The shoot day starts at nine. At ten, the crew is still waiting for the manager who's supposed to appear in the video. At eleven, someone discovers the chosen room has an echo, and the search for another one begins. The first shot gets filmed near noon, and at the end of the day two important shots are forgotten. All of this is expensive, because shoot day is the most costly day in video production, and every decision pushed to that day is paid for by the hour.
What is a shot list?
A table that turns the video script into specific shots: what appears, at what size, where, and who needs to be there. The director or producer writes it after the script is approved and goes through it with you before shoot day.
Its main value is that it exposes problems on paper. When you write "shot of the customer receiving the order at the branch," you immediately ask: which branch? Who plays the customer? Do we have the branch's permission? Those questions need answers before the day.
The list doesn't have to be long to be useful. A one-minute explainer video may need twenty to thirty lines, and a short reel may need five. What matters is that everyone on location knows what will be filmed next and what needs preparing now.
What goes in each line of a shot list?
You don't need special software, a simple spreadsheet is enough. These are the columns we usually use:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Number and scene | 4, order intake |
| Shot description | An employee receives the order on screen and smiles |
| Shot size | Medium, then close-up on the screen |
| Camera movement | Static, or a slow sideways move |
| Location | Reception desk, first floor |
| Who appears | Sarah from customer service |
| Audio | No dialogue, ambient sound only |
| Estimated time | 20 minutes |
Add a priority column. When time runs short at the end of the day, you'll know right away which shots you can drop.
In what order should shots be filmed?
By location, lighting and people. All the reception shots together, then all the warehouse shots, even if the first set opens the video and the second closes it.
Moving lights and equipment between locations takes longer than most people expect. Shots with a manager or guest whose time is limited go in the slot that suits them, and the schedule is built around those. Outdoor shots are planned around daylight, because the sun won't wait for you.
How much extra footage do you need around interviews?
More than you'd expect. When someone talks for a full minute in the final video, viewers don't see their face for that whole minute. The editor needs footage to cover the speech: hands at work, a screen, the product, the location, colleagues in a meeting. This is called B-roll, and missing B-roll is the most common reason a video feels boring or choppy with jump cuts.
Read the expected interview script and write next to each idea a shot that supports it. If the manager says, "We deliver orders the same day," you need a shot of an order being packed and leaving through the door. Add these shots to the list as separate lines, with location and duration, so they aren't left to whatever time remains.
Film each shot at more than one size: a wide that shows the space, a medium, and a close-up on the details. That gives the edit a lot of flexibility and adds only a few minutes per shot.
What does everyone attending the shoot day need?
A single page, which people in the industry call a call sheet, sent the day before: the address, each person's arrival time, the contact person's number, the schedule, and where the crew should park. People appearing on camera also need wardrobe guidance: solid colors, no thin stripes or large logos, and a spare outfit.
- Written permission for the location, and someone who can open doors and turn off the AC when needed.
- Products and props clean and ready, with spares.
- Screens that will be filmed set up with dummy data, never real customer data.
- Written consent from everyone who will appear.
- One person from your side with authority to decide, who stays the whole day.
A missing decision maker is one of the biggest time wasters on shoot day. Every small question, like "Is the old logo OK in the background?", turns into phone calls and waiting.
What does a well-organized shoot day schedule look like?
It starts with enough setup time, puts the difficult shots and interviews early in the day when everyone is fresh, and leaves a margin at the end.
- Arrival and setupLighting, sound and a camera test before the on-camera people arrive
- Interviews and dialogueIn the quiet room, while energy is highest
- Work footageGrouped by location, from most to least important
- Outdoor shotsAt the right time for daylight
- Review and backupCheck the list against what was filmed and copy files before leaving
Don't skip the final review. Open the shot list and tick off everything that was filmed, because finding a missing shot in the edit means another shoot day.
The shot list comes after the script, so start with writing the video script if it isn't ready. We plan and run shoot days as part of our media and video production service. Send us your video script or idea and we'll send it back with a shot list and an estimate of the shoot days needed.
Questions our partners ask
What is the difference between a shot list and a script?
The script says what happens and what is said, in the order of the video. The shot list turns it into specific shots with their size, location and who appears in them, and orders them in the fastest way to film.
How many shots can you film in a day?
It varies a lot with the number of locations, people and lighting setups. A practical rule: estimate the time for each shot, add time to move equipment between locations, and leave a margin for surprises.
Written by the Visual Innovate team, the people who build, host and follow up systems, websites and apps for our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
