Film & narrative
Student Film Shot List Template
Student films almost always fail in the same places, and almost all of those failures are shot list failures rather than talent failures: no master, no room tone, no clean plate, crossed eyelines, and a schedule that ran out before the coverage did.
This list is built around avoiding exactly those.
Shots
16
Groups
4
Format
Checklist
The shot list
Non-negotiables per scene
If time runs out, these are what you must have. Everything else is improvement.
- 01Master of the full scene, wide
- 02One clean single on each speaking character
- 03One close-up at the key beat
- 04Room tone, 30 seconds
Standard coverage
- 05Two-shot, medium
- 06Over-the-shoulder both directions
- 07Reaction shots for every listener
- 08Insert of any prop that matters
- 09Entrances and exits
Continuity safety
- 10Reference photo of every setup before you move
- 11Clean plate of each location
- 12Overlapping action at each cut point
- 13The same eyeline direction across all singles in a scene
Sound
- 14Room tone in every location
- 15Wild lines of any dialogue with background noise
- 16Any specific sound effect recorded on location
Tips for this kind of shoot
- Master first. Every time, without exception.
- Take a reference photo of each setup before moving the camera. It is the cheapest continuity insurance there is.
- Budget half your scheduled time. First films always run over, and the coverage is what gets cut.
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.