The short answer
To make a shot list, start with every deliverable the shoot must produce, then list the shots each one needs. Describe each shot by its framing, subject, action, camera movement and format. Mark a priority for each. Finally, reorder the list by location and lighting set-up rather than by story order, and estimate how long each block will take.
A shot list is not the same as a storyboard. A storyboard shows what the film looks like, frame by frame. A shot list is the working document that tells the crew what to capture, in what order, and what matters most. On a brand shoot that must produce a film, cut-downs, stills and social content, it is the most useful piece of paper on set.
How to build one, step by step
- 01List the deliverables
Every film, edit, still and social piece the shoot must produce, with its format and ratio.
- 02Break each into shots
Go through the script or plan and list every shot each deliverable needs.
- 03Describe each shot
Framing, subject, action, movement, lens feel, sound and format.
- 04Set priorities
Mark each shot as essential, important or nice to have.
- 05Group by set-up
Reorder by location, lighting and wardrobe, not by story order.
- 06Estimate time
Assign realistic time to each block and check it fits the day.
- 07Share and sign off
Walk through it with the director, crew and client approver before the shoot.
Start from the deliverables
The most common shot list mistake is starting from the script alone. A brand shoot rarely produces only one film. It also has to feed cut-downs, product stills, vertical social edits and ad variations. Write down every deliverable first, including its aspect ratio, then build the shot list to serve all of them. This is how a single shoot becomes a month of content.
Break each deliverable into shots
Work through the script, storyboard or talking points and list each shot the edit will need. Then add what editors always want and rarely get: establishing shots, cutaways, textures, hands, reactions, clean plates of each location and a few seconds of room tone. These are what make an edit flow.
What each entry should include
A shot list entry should give the crew enough to set up without a conversation. The columns below are a good standard.
| Column | What it records | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Number | A unique reference for the shot | 12 |
| Scene or deliverable | Which film or piece it serves | Hero film; vertical edit |
| Set-up | Location and lighting group | Window set, morning light |
| Framing | Shot size and angle | Close-up, eye level |
| Subject and action | Who or what, doing what | Hands fasten the watch strap |
| Movement | How the camera moves | Slow push in |
| Format | Ratio and whether video or still | Vertical video and horizontal still |
| Sound | What audio is needed | Clean ambient, no dialogue |
| Priority | How essential the shot is | Essential |
Add a notes column for anything specific: a product variant, a prop, a line of dialogue, a reference image. Keep descriptions short and concrete. "Beautiful shot of the bag" helps nobody; "Close-up, bag on marble, side light, slow slide left" can be set up in minutes.
Ordering the list for the shoot day
Story order is for the edit. Shoot order is about efficiency. Moving lights, changing sets and restyling talent take time, so the list is reordered to minimise changes.
- Group by location. Finish everything in one space before moving on.
- Within a location, group by lighting. Every shot that uses the same light is shot together, wide to close or close to wide.
- Follow natural light. Shots that depend on morning or evening light are fixed in the schedule first; everything else fits around them.
- Group wardrobe and hair changes. Changes take longer than most people expect.
- Product before people. Product detail can be shot while talent is in hair and make-up.
- Talking pieces in one block. One lighting and sound set-up, one focused session.
Setting priorities
Every shoot runs short of time somewhere. Priorities tell the director what to protect. Mark each shot with one of three levels, and agree them with the client approver before the day.
- Hero product shots
The frames the whole campaign rests on. Never cut.
- Key story moments
The shots without which the film does not make sense.
- Talking pieces and lines
Dialogue and to-camera lines, usually hard to recreate later.
- Cutaways and details
Textures, hands and reactions that make the edit flow.
- Social and vertical extras
Extra formats and creator-style pieces from existing set-ups.
- Nice-to-haves
Ideas worth trying if time allows, and dropped without regret if not.
Your brief decides the exact order. Agree priorities before the shoot, not on set.
Shot lists for different kinds of shoot
Product shoots
Organise by product, then by angle and detail. List every variant and colour, and specify whether each shot is video, still or both. For premium goods, list macro details separately: stitching, engraving, texture, finish. Our product videography shoots are built around lists like this.
Brand films
Organise by scene, then reorder by set-up. Include the cutaways and atmosphere shots that give a film its texture, and list the lines each character must deliver.
Social and ad content
Organise by concept and hook. List several openings for each idea, and mark which shots must be framed natively vertical. For testing, the variation plan in our guide to ad creative testing becomes part of the list.
Founder and interview shoots
Here the list is mostly questions rather than shots. Organise it by theme, note which answers are intended for which pieces, and add the supporting footage each answer will need: the founder at work, the product in hand, the space around them. Plan portraits at the end of the interview block, while the lighting is still in place. Our guide to founder-led content covers how to run the session itself.
Using the list on set
- Share it with every head of department before the shoot, and print copies for the day.
- Tick off shots as they are captured, with notes on which takes were strongest.
- Review it before leaving each set-up, because returning later costs far more.
- Keep a running list of new ideas, and shoot them only once the essentials are done.
The shot list sits at the centre of pre-production, alongside the schedule, call sheet and releases.