Videos · Glossary
What is a shot list?
A shot list is a numbered table of every shot a video needs, written before filming. Each row names the scene, the location, the shot type such as wide or close-up, the camera angle and movement, a short description of the action and any audio notes, so the crew can work through it and confirm nothing was missed.
On a shoot day, the thing that goes wrong most often is not the lighting or the sound but a shot nobody remembered to get. A shot list is the checklist that stops the edit discovering that gap a week later.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
5 min read · Published
| Shot list | Storyboard | Scene list | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | A numbered table or spreadsheet | Drawn or rendered panels | A short numbered list |
| Level of detail | Every individual shot, including extra coverage | The key pictures that tell the story | One line per scene |
| Typical fields | Shot and scene number, location, shot type, angle, movement, description, audio notes | Sketch, spoken line, movement arrows, rough timing | Scene purpose and length |
| Used most | On the shoot day, to tick off coverage | Before production, to reach agreement | In planning and the edit, to check running time |
| Ordered by | Location and camera setup, to save time | Viewing order | Viewing order |
The checklist for a shoot
Where a storyboard shows what the video will look like, a shot list turns that picture into jobs. Adobe's filmmaking guide calls it a cheat sheet that saves time in editing because nobody has to hunt for coverage, and lists the fields a useful one carries: shot number and scene number, location, shot type, camera angle, camera movement, a scene description and audio notes. Every row is one shot, a single camera setup doing one thing. A scene that plays for ten seconds on screen might need six rows: a wide establishing shot, a medium shot of the speaker, two close-ups of hands and product, a reaction and a detail for cover.
How it gets built
Most shot lists start from the storyboard or the script. Adobe's guide to storyboarding notes that directors create the shot list from what the storyboard establishes, so each panel is broken into the shots that will actually be filmed, plus the extra coverage an editor needs to make the cuts work. The list is then reordered for the shoot rather than for viewing: every shot in the kitchen together, every shot from the same camera position together, outdoor shots grouped around the best light. A column for estimated setup time and a tick box for done turn it from a plan into a working document.
Shot types in plain terms
The shot type column relies on a small shared vocabulary. An establishing shot is a long shot at the start of a scene that shows the setting from a distance. A wide shot shows the whole subject and its surroundings. A medium shot frames a person from about the waist up, the usual choice for someone talking. A close-up fills the frame with a face or an object, and an extreme close-up shows a single detail such as a button or a label. Angle and movement complete the row: eye level or high, static or panning, handheld or on a slider.
When a shot list matters
Whenever filming time is limited or expensive: a rented location, a busy clinic that can close for one hour, a customer who has agreed to a single interview, a product sample that is only available for a day. It matters for software videos too. A demo or tutorial needs a list of every screen and every state to capture, such as the empty form, the error message and the success page, because finding a missing state later means resetting accounts and data to get back to it. For a loose documentary or a vlog, a short list of must have shots is usually enough.
Common mistakes
Listing only the shots in the storyboard and forgetting cover is the first; editors need cutaways and spare angles to join the planned shots together. The second is ordering the list for viewing instead of shooting, which wastes hours moving lights back and forth. The third is vague descriptions such as product shot, which two people will film in two different ways. The fourth is skipping the audio column, so a line recorded beside a noisy fridge is only noticed in the edit. The fifth is not ticking shots off as they are captured, which turns the list into a document nobody checks.
Where it shows up in the product
The video builder here has no shot list, because it does not film. The generator writes the content of a video from your brief, meaning the template choice, the per slot copy, the narration, the scene order and each scene's duration, and it works with the pictures you give it. That makes a shot list useful before you start rather than inside the tool. For a tutorial, screen capture takes still frames, one per press of Capture step or the Space bar, and each still can then be given a click point with No zoom, Zoom in at 1.5x or Close-up at 2.1x. Writing the list of screens and states first means every capture has a purpose and none is missing.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a shot list and a call sheet?
A shot list says what to film. A call sheet says who needs to be where and when: call times, the location address, parking, contacts, weather and the order of the day. On a small shoot one document can hold both, but on anything with several people the call sheet goes out the day before and the shot list stays with the director.
Should B-roll go on the shot list?
Yes. Listing cover shots explicitly is what gets them filmed, because under time pressure a crew captures the planned shots and moves on. Add rows for details, cutaways and establishing views of each location, marked as cover, so that if the day runs late they are the first shots dropped rather than the ones quietly forgotten.
What tool should I use for a shot list?
A spreadsheet is enough for most shoots, since it can be sorted by location or scene and shared with everyone involved. Dedicated production apps add storyboard images, schedules and call sheets linked to each shot. More important than the tool is that the list is readable on a phone on set and that one person owns ticking shots off.
Can a shot list change on the day?
It should be able to. Weather, a late subject or a better idea all change a shoot. Mark the shots the edit cannot work without, so that when time runs short the crew drops the nice to have shots first. Record every change on the list itself, so the editor knows what was actually filmed and why.
Who writes the shot list?
Usually the director, often together with the camera operator, since they know how long each setup really takes. On a small business video the person producing it writes it, and the person being filmed should see it as well, so they know what they will be asked to do and can prepare the right props, clothes and space.
Make one with videos
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a video with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is a storyboard?What is a storyboard? The panel by panel plan of what a video will show, how it differs from a script and a scene list, and when one is worth drawing.
- What is a scene in video editing?What is a scene in video editing? How a scene differs from a shot and a sequence, why scenes are the unit that sets structure and pace, and how to plan them.
- What is a product demo video?What is a product demo video? A recording of a product doing a real job for a buyer, and how it differs from an explainer and a tutorial in viewer and shape.
Step by step in the builder: Capture your screen and turn it into a tutorial video.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .