A document listing every shot to be captured, with its size, angle, movement, lens and the setup it belongs to. It is what turns a script into a shootable plan: the director and DP use it to design coverage, and the 1st AD uses it to build the schedule.

What should a shot list include?

At minimum: scene and shot number, a one-sentence description, shot size, angle, movement, lens, location, INT/EXT, time of day and subject. A shot list that has to survive a real day also carries estimated setup time, takes, page count, priority, and a status column. The template on this page has all of them.

What's the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?

A shot list is text and is complete — every shot, in shooting order, with the technical detail. A storyboard is drawn and is usually partial, covering the sequences where staging is complex enough to need pictures. Most productions have a full shot list and boards for a handful of scenes.

Should a shot list be in story order or shooting order?

Build it in story order so you can see whether the coverage cuts, then sort it into shooting order — by location, then setup, then time of day — to shoot from. Keep both views of the same list rather than maintaining two documents.

How detailed should a shot list be?

Detailed enough that someone else could shoot it. If a column is empty because the decision has not been made, the decision has not been made — and making it on the day costs more than making it now. The exception is documentary, where over-specifying coverage you cannot control is wasted work.

Shot list template, and how to make one

A shot list turns a script into a shootable plan. Here is a template you can actually edit, what every column is for, and the order to build one in.

Download the template

22 columns, two example rows to show the format. CSV, so it opens in Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets and can be edited on set. No email, no signup.

shot-list-template.csv

Six steps

01Break the script into scenes and beatsNumber every scene, then split each into the moments a camera has to see. A beat that cannot be photographed is not a shot — it is a note.
02Decide coverage per sceneFor each scene, what does the edit need: a master, the singles, an insert, a reaction? Write the minimum that cuts, then add what you would like. That order matters when the day runs short.
03Specify size, angle, movement and lensFill those four for every shot. If you cannot, the shot is not designed yet — and the day is the wrong place to design it.
04Attach a visual reference to eachLink a real frame that shows the light and framing you mean. It removes the argument about what "moodier" means when everyone is tired.
05Group by setup, not by story orderSort by location, then setup, then time of day. Shooting in script order is the single most expensive habit in low-budget production.
06Add times and priorities, then cutEstimate setup minutes and takes, total the day, and cut until it fits — on paper, deliberately, rather than at 7pm with the light going.

What every column is for

Scene / Shot / Setup.: Scene number from the script, shot letter within it, and which camera setup it belongs to. Setup is the one the 1st AD schedules by — shots sharing a setup get shot together regardless of story order.
Description.: One sentence, in the present tense, describing what the audience sees. If it takes two sentences it is probably two shots.
Shot size.: Extreme wide through extreme close-up. Be specific: "medium" covers too much ground to be useful on the day.
Angle.: Eye level, high, low, overhead, Dutch. Say it even when it is eye level — an empty cell reads as undecided.
Movement.: Static, pan, tilt, dolly, track, handheld, crane, gimbal. Include the direction and what motivates it.
Lens.: Focal length in mm. Writing it down is what forces the decision about how close the camera actually is.
Subject / Location / INT-EXT / Time of day.: Who is in it and where. These four are what get sorted to build the schedule, so they must be consistent — pick one spelling of each location and keep it.
Lighting notes.: The intent, not the kit list. "Practicals only, no visible movie lighting" survives a change of gear; "2K through 4x4 diff" does not.
Audio.: Sync, MOS, wild track. Cheap to note, expensive to discover in the edit.
Est. setup + takes.: Minutes to rig, and how many takes you expect. This is what turns a shot list into a schedule, and it is the column most people skip.
Page count.: Eighths of a script page. The standard unit for how much day a scene eats.
Priority.: Must have, should have, nice to have. When the day collapses — and it will — this is the column that decides what goes.
VFX / SFX.: Anything needing a plate, a marker, a rig removal or practical effect. Flag it here or it gets discovered in post.
Reference.: A link to the frame you are matching. A named reference stops "warmer" meaning three different things to three people.
Status.: Not shot, shot, needs pickup. The list becomes the on-set tracker; keep one copy, not a printout and a memory.

Filling the Reference column

The Reference column is the one that saves arguments. “Moodier” means three different things to three people; a linked frame means one.

FrameThrower indexes 5,489 films frame by frame on lighting key and quality, lens character, shot size, camera angle, colour palette and mood — so “low-key night exterior, anamorphic, wide” is a search rather than an evening of scrubbing. Paste the frame's link into the column.

$2 of credits free on signup, no card. Building a lookbook instead? →

Find the reference for every shot

Search 5,489 films by lighting, lens, shot size, colour and mood. $2 of credits free, no card.

Common questions

What is a shot list?: A document listing every shot to be captured, with its size, angle, movement, lens and the setup it belongs to. It is what turns a script into a shootable plan: the director and DP use it to design coverage, and the 1st AD uses it to build the schedule.
What should a shot list include?: At minimum: scene and shot number, a one-sentence description, shot size, angle, movement, lens, location, INT/EXT, time of day and subject. A shot list that has to survive a real day also carries estimated setup time, takes, page count, priority, and a status column. The template on this page has all of them.
What's the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?: A shot list is text and is complete — every shot, in shooting order, with the technical detail. A storyboard is drawn and is usually partial, covering the sequences where staging is complex enough to need pictures. Most productions have a full shot list and boards for a handful of scenes.
Should a shot list be in story order or shooting order?: Build it in story order so you can see whether the coverage cuts, then sort it into shooting order — by location, then setup, then time of day — to shoot from. Keep both views of the same list rather than maintaining two documents.
How detailed should a shot list be?: Detailed enough that someone else could shoot it. If a column is empty because the decision has not been made, the decision has not been made — and making it on the day costs more than making it now. The exception is documentary, where over-specifying coverage you cannot control is wasted work.
How do I find visual references for each shot?: Search a film stills library by what you want the shot to look like rather than by film title. FrameThrower indexes 5,489 films frame by frame on lighting key and quality, lens character, shot size, camera angle, colour and mood, so "low-key night exterior, anamorphic, wide" is a query rather than a browse. Paste the link into the Reference column.

More: film lookbooks · the stills database · cinematography techniques