The Best Shotlist Template

The Best Shot List Template for Filmmakers in 2022 + FREE Shot List Tutorial.
UPDATED Shot List here: filmmakersecre...
The best shot list from over a decade ago just got even better! This film shot list will make your life so easy when it comes time to shoot your film. If you have ever wondered how to make a shot list for your film or video project-this is the answer to everything.
Learn the TOP 11 things every filmmaker must know about writing a killer shot list. When you have a specific and detailed shot list, you are setting yourself up for success during your film shoot. Be as prepared as possible with this shot list template film & video professionals are raving about.
The Best Shot List Template works for music video shot list, short film shot list, feature film shot list, commercial shot list, real estate shot list, wedding shot list, and many more!
Step 1: Watch through the training.
Step 2: Grab your shot list template excel download below.
Step 3: Happy shot listing!
Get the FREE shot list template here: filmmakersecre...
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#filmmaker #filmmakersecrets #shotlist

[@itsgeorgevk]

Grab your FREE Shot List Template here: filmmakersecrets.com/shotlist 🚀

[@MrNoplotproductions]

dude i filled in my name and email and press access so many times but you shortlist generator is no coming to my email. so I think your link on your website might be broken - just saying

[@MrNoplotproductions]

sorry i only see now - 12 years ago was this post - understand

[@itsgeorgevk]

@@MrNoplotproductions ​ @MrNoplotproductions Hi, I'm seeing you have received all of my emails, have you checked your spam folder? If you're still not seeing them, I'll send the link separately. I appreciate you letting me know.

[@MrNoplotproductions]

@@itsgeorgevk thank you i received under George vk - have been looking for "filmmaking secrets" as the website I was directed to - I appreciate you man. respect to the max / blessings from Namibia

[@MrNoplotproductions]

@@itsgeorgevk thank you i received it I was looking for filmmakers secret and not George vk . appreciate you. respect from the Namib desert

[@ATLDemoReels]

Although it's been 2011 since this tut was posted, "The Best Shotlist Template" by George Kotelnikov still holds the heavy weight belt and title for the ultimate explanation of a shot list. In my opinion. No I haven't reviewed other shotlist tuts because this is all I need. Thanks G, for this upload as a indie filmmaker this is what I've been using to this day and I also pass this link to my filmmaking friends and producers.

[@itsgeorgevk]

You just made my whole day, ATLDemoReels. I really appreciate it. These are the exact words that push me to continue creating and sharing as much of my knowledge and mistakes as I can. All the best, George V.K.

[@josefinotv]

Thanks man. You are one of those valuable persons that makes internet better.

[@ColtonSmrz]

You, sir, deserve a medal. Thank you for this.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I was useful. :)

[@sharedivinelove]

Thats a great service to humanity. Keep it up pal :)

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help out!

[@ghostinvestigationteam]

Hi, I'm a 1st year BA HONS filmmaker undergraduate at Lancaster University and Blackpool school of arts. One suggestion for you when formulating your minutes (in O13) into hours and minutes at (P13), at the moment your formula in the total time for scene does not format to hours and minutes (hh:mm), if you want to do this, use this formula, this will convert properly into HH:MM . So the formula in P13 would be =TIME(0,O13,0) That's 0 hours, the number of minutes in N13, and 0 seconds. To format the cell as the time format you want (HH:MM). Right-click on the O13 cell, select "format cells" from the drop-down list, select "custom" (in the categories list) scroll up or down in the list to find the hh:mm, left click, then press OK. For example, add minutes into any of the boxes in "set up time (M5 to M12)" to a total of 179 minutes and it produces an output of 02:59. 2 hours 59 minutes. You're welcome, great spreadsheet by the way, I'm using it on my Preparing to Film assignment.

[@itsgeorgevk]

This is amazing! Thank you for your insight, I will implement this in the next version. Doing a little update. Cheers!

