Every creator has had the moment in the edit: the line is great, the delivery is great, and there is nothing to cut to. The cutaway you meant to grab never made it onto the card.

That almost never happens because you forgot the idea. It happens because the shot list and the script drifted apart. You rewrote a section on Tuesday, filmed on Thursday, and the list on your phone still described the old version.

This guide covers what a shot list needs, a simple template you can copy, and how to keep it tied to your script.

What a shot list is (and is not)

A shot list is the set of every shot you need to capture, in the order you plan to capture it. It is not a storyboard (that is drawings of each frame) and it is not a call sheet (that is who shows up where and when).

For most YouTube and small-team shoots, a good shot list does three jobs:

  1. Makes sure every line in the script has something to look at.
  2. Groups shots so you set up lights and lenses as few times as possible.
  3. Gives you a checklist to tick off before you strike the set.

The 5 columns every shot list needs

You can add more, but these five cover almost every creator shoot:

| Column | What goes in it | Example | |---|---|---| | Cue | The script line or section the shot supports | "Intro — why the build failed" | | Shot | Framing and subject | Medium close-up, talking head | | Camera / lens | Which body and lens, plus any movement | A-cam, 35mm, locked off | | Audio | Sync sound, room tone, or none | Lav + shotgun | | Status | Not shot / got it / reshoot | Got it |

The Cue column is the one most templates leave out, and it is the most important. Without it, you cannot tell which shots belong to which part of the video, so a script change silently breaks the list.

Copy-ready shot list template

#  | Cue                    | Shot                 | Camera / lens   | Audio      | Status
1  | Hook (0:00–0:15)       | MCU talking head     | A-cam 35mm      | Lav        | [ ]
2  | Hook (0:00–0:15)       | Insert: broken part  | B-cam 90mm macro| None       | [ ]
3  | Section 1: the problem | Wide, desk setup     | A-cam 24mm      | Room tone  | [ ]
4  | Section 1: the problem | Screen recording     | Capture         | None       | [ ]
5  | Section 2: the fix     | Over-shoulder hands  | B-cam 50mm      | Lav        | [ ]

Number every shot. On set, "we still need 4 and 7" is much faster than describing them.

A-roll vs. B-roll: plan both

A-roll is your main footage, usually you talking to camera or the interview. B-roll is everything you cut to: inserts, screen recordings, product shots, establishing shots.

Creators tend to plan A-roll carefully and leave B-roll to "I'll grab some stuff after." That is where the gaps come from. A simple rule helps: every time the script says "this," "here," or names an object, write a B-roll shot for it.

Order shots by setup, not by script

Your script runs top to bottom. Your shoot should not. Group shots that share a camera position and lighting, even if they appear in different sections, and film those together. Keep the Cue column so you can still see where each one lands in the edit.

Common shot list mistakes

  • Writing the list once, early. If the script changes, the list must change too.
  • No status column. You will not remember on set whether you got shot 12.
  • Forgetting audio. Room tone and wild lines are easy to skip and hard to fake later.
  • Ignoring gear. If a shot needs the macro lens, that lens needs to be in the bag.

Keeping the shot list tied to your script

The simplest fix for drift is to stop keeping the shot list as a separate document. If you write your script in two columns — what is said on the left, what is seen on the right (see our guide to the two-column AV script) — your visual column already is your shot list.

That is how Clapboard works. Each visual cue in the Script Studio becomes a shot on the project's shot list, along with the gear it needs. Change the script and the list follows. On shoot day you tick shots off, and anything you missed is obvious before you pack up.

Quick checklist before you shoot

  • Every script section has at least one shot.
  • Every "show this" moment has a B-roll shot.
  • Shots are grouped by setup.
  • Every shot has the gear it needs listed.
  • Room tone is on the list.

If you want to try the script-linked version, Clapboard's Free plan includes the Script Studio and shot list for up to three active projects.