Every shoot that has ever gone wrong went wrong before the camera came out of the bag. Never the weather, or the kit, or somebody turning up late. Two people in the room had different films in their heads and neither of them knew it.
What a shot list is
One page. Every shot, in the order it will be filmed, with a rough time against it. You read it, you disagree with some of it, we change it, and then you sign it off. That is the entire process.
What it prevents
- Turning up to find the thing we came to film has been moved.
- Discovering at 3pm that the person we needed on camera left at 2pm.
- Delivering a film that is technically what was asked for and useless for what it was wanted for.
- The phrase “while you’re here, could you also…” at 4:55pm.
Fifteen boring minutes on a shared document is the cheapest insurance in this business.
It is also how small budgets work
A crew can absorb a bad plan by throwing people at it. One person cannot. So the plan has to be right, which, conveniently, is also what makes the film better.