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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Shot Sheets
A shot is an individual picture taken by a camera during the process of
shooting the program footage. In a typical studio shoot with three cameras,
the output from each camera runs into a switcher in the control room. The
director must decide which image to place on the master program recording
and which camera to pull the image from. To do this, buttons on the switcher
are selected to cut from one camera to another. For example, close-up shots
of individual characters may be needed at various times in the program. To
capture the shots necessary, the director must know what is going to be said
and what actions are going to happen before they occur on the set. This way,
the camera operators can be directed into position to capture the necessary
shot when it happens. This kind of planning requires that the director be
mentally 5–10 seconds ahead of the performers at all times.
Far less stress would be placed on the director if he did not have to think
far enough ahead in the program to tell the camera operators to move. It
would also be more effi cient if the camera operators knew in advance what
their next shot is supposed to be. This would allow them to execute the
camera move before the moment arrives for their camera to be hot. Using
a shot sheet relieves some of this stress and makes directing a three-camera
shoot easier. A shot sheet lists each shot in a program numerically. The list
given to each camera contains only the shots that particular camera needs
to capture during the program. Each camera used in a production receives
a completely different shot sheet.
To use a shot sheet, the director reviews the script before the shoot,
plans each camera shot, and assigns a sequential number to each shot. The
numbered shots, with corresponding brief descriptions, are divided per
camera and written on separate sheets of paper, Figure 4-8. Again, only
the shots each particular camera is responsible for are on that camera’s
shot sheet. On the day of the shoot, the shot sheets are taped to the side of
the corresponding camera. During the shoot, the director can simply say,
“Take shot 4” instead of, “Camera 2, I want you to have a close-up of Mary
next so get your shot ready while I’m still on camera 3.”
As soon as the director cuts from camera 3 (shot 3) to the shot of Mary
on camera 2 (shot 4), the camera 3 operator looks at his shot sheet and sees
that his next shot is shot 8. The operator reviews the brief description and
readies the shot without being told to do so. Camera 1 was assigned shot
5 and had the shot setup and ready to go. Camera 2 has shot 6 and shot 7
is back on camera 1 again. Using shot sheets makes a multi-camera shoot
much more effi cient and less stressful for everyone.
shot: An individual picture
taken by a camera during the
process of shooting program
footage.
shot sheet: A numerical
listing of each shot to be
captured by each camera
in a multi-camera shoot.
Shot sheets are developed
specifically for each camera.
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 4-8. Shot sheets are developed for each camera involved in a shoot.
2–Mid shot John/Mary
5–Close-up John
7–Close-up of phone
4–Close-up Mary
6–Three shot John, Mary, Bill
9–Close-up on fireplace
1–Close-up John
3–Wide shot entire set
8–Mid shot Mary
Camera 1 Camera 2 Camera 3