Guides
How to plan a shoot that works
Practical guides on shot lists, coverage and shoot days — written for people who film alone or in small teams, not for crews of thirty.
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How to Make a Shot List
A shot list is the difference between filming what you planned and filming what you happened to remember. Here is how to build one in about twenty minutes.
Planning and technique
What Is a Shot List?
A plain definition, what goes in one, and how it differs from the documents people confuse it with.
Shot List vs Storyboard
They solve different problems. One is about composition, the other about completeness.
Shooting Order vs Story Order
The single most common cause of missing footage, and the reason spreadsheets are the wrong tool for a shoot day.
How to Plan a Shoot Day
Turning a list of shots into a schedule that survives contact with reality.
Pre-Production Checklist
What to have settled before the shoot day, in the order it needs settling.
Video Production Workflow
The whole process end to end, without the crew structure that does not apply to a team of one or two.
Scene Coverage Explained
The standard pattern, why it exists, and the minimum you need before a scene is safe.
How Many Shots Does a Scene Need?
Realistic numbers by format, and the floor below which a scene will not edit.
How to Organise Footage
The system that turns the first hour of an edit from a search into a lookup.
Shot List Abbreviations
The shorthand, so you can read someone else's list and write your own faster.
How to Storyboard a Video
What a storyboard needs to communicate, and how to make one without being able to draw.
For YouTube and social creators
See all 9 creator guides →How to Plan a YouTube Video
The planning that happens between having an idea and pressing record — and the part almost everyone skips.
YouTube Video Checklist
Everything to check before, during and after filming.
B-Roll Checklist
How much B-roll you actually need, and the shots that always work.
How to Film B-Roll
The technique, not just the list.
How to Film a Vlog
The difference between a vlog and a montage is about six shots, and they are always the same six.
What to Film on a Trip
You are somewhere once. Here is what to get before you leave.