Build a professional shot list in your browser — add scenes, shot sizes, angles and movement, then export a client-ready CSV or printable PDF.
AI-powered audio review & delivery for voice production teams
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Click Add shot to start from scratch, or Load sample data to see a complete film shot list example.
The CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets. The PDF uses your browser’s print dialog — pick “Save as PDF” for a landscape document with your production details as the letterhead.
A shot list is the production document that translates a script into camera setups: every shot you plan to capture, in enough detail that the whole crew knows what's next without asking. The standard shot list format runs one row per shot with these columns:
Need a film shot list example to start from? Click Load sample data in the builder above — it fills in a complete two-scene sample shot list with eight shots that you can edit, re-order and export. And if you came here looking for a shot list template for Word or Excel: export the CSV and open it in Excel or Google Sheets, or print straight to PDF — same format, no template file to maintain.
| Code | Name | What's in frame |
|---|---|---|
| ECU | Extreme close-up | A detail — eyes, hands, the coffee dripping. Maximum intensity, no context. |
| CU | Close-up | The face fills the frame. The emotion shot. |
| MCU | Medium close-up | Chest up. The standard interview and dialogue framing. |
| MS | Medium shot | Waist up. Body language enters the frame. |
| MWS | Medium wide shot | Knees up (the "cowboy"). Subject plus some environment. |
| WS | Wide shot | Full body with the location around it. Geography and blocking. |
| EWS | Extreme wide shot | The subject is small in a big world. Establishing shots and scale. |
| Angle | What it does |
|---|---|
| Eye level | Neutral and natural — the default for dialogue and interviews. |
| High | Looks down on the subject; reads as small, vulnerable or observed. |
| Low | Looks up; adds power, scale or menace. |
| Dutch | Tilted horizon; unease and disorientation. Use sparingly. |
| Overhead | Straight down — process shots, table tops, choreography. |
| POV | The camera becomes a character's eyes. |
A shot list is a numbered table of every shot a production plans to film: scene and shot number, shot size, angle, movement, lens, what happens in frame, audio needs, how long the setup should take and how critical it is. It's how a director's vision becomes a schedule the crew can actually execute — and the first thing a producer asks for before locking a shoot day.
A storyboard shows what each shot looks like — drawn frames, composition, motion arrows. A shot list says how you'll capture it — sizes, angles, lenses, timing and priorities in a table. Most productions use both: board the key sequences, then shot-list everything for the schedule. They complement each other rather than compete. (A free storyboard creator and call sheet generator are coming to VoiceDeck tools soon.)
The standard ladder runs ECU (extreme close-up), CU (close-up), MCU (medium close-up), MS (medium shot), MWS (medium wide shot), WS (wide shot) and EWS (extreme wide shot) — see the glossary table above for what each puts in frame. Those seven cover almost any production; the builder offers exactly that set so your list stays consistent.
Detailed enough that someone who wasn't in the planning meeting could run the setup: scene, size, angle, movement, lens and a one-line description is the floor. Add estimated time per setup and a must-have/nice-to-have priority — when the day runs behind (it will), you cut nice-to-haves instead of arguing about it on set.
Yes — that's the point. The builder already follows the standard shot list format, autosaves in your browser, and exports a CSV that opens in Excel or Google Sheets plus a print-ready PDF with your production details as the letterhead. No template file to download, version or fix the formatting on.
VoiceDeck adds AI-powered audio & video review and delivery for your whole team — so every file ships in spec, automatically.