[@RishiRavalRR]

im goin to work as an assistant director in a new movie in india & i was looking for a proper info about shot listing & i just saw this video & this is the best what i got thank u for uploading 👍

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help!

[@samhaboush865]

This is incredible Work. You have immediately become my friend in 13 minutes and 18 seconds. Wanton Soup is a great food thought... also great shot list, all other ones that I have seen are soo lacking. Hats off or since I am only one, hat off to ya.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Appreciate the kind words. You're the best!

[@XDjw]

Thnx! Really needed this!

[@shenjingdo]

This is great man. First rate! Thanks for sharing!

[@itsgeorgevk]

I appreciate you! I know it's been 8 years but I just updated the shot list template. Check out the newest video on my channel. Hope it helps. :)

[@atlvideopromokits]

This is the ultimate treasure map for indie filmmakers. Thanks for the detailed information and link George. Hay I thought they stopped making Hostess Twinkies in the mid 90's. But....I do know Little Debbie went up on the price from $0.25 to $0.50??!!!! Anyway George you are a DY-NO-MITE Dude!!!!!!!!!! May you have more successful productions.

[@MswBmf]

so surprised that more people havent been here and seen this, thank you.

[@janeisenbeton9030]

I used this earlier this year, great way to stay organized.

[@itsgeorgevk]

That’s fantastic! Glad it was helpful.

[@MrRonnieVero]

Very Cool and funny! Thanx man...Starting out with Imagefilm and this is a biiiig help! Greez from Lübeck, Germany

[@itsgeorgevk]

I’m glad I could help in some small way, Ronnie!

[@whothetechknows]

This shot list is a life saver. Thank you! Your video is great and I hope that your project turned out well.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Thanks Russell! Means a lot. Glad it could be of use. 👍🏼 Let me know if I can ever help with anything.

[@whothetechknows]

@@itsgeorgevk thanks I appreciate that George. Trying to figure out how to do another scene because there's multiple scenes that I need to do. And I want to test this out on a real life shoot. After that I'll have to tell you what it's like how it works

[@itsgeorgevk]

@@whothetechknows That’s great. You can either copy and paste the rows of the first scene, or a better way is to duplicate the whole SHEET and do separate scenes in separate sheet tabs. Check out the other shot list video on my channel where I show exactly how to achieve this.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Here is that video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2HSg5ymnrpjask

[@YasusAzush]

George, been searching around for a long time for this. I will be shooting my first short film soon and this comes to a great help. It's called The Passage. You might look it up when thing are public. Best Wishes. Thanks

[@nishantra3639]

Thanks a lot, George. You really made the whole process really simple and easy. Thanks for sharing the Spreadsheet as well.

[@itsgeorgevk]

You are so welcome. Glad I could help. :)

[@itsgeorgevk]

You are so welcome. Glad I could make you look absolutely badass.

[@rondz1234]

Thanks A lot im going to use this best iv seen so far

[@itsgeorgevk]

Well, thank you!

[@91Rohu]

Thank you for the template my friend. There are very few people who take initiative when it comes to helping out indie filmmakers

[@91Rohu]

There's just one thing im having a problem with is the inserting of more scenes

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could be of use! Good luck.

[@itsgeorgevk]

You can either duplicate one of the sheets all together. Or select all the rows (on the left side) that contain a scene, copy and paste below. Boom, another scene created. Hope that helps.

[@91Rohu]

George V.K. it does. thanks 😃

[@davidamosphotography]

This is GOLD, Thank you for your time George!!

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help!

[@Goldieangl]

Thank you so much for the break down!

[@DugsBunnyy]

Thanks for sharing this with me George, I love it. It's super handy. The only thing I can't figure out is the formula in the shoot time. even if I replicate it. Can you help with that??

[@alcjosh]

This is the format I will use from here on. Production absolutely loved the organization of my shotlist. Cheers friend.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help. It's been 7 years! :)

[@aimanhassani]

I rarely comment on vids, but this video was really awesome! Thanks George!

