Ready to bring your story to life? Crafting a shot list is a crucial step that can make or break your project. While it may seem challenging, a well-prepared shot list is essential for scaling creativity, minimizing downtime, and boosting filming productivity. In this article, we’ll explore how to create a shot list that complements your script and storyboard, and we’ll provide free editable templates available in Google Docs, Sheets, Word, and Excel.
Wedding Photography Shot List
This template covers all key moments of a wedding day, helping photographers plan and capture every important shot from start to finish.
Wedding Shot List
This template covers all the essential shots for your wedding day, from preparation to the final moments, ensuring every key detail is captured.
Storyboard and Shot List Template
This template lets you plan your scenes with both a storyboard and a shot list, ensuring your project is well-organized and visually cohesive.
Shot List Template for Word and Google Docs
This template organizes your shots by number, type, and description, helping you stay on track during production.
Movie Shot List Template
This movie shot list template helps organize shot numbers, descriptions, locations, actors, and props for clear scene planning. Editable in Word and Google Docs.
Two Column Minimal Shot List Template
This simple, two-column template helps you organize shot details and camera notes, streamlining your film shoot planning.
Minimal Camera Shot List
This template offers a clean layout to organize your camera shots and angles, keeping your shoot planning simple.
Minimal Video Shot List
This template keeps your video shots and angles organized with a simple, easy-to-use layout for efficient planning.
Photography Shot List
This template organizes your shoot with sections for all types of shots, ensuring client requests and shot details are clearly outlined.
Camera Shot List
This template streamlines planning with sections for shot details, camera angles, and equipment, helping you stay organized on set.
Football Production Day Shot List
This template helps you organize key shots, camera positions, and actions for a smooth and efficient football production day.
Shot List Template (Excel & Google Sheets)
This Excel template organizes your shoot with sections for shot details, camera setups, and locations, ensuring your project is well-prepared.
Minimal Film Shot List Template
Available in Google Sheets and Excel, this template simplifies organizing your film shoots with clear sections for shot details, camera angles, and locations.
What Is a Shot List?
A shot list is a detailed sheet that lists every camera shot the crew will take during a scene in the video production. Essentially the shot list serves as a roadmap for the cinematographer and the camera crew in the shooting process.
A cinematographer or the director can prepare the shot list. The shot list ensures you work within your time constraints while maximizing productivity. Think of a shot list as a checksheet you will need for every production day.
What Is a Shot List Template?
A shot list template is a pre-designed shot list containing the essential requirements of a shot list. The template enables you to create a custom shot list hassle-free. Every scene is unique, and so are the templates. A custom design and personalization can go a long way in envisioning your film.
Essential Elements of a Shot List Template
We understand your scene may be unique. It would make sense to seek a template that’s close to your shooting needs. However, some core elements in any shot list template cut across different film needs. Here are some:
- Scene Details – Scene details can be as detailed as you want. Scene details break up the film shoots into smaller and comprehensible scenes. Include the scene number and the location of the scene. Location can be interior or exterior.
- Setup Details – Setup Details are the description of camera placement and lighting. The details can include over-the-shoulder angle or any custom setup for the scene.
- Shot Number – The shot number is the reference number for a shot in a row. If the setup changes, reset to 1.
- Shot Size – The size of the subject in the frame.
- Camera Type – Identify the camera type for every shot, the camera lens, and frame rates.
- Camera Angles – Camera angles incorporate the different types of angles relative to the position of your subject. Describe if there will be changes in the camera angle for an individual shot.
- Camera Movement – Camera movement is the change in direction during shooting.
Note: Camera movement impacts the shot quality either negatively or positively. It is best to keep the movements to a minimum. - Extras – Include the sound details, if there’s any dialogue, and how to capture the sound.
- Time estimate – The estimated time to shoot is essential for any shot list.
How to Make a Shot List?
A shot list does more than direct and coordinate filming. It provides a chance for the director and cinematographer to review how camera angles tell the story and if they can be more creative with them. Here’s a five-step guide on how to make a shot list:
- Choose a scene from your script. Open a spreadsheet and write the essentials of a shot list template on individual rows.
- Assign a specific number to each shot. Suppose there are multiple scenes; you will want to create another spreadsheet.
- Fill in the details of each shot. Include the shot number, camera angle, the actors shot size, and other details in the columns alongside the rows.
- Put everything together and determine how the final draft would look. You can make changes to suit the evolving film scenes.
- Save the final draft and share it with the camera crew and actors. If it adds value, they may provide feedback you can incorporate into the shooting process.
Tips for Making the Shot List
A shot list collates the director’s and the cinematographer’s vision of the film. You must get it right the first time since the sheet directs your filming session. Here are some tips to help prepare an efficacious shot list:
- Breakdown the script – Instead of blanket descriptions, use lengthier descriptions for each shot. Be careful not to clutter the list. When working with professional actors, you will not need a lot of descriptions.
- Develop a shot list with your storyboard – Developing a shot list and storyboard concurrently helps you draw the perfect illustration for each scene. Some details such as camera angle, camera movement, and lines from the script will appear in both the shot list and the storyboard. You may tweak them a little, but they minimize the time you would take writing two separate lists at different times.
- Organize your shot list – Shooting can have complicated and more uncomplicated scenes. You would want to start with the complicated shots. This keeps your actors and crew motivated as things get easier.
The simplicity of the shot is a broad metric to consider. To get the perfect organized filming experience, you need to consider the location, availability of the actors, props, weather, and time.
Once you have everything in place, you can create your list and notify the crew of each scene’s shooting days. If you meet the day’s quota for shooting, you may shoot film inserts that take a few seconds. - Create a shooting script, not a chronological script – Renowned directors will tell you shooting doesn’t follow the script from start to finish. You may even shoot the last scene in the nascent stages of your film. Create a shooting script you’ll use to create the shot list.
Consider the availability of actors, location, and crew before creating an organized shot list.
Conclusion
A shot list propels your film’s vision to the near-perfect film. When preparing the sheet, there are multiple factors to consider, such as time, the complexity of the scene, availability of actors, and more. Ultimately it boils down to your creativity and innate organization skills. Use our guide as a reference when creating the shot list.
