Coursework: Pre-production - Shot list

The final aspect of your pre-production planning is to write a comprehensive shot list for every single possible shot we plan to film for our TV drama trailer.

A shot list is a full list of all the shots in your trailer with detailed information for each of them (shot type, action etc.) Creative shot choices aside, it’s easy to forget that a shot list is a strategic document. Creating a shot list is essentially like creating a shooting gameplan for the day.

Shot No.	Shot	Filmed?
1	Title of the trailer
2	Black screen-Noises of burglary, door banging open
3	Black screen-Noises of burglary, shouting, screaming
4	Black screen-Screaming, footsteps of people running around
5	Black screen-Noises of burglary, shouting, screaming, bag dropping heavy on the floor.
6	Police car sirens. "Throw the money there"
7	Title of trailer
8	Long shot of Park
9	Long shot of 3 girls running in the park
10	Resting girls- medium shot
11	Money found-close up
12	Long shot- tube scene 3 girls
13	Extreme close up-hands on escalators
14	Long shot- escalators with the 3 girls
15	Long shot-shopping in the centre
16	Long shot-Jules dragging  meri and Ashley in the stores
17	Long shot- them coming to the dining area of the shopping mall
18	Medium shot- them sitting down tired
19	Ashley’s over the shoulder shot
20	Jules speaking
21	Meri and Ashley staring at each other medium shot
22	Ashley sleeping- waking up cause of the alarm
23	Ashley –long shot waking up
24	Looking at the vanity table- medium shot
25	Close up –on the post it note
26	Ashley screaming
27	Phone call-Meri answering ”Wait what”
28	Medium shot- Meri on call “I’m coming, coming, bye”
29	Church bell ringing-long shot
30	Graveyard- Long shot
31	Meri and Jules long shot
32	Meri “we need to find out who did this” -over the shoulder shot
33	Jules “ yeah I don’t want to be next”-over the shoulder shot
34	Meri looking at Jules with a stern look –medium shot
35	Jules –medium shot ”what”
36	Close up- Meri's face
37	Jules and Meri's medium shot
38	Medium shot-Jules and Meri talking “So this is it”
39	Long shot-Meri Running
40	Long shot- skidding to an end
41	Running to open the door- long shot
42	Close up-opening the door
43	Medium shot- door being opened (Match on action)
44	Banging the door close-Long shot
45	Meri leaning against the door-medium shot
46	End of trailer-Date

Here's our friend Darius with a reminder of the different shot types and angles:




Here are some top tips for writing a shot list:


...And here's a specific guide to shooting a dialogue scene:



Your a shot list needs to contain EVERY shot you plan to film for your trailer AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar.

We advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word to set out your shot list - you can find an example here. It makes sense to write your shot list by scene or location rather than a huge list of every shot in the trailer in chronological order. It's also important to remember that trailers require a range of shots from the whole TV drama series - so make sure your shot list reflects this.

Finally, although trailers are very difficult to create, there is some good news: there will almost always be a series of fast-paced shots towards the end of the trailer that get across the drama and emotion of the show. Make sure you plan these in your shot list! These often don't require context or dialogue - just something dramatic, emotional or visually striking. Plan it in!

Once complete, post the shot list to your Media 2 coursework blog.

Optional pre-production: Storyboard
Hollywood filmmakers will also storyboard every shot they plan to film. They use storyboard artists to create a visual representation of the shots they wish to film - and use it to communicate a visual plan to the film crew. If you work well visually or are artistic you may wish to create storyboards for key shots in your trailer. If so, storyboard sheets are available in DF07 or online here.