What is Shot List?
A shot list is the numbered inventory of every shot a video needs, recording for each one the subject, framing, camera movement, location and approximate duration. Production runs against the list, and editors use it to confirm nothing required was missed before the crew leaves or the production window closes.
- Category
- Creative & Video Production
- Also called
- Shotlist, Shooting list, Shot breakdown
- In our work
- Creative productionAI video production
A shot list is an operational document rather than a creative one, and it is written after the boards are approved. Each row typically records the shot number, the subject, the framing, any camera movement, the location or set, the approximate length, and whether audio is captured. Grouped by location or by setup rather than by script order, it becomes the running order for a shoot day, because filming in script order spends most of the day moving lights.
The same list survives into AI production with the columns renamed. Instead of a location and a lens, a row carries the reference images, the prompt and the intended duration, and the list still tells a producer how many shots remain and which have been approved. Editors rely on it either way as a checklist against the edit: any row without matching material is a gap that has to be filled, covered with b-roll, or written out of the script.
Common questions.
What is the difference between a storyboard and a shot list?
A storyboard shows what each shot looks like; a shot list states what has to be produced. The board is for agreeing the creative, the list is for running the production and checking nothing is missing. Small jobs sometimes use a list alone, but boards without a list tend to lose shots.
Related terms.
Storyboard
Creative & Video ProductionA storyboard is a sequence of drawn or rendered frames that maps a video shot by shot before production begins, each panel showing framing, action and the line of script or narration that plays underneath.
B-Roll
Creative & Video ProductionB-roll is supporting footage cut around the main subject: the product in use, hands at work, the room, the street outside.
Photoreal Board
Creative & Video ProductionA photoreal board is a storyboard frame rendered at finished quality rather than sketched, showing the lighting, casting, wardrobe and product detail the final shot will carry.
AVP (Audio-Visual Presentation)
Creative & Video ProductionAn AVP, or audio-visual presentation, is a short branded video that explains an organisation, product or programme to an audience in one sitting.
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