Film & narrative
Interview Shot List Template
An interview is technically simple and easy to get wrong. Almost every problem in an interview edit traces back to one of three omissions: no second angle, no cutaways, no room tone.
This list is short because the discipline matters more than the volume.
Shots
17
Groups
4
Format
Checklist
The shot list
Framing
- 01Primary: medium, subject slightly off-centre, eyes on the upper third
- 02Second camera at 30–45°, tighter framing
- 03Wide establishing the setting and the setup
- 04Optional third: profile or over-the-shoulder
Cutaways
The footage that lets you cut the interview at all.
- 05Hands, still and gesturing
- 06Interviewer listening and nodding
- 07Subject thinking between answers
- 08Detail of the room or environment
- 09Anything the subject refers to
- 10Subject arriving or being set up
Audio
- 11Lapel mic on the subject
- 12Backup recorder or second mic
- 1330–60 seconds of room tone
- 14Test recording checked on headphones before you start
Practical
- 15Reference photo of the setup for continuity
- 16Subject asked to answer in full sentences including the question
- 17Silence held for two seconds after each answer
Tips for this kind of shoot
- Hold two seconds of silence after every answer. It gives you a clean out point on every soundbite.
- Ask for answers that include the question. It is the difference between a usable clip and one that needs the interviewer in it.
- Room tone, always. It is thirty seconds and it fixes everything.
Use this list on your next shoot
Storeyz keeps your shots in story order for planning and regroups them by location for the day — then you tick them off on your phone as you get them.