How To Create a Shot List (Free Template)
Have you ever tried making your own corporate video? Or have you attempted shooting, directing and editing videos for marketing your small business?
It’s not easy - good on you!
There’s one thing you can do to make that process infinitely easier. Prepare a shot list.
These are five reasons why you must use a shot list on your next video production.
(Scroll down to the end, there’s a link through to our free shot list template)
Keeping time
Efficiency
Continuity
Key shots
Communication
On a film set, the shot list is the holy grail and backbone of every day.
Simply put, it’s a list of the shots required to fulfil the script, including all the key information about each shot. The type of angle, camera movement, lens used, location, actors, and a description of the action taking place in the frame.
A traditional filmset might have hundreds of people involved, whereas we make videos for the internet with a tight crew of around trhee to five people, often shooting for four hours or less.
So respectively, our shot lists have to be tighter and more direct.
We only include the most key details - time, location, talent, action, and shot type.
Even in this simpler format, shot lists are absolutely essential for our campaigns. Let’s break down the five reasons why.
Keeping time
Firstly, they keep us on track. Trying to shoot too much in a day can be a fatal mistake for the quality of your project.
A shot list allows us to break down in preproduction how much time we can afford to spend on each shot, at each location, and if we do start to fall behind, allows us to make smart decisions about where can catch up.
Efficiency
The shot list is arranged so that we can shoot most efficiently, which might mean shooting out of chronological order.
Rather than capturing shots that will appear in sequence, we will prioritise firstly the location, and secondly the talent that need to be featured in each shot. After that, we arrange our shots to strike a balance between staying at the same angle, and even using the same lighting, audio and camera setup.
Continuity
Because we’re shooting out of sequence, it could be easy for the continuity to get lost between shots. Talent coming from the wrong direction, objects getting moved, lighting changes, etc.
But the same shot list that creates the potential for these issues, also fixes them.
We include key details in the action column, and anything we come across as a potential continuity issue on the day is taken note of by the producer for later reference.
Key shots
No two shoots are the same. Some need to be very structured, especially those scripts that feature a lot or dialogue between actors or direct-to-camera. Others portray more of a visual narrative - these projects tend to give our shooting style a lot more wiggle room.
Either way, a shot list allows us to highlight the shots that are absolutely essential to make the video work, and must be captured in a specific style. It also shows us where there’s room to mess around and get a little more creative with how we capture something.
We find this balance between structure and keeping things selectively loose is what allows us to make videos that are compelling, creative, and comprehensible.
Communication
Finally, the fifth key benefit of a shot list is that helps to get the production company and client onto the same page.
It gives the client a solid idea of how the day will run, where their input could be most valuable, and if any key elements of their story might be missed. As long as the client gives the shot list a thorough inspection ahead of time, we can make any necessary changes and nail it on the day. As we like to say - don’t fix it in post, fix it in pre.
And those are five of the many reasons we love our shot lists! What do you think?
Click here for your free shot list template.
You don’t even have to give us your email address - it’s seriously free.