Content5 min read
Shot List Template: What Goes in One, and What Does Not
A shot list has six columns and one job: make sure nothing is discovered on shoot day. Here is the template, what each column is for, and the two columns people add that make it worse.
Here is the shot list template, before any explanation of it:
# At Shot From What to get Over the line
1 0:00 Medium - talking head Coverage Say the beat to camera "Most creators quit at month four."
2 0:04 B-roll Direction Hands closing a laptop —
3 0:11 Insert Probable insert The drop-off chart on screen "As you can see, it is the same place."
4 0:11 Medium - talking head Coverage Say the beat to camera "As you can see, it is the same place."
5 0:19 Cutaway Direction Wide of the whiteboard —Six columns. That is the whole thing, and every column earns its place.
What each column is for
# is the shooting reference, not the running order. You will reorder this list by location before you shoot, and the number is what lets you get back to the script.At is where the shot falls in the finished video. It is what makes the list readable in the edit and it is the only column that has to stay in script order.Shot is the setup: medium, close-up, wide, over-the-shoulder, overhead, screen recording. Naming it means you set the camera once for every shot that shares it.From is the column people leave out, and it is the most useful one. It records where the row came from: something you wrote down, something inferred from a line that points at an object, or the talking-head coverage that fills the gaps. Those are three different kinds of certainty and treating them as one is how a list becomes untrustworthy.What to get is the instruction, in the imperative. "Hands closing a laptop", not "laptop b-roll".Over the line is the script text this shot sits under. It is what tells you whether the b-roll you filmed actually matches the sentence it plays over.Two columns to leave out
Duration. Every shot ends up longer than planned and nobody adjusts the column, so within one shoot it is a field full of wrong numbers. The
At column already gives you ordering.Equipment. A shot list with a lens column becomes a document you maintain instead of a list you use. If the setup needs specific gear, the gear belongs to the setup — put it once at the top, not on forty rows.
Building the shot list template from a script you already wrote
The script contains every shot. It is written down in three places, and only the first is obvious.
- Explicit directions. Anything in
[brackets], and any line startingSHOT:,
B-ROLL:, CUT TO:, INSERT: or TITLE:. These are shots because you said so.- Sentences that point at something. "As you can see", "here is", "on screen", "look at".
Every one of those is a sentence with an object in it that has to be in frame, and the object is usually not written down anywhere.
- Everything else, which is the talking-head coverage the edit cuts back to.
The third is what makes the list complete rather than a list of extras.
FreeMentioned in this article
Shot List GeneratorReads the shots out of a script so you do not discover them on shoot day.It reads all three out of a script, labels which is which, adds running timecodes, and exports the CSV. The guessed rows are marked as guesses — a sentence that points at something without saying what is a prompt for you, not a decision the tool gets to make.
A shot list is not a schedule
This is the step that saves the day, and it is not automatable.
Once the list exists, reorder it. Group by location, then by camera setup, then by whatever has to be set up or taken down. The order you say things in is almost never the order it is cheapest to film them in, and moving a tripod eleven times because the list was in script order is the most common avoidable cost on a small shoot.
That is what the CSV is for. Sort it in a spreadsheet, keep the
# column so you can get back to the script, and shoot down the reordered version.Where it fits in the rest of the process
The shot list is the last thing you make before filming and the second-to-last thing the script produces. The order is: write the script, cut the filler, split it into timed beats, format the prompter version, then pull the list.
The beat timings matter here more than they look: the
At column comes straight from them, so a script that has not been through the beat split gives you a list with no timecodes in it.FreeMentioned in this article
Video Script FormatterProse in, numbered beats with running timecodes out.The prompter half of the same script — the version you actually read from — is covered in teleprompter script format. The two outputs are for two different moments and they are not interchangeable.
For anyone formalising this further, the terminology used above follows standard production usage; the American Society of Cinematographers keeps a reference on shot naming (ASC).
What should be on a shot list?
Shot number, timecode, setup, where the row came from, what to get, and the script line it plays over. Six columns is enough, and adding duration or equipment makes the list a document you maintain rather than one you use.
How do I make a shot list from a script?
Pull out the bracketed directions first, then the sentences that point at something on screen, then add coverage for every remaining beat. The third step is what makes it complete.
What is the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?
A shot list says what to film and in what order. A storyboard says what each frame looks like. A small shoot almost always needs the first and rarely needs the second.
Should I film in shot list order?
No. Reorder by location and camera setup first - the order you say things in is almost never the cheapest order to film them in.
Paste a script into the shot list generator, export the CSV, and sort it by location before you pack the bag.
Put it to work
Tools for the job you just read about
Free to run, most of them without an account.
FreeContent
Shot List Generator
Reads the shots out of a script so you do not discover them on shoot day.
Generate →
FreeContent
Video Script Formatter
Prose in, numbered beats with running timecodes out.
Format →1 runs
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Jargon & Acronym Detector
The words that make sense to you and not to whoever just arrived.
Detect →
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Sentence Rhythm Analyzer
Why a draft with nothing wrong with it still reads flat.
Analyze →
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Crutch Phrase Finder
The phrases you use every time, which you are the last to notice.
Find →1 runs
FreeContent
Weighted Character Counter
Why your editor says 240 and the post box says 287.
Count →1 runs
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