[@itsgeorgevk]

aimhassani I appreciate it!

[@randallpaul6559]

good job very similar to ours I omit a couple of things you have but I add a dialogue column.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Very smart. 👀

[@blueterrain55]

Love it! How do you add more rows to a single scene?

[@elainealaniz]

George this is wonderful. I was looking for a good shotlist template online but no fortune until I found this one! This one is indeed the best online and is going to be great for my project.Thank you so much for sharing! =)

[@zahiddar8178]

Thank you George this has been a great help in starting my pre-production for my feature film project. I think you sound great.

[@itsgeorgevk]

@@zahiddar8178 Let me know how that feature film project turned out! 8 years ago. 😅

[@mollymcgivern2638]

Thank you! You guys rock.

[@itsgeorgevk]

I appreciate you. :)

[@sdm282]

Amazing, thank you! I'm currently using your template to plan one of my shoots for school.

[@itsgeorgevk]

@@sdm282 How did that project go?? 10 years ago!

[@WendyJacksonMrs]

This WAS great! Helped me make things run smoother!

[@itsgeorgevk]

Yes, it has an equation that takes into account the predicted number of takes, setup time and shot time and plugs it in. Spits out an estimation. :)

[@esubi]

Thank you for this!! gold indeed :)

[@gphiproductions]

Thanks for sharing your shot list template and ideas! Thumbs up!

[@Gozyization]

This is good. Thanks for sharing.

[@ramonapikeur]

Goerge, AWESOME. thanx a million, saved me tons of time.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help out Ramona! :)

[@joehughey3213]

extremely helpful! writing a shotlist was incredibly intimidating before I saw this vid and template :D

[@itsgeorgevk]

I'm so glad I could ease your mind.

[@souliyongsayavong4481]

THANK YOU SO MUCH MAN !

[@itsgeorgevk]

@@souliyongsayavong4481 YOU ARE SO WELCOME MAN !

[@tomersi]

Thank you George

[@TrfwooofooMotionPictures]

Thanks George!!!

[@esperanzasanchez9299]

Thank you George!

[@itsgeorgevk]

You are welcome, Esperanza! :)

[@znajjar]

thanks for the effort!

[@mmmmmmm3246]

Dude, thanks for this. This is amazing.

[@MudbloodWizard]

Legendary.

[@itsgeorgevk]

Yes you are, good sir. 😎

[@trevr-merchant]

Very nice work, George!

[@javiercarrasquillo4307]

Brother. . . nicely done. . . nicely done indeed.

[@MyronDavismd]

This is an incredible resource! Very clear and concise instruction AND comprehensive template! Thanks George! How's the film doing?

[@itsgeorgevk]

Thanks for the kind words, brother!

[@agentsixsix]

Great tool and explanation. What I'm missing for my kind of work is a simple "sound section". Some columns on the audio needed in a particular shot. Handy for one-man-band operation.

[@itsgeorgevk]

This work flow definitely opens up possibilities for customization. Thanks for watching!

[@ericmeng2884]

Thanx, very good tutorial

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad I could help!

[@fenilbollywood]

Thanks a lot for the template! Has helped me big time!!

[@itsgeorgevk]

I'm so glad! Keep shooting!

[@znajjar]

Hey, Thanks for that! I'm looking for a good brief definition of the term shot-list to add to my course, can't find a thing on wikipedia yet.. I thought you might be helpful with that..

[@sharedivinelove]

Thanks . I'm a novice and this was very useful. Keep up the great work

[@itsgeorgevk]

Ashish mahobia your words of encouragement are very appreciated!

[@sharedivinelove]

George V.K. Thanks too. I am 42 and have just started learning film making . Pls suggest some good tutorial sites on film making

[@itsgeorgevk]

Ashish mahobia Search "Film Riot" on KZbin. Really fun podcast. Otherwise it's all about knowing what you want to learn and doing a simple search. That's how I do it. Best of luck!

