What the mixer records | Lav, boom, wild sound, none |
| Minutes | Your honest guess | Includes the reset |
Shoot by setup, never by story order
The sample tells the story from the dock to the office, but it is shot by setup. Every time you move a camera and its lights you lose 15 to 30 minutes, so you get every shot from one position before you move. Shots 6 and 7 share a take: two cameras on one interview save half an hour and give the editor a cut point.
Add the Minutes column up. On the sample it is 175 minutes of shooting, which fits in a 10-hour day with the moves, lunch and the family's arrival. If your total is more than about 60% of the day's hours, cut shots before the shoot, not on it. The production schedule template turns these setups into a day.
What the editor needs from it
Mark the shots the film cannot work without. On a short day the director will drop shots, and the editor should know which ones were never planned and which ones were missed. The Done column is for the script supervisor or the AC to tick as you go. The Minutes column also tells you, at lunch, whether you are on time.
How Cutvey does this
In Cutvey the shot list lives in the project's Plan, beside the storyboard, locations, cast and gear. A shot links to its location, its cast and its gear, so a change to one shows up in the other. A script breakdown can send a day's scenes to the schedule, and the shot list prints as a PDF for set. Plan the shoot shows it working.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?
A shot list is the table of what to shoot. A storyboard is a picture of each shot. Short brand films usually need only the list, with a few frames for the shots that are hard to describe.
How many shots for a 2-minute film?
On a documentary-style brand film, 30 to 60 usable shots is common, from 10 to 15 setups. The list names the planned ones, and the rest comes from what you see on the day.
Can I print it?
Yes. Press Print above the table and only the shot list is printed.
Goes with this stage of a job: Plan the shoot. More free paperwork on the templates page, and free tools that work in your browser.