Video & Film • Target: 20 mins

Shot list from plain sentences

A scene described in words can become a plan without ever being pictured.

Steps to follow:

  1. Write your scene as six plain sentences about what happens.
  2. Turn each sentence into one shot: wide, medium or close, and what changes in it.
  3. Find or generate one reference image for each shot.
  4. Lay them out in order like a contact sheet.
  5. Check the sequence by reading it aloud. Remove the weakest shot.
  6. Add one line for each shot about sound, since sound may carry more for you.