[@sharedivinelove]

Thanks

[@SalvadorGerardoFloresSaiz]

Thanks for sharing! Really appreciate! Peace!

[@duyanhvu2484]

HI George, I have a school project video and it really helpful for me when found your tut online for a shot list template. My question is for "coverage" tab I dont clearly underdant what is used for? Hope u can have some time to explain what it means to me. Really helpful and informative. Thank so much for your dedication.

[@itsgeorgevk]

How much of your script you want that shot to cover. :)

[@MrDean107]

George Kotelnikov Thank you so much for the information. I was telling by my professor to prepare a shot list before writing a storyboard. As an experienced producer, would you give us some advice as what we could do before making a movie. I love playing around with camera but very limited about procedure how to make a movie. Organizing before shooting is really important as I devote my time to work on this project.

[@Lilyanddrew1]

Thanks for sharing this template it helped alot

[@itsjohnthomas]

Thanks for the template!!!

[@alonzochism1715]

thanks.. this was helpful

[@BradRiddell2013]

George, this fantastic and I'll be sharing it with my students in the film school at DePaul. Maybe I missed this, but how do you create a new scene?

[@itsgeorgevk]

Hey Brad, good to hear you liked the template! You can either duplicate the sheet, or just select the scene header row and copy/paste it below. Hope that helps!

[@mikelowther]

Thanks man!!!

[@radityawaliulu]

Thanks a lot... please update drop down angle :D and anything.. so faarr gooodddd

[@FredericWichert]

Thanks for sharing. Amazing!

[@hakimitus]

This is super effing rad. Thank you.

[@itsgeorgevk]

You are so welcome. YOU are super effing rad!

[@itsgeorgevk]

Hey Stefan, You may have to just copy the equation down by dragging the little dot (on the bottom right corner of the selected cell) on the cell that has the equation down. Otherwise, you can also simply copy & paste. Hope that helps!

[@blakehodgesDOTcom]

Super helpful. Thanks!

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad it helped you out! :)

[@wrightway11]

Awesome video and great Template!

[@sergiouzurin1768]

This is fantastic. one question though: for a 2 camera back and forth dialogue scene, would you count each camera as a different row, or have one row for both cameras filming both actors do a dialogue?

[@itsgeorgevk]

+Sergio Uzurin Great question. I suppose either way works as long as it makes sense to you. Personally, I would probably keep both cameras on their own row, and just merge the cells in the CAMERA column to indicate that these two cameras are A and B, filming different characters/subjects simultaneously.

[@seragasebonwe]

got it. thanks a lot.

[@ManiAmar]

Very helpful, thanks George.

[@davidamosphotography]

LOVE the end.... LOL

[@jacquelinesisson8381]

Thanks!

[@brickhousewebseries]

I'm starting to work with this template. Thanks so much for doing it! Can you explain how you came up with your shoot times in the O column? I don't understand the formula you used, and the resulting number seems too high. But of course, I'm a first time director, so I'm probably under-estimating the amount of time it will take.

[@itsgeorgevk]

It's simply an estimation of the predicted number of takes for any given shot, times the length of each take, with an added 5 minutes in between each take for any adjustments needed. Tack on the setup time for the shot and you have a total estimated time that particular shot will take. Rinse, repeat!

[@brickhousewebseries]

It's starting to make sense to me now. Thanks George!

[@jacobyskater]

Amazing! thank you so much for this!

[@itsgeorgevk]

YOU are amazing. Thank you for watching. :)

[@jeffreys.brathwaite]

Hey George, How did you get each section to represent the colour of the type of camera used at each point if in fact that was what the colours represented ??

[@itsgeorgevk]

+Jeffrey Brathwaite It's called conditional formatting. Here's something to get you started. support.google.com/docs/answer/78413?hl=en

[@Hus2121]

Love it ! Thanks Bro !

