Film Directing 107: Introduction to Shotlists

LEVEL 100 blogs are for film students and first-time directors taking on the directing role for a short film. The series is designed to help and guide new filmmakers through the director’s prep duties, pre-production activities, and principle photography dynamics.

Shotlists help you plan your film

A shotlist is part of the director’s visual plan. It is completed in pre-production.

Shot lists are born from schematics. After you have decided on how you intend to shoot the scene and you’ve finished drawing your schematics, you number each camera symbol and begin making your shotlist. 

Every camera symbol denotes a camera set up. Each camera set up is then noted on the shotlist. The beginning director must know the different shot types and the abbreviation for them.

“WS” is for a wide shot. This shot generally includes the most information in the scene. It can cover the entire action in the scene from beginning to the end, or simply a specific part of the action. It can show the whole set, or a significant portion.  

“CU” is for a close-up shot. It can frame an actor’s face, or their hands, or shoes. It can punctuate a specific prop that advances the story, such as a gift, a ring, or a glass of poison.

“ECU” is for an extreme close-up:  an actor’s eyes, or their mouth, or the detail of a prop.

“OTS” is an over the shoulder shot, which means exactly that: the camera is looking over a character from behind.

Directors need to be fluent in the language of film as it pertains to cinematography and image construction. We’ll discuss more of this later.

If your plan is to use four different shots in a scene, you would number each shot (each camera setup), provide the abbreviation for each shot, write out a short description of what is seen in the shot, and other additional notes that you are considering, such as the camera height.

As the production moves from pre-production into principle photography, the shotlist is tremendously helpful. It shapes the schedule, clarifies the equipment needed, and many other important details that contribute to managing a smooth-running set.

Directors need to be precise. They must accurately convey their plan to the actors, the director of photography, the sound recordist, and the entire crew. Everyone involved in the scene needs to know what shots are planned, and what order they will be shot in.

If the plan is to shoot the scene in one shot, that needs to be explained in detail. The director must show the actors where they enter, where they move, where they stop, and where they exit.

If the camera moves, the director must explain the first position and the frame, when the camera moves, how fast it moves, and where it stops. The director of photography and the camera operator need to know the focus and the purpose of the shot. Does it follow a character? Does it find a character? Does it stop on a specific story detail, like a set of keys or a glass of poison?

The director plans all of this in pre-production.

If the camera is static, the director must choose what is seen in the frame, and, conversely, what is not seen.

If there are four shots planned, that needs to be conveyed to the assistant director as the shooting schedule is being organized. The order in which they are going to be shot is an additional part of the planning.

Oftentimes, when the director gets on set and walks through the scene with the actors and crew, an opportunity may be discovered to combine shots. This may be accomplished by a simple camera move or a character move. Voila! Two shots become one!

Shot lists are also part of building out the next level of directorial planning: thumbnails and storyboards.

Script analysis, blocking ideas, schematics, a shotlist, and thumbnails are the separate components of a good prep. To be clear, the director's prep happens well before anyone, or any equipment, shows up on set.

Every director has their own process for pre-visualizing their story, but creating a written plan helps build confidence in the decision-making that happens on set.

Your schematics and shotlist are just ideas. They should guide you – and they shouldn't tie you down. Nothing is written in stone. The actors, or anyone, may come up with a great idea.

A key part of the director’s job is to listen to their co-creators.

With shotlist in hand, the director can move onto preparing thumbnails, which are simple sketches in a frame that illustrate the intended shot.

Sharpen your pencils!