[@Fuffuloo]

Hi, George! I'm not very experienced with spreadsheet software, but I understand the basics of how to use your spreadsheet. It is very helpful, thank you! QUESTION: I see that you have multiple scenes on your example in the video, but the template you have provided only includes a few lines and one scene. How do I add more lines/scenes (and still keep the formatting/calculations)? Thanks again! Jesse

[@itsgeorgevk]

You can easily select the row with the scene title, copy and paste it onto a new row and continue with a new scene. Hope that helps!

[@JohnClaudeBlandDam]

Great stuff George!

[@StudioBinSLC]

This is so helpful, thanks for doing this. I had one question, I noticed there was no field for audio track number. How do you typically keep track of which audio file goes with which take?

[@SriramVad]

Before you do the clap, you announce the shot and scene name and take number and then clap / use the clapperboard. For example: "Sound rolling, shot 7 b, take 2, character name OTS shot, camera rolling, action!" And then you clap and the actors start the scene

[@Marcus_Kliewer]

THANK YOU!

[@itsgeorgevk]

You are very welcome. Glad I could help.

[@FUCKINGENIOUS]

I can't figure out how to create a new scene that adds up the values : /

[@itsgeorgevk]

You can either right click on the sheet's tab and Dublicate, or select all the rows just for one of the scenes and paste it below - all the values should copy over to their respective new rows.

[@Uda6005]

hey George, is really nice of you. but how do you print after all . I am heaving trouble to print after I made the list

[@alixroussel8896]

Hi Georges, thank you for sharing this with us all, definitely the best thing out there! I downloaded en excel version of it, but the formula to give the shoot time doesn't work anymore. Can you let me know what it is, I can add it myself manually. Thanks in advance

[@itsgeorgevk]

I'm updating the shot list template. Be on the lookout, it's coming on Monday!

[@Nixygrrl]

You're awesome! Thank you!

[@uluvcandy1269]

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU

[@itsgeorgevk]

You’re WELCOOOOOOOME! Is there anything else I can help you with? 🤔

[@uluvcandy1269]

@@itsgeorgevk 🥹REALLLYYYYYY!! Oh god, where do I start lol? I am currently working on a short film project for a production coming up in April. I’ve binged soo many KZbin videos, but coming across your platform has been the game changer for me. Recently, I’ve been researching the best editing software to use when creating films, but there are so many out there! At times it can seem very daunting to invest in a particular one because what if it doesn’t create the vision I am striving for 🤷🏾‍♀️. 🥲 With that being said, what would you recommend worked best for you?

[@jamiebrooklyn222]

George, this was so helpful! Can't thank you enough :) Do you have any other videos on pre-production, or anything of this kind of nature, as I'd love to see how you planned an entire project, as Ideal World looks H-AMAZING!! :D

[@LawofCinema]

How can you edit the equipment so that typing in said equipment will result in a color change in the cell? For example, if I wanted to change "JIB" to "steadicam" on the top, typing "JIB" in the equipment column still makes the column turn pink.

[@itsgeorgevk]

That's a bit of a convoluted process. If you google "conditional formatting" within Google Sheets, you should find some information on how to do that. Good luck!

[@MrRockhound]

Good job on the shot list George. I'm also working with a very detailed pre-pro. But my major problem is: I as a director understand this shot list. But when it comes to my 1st ADs, who should understand it too, it is very hard to find ADs that are used to that kind of detail. How are you managing it when you work with different ADs?

[@itsgeorgevk]

I suppose you just pointed out one of the struggles of the film industry. Working with new people is always hard because you don't have the same decorum and common language as with someone that you would usually work with. It's important to hold production meetings prior to shooting so that everyone can get on the same page. Go over every detail of the shotlist with your AD to the point that they are reading your mind. Their job is to know the shotlist better than you, so keep that in mind. Best of luck!

[@MrRockhound]

Hey George, Thanks. Well of course I'm holding a lot of PPMs with my ADs and HoDs. But that doesn't always solve the problem of the missing know how of my ADs that I'm getting. (especially if you are shooting a commercial and the production company gives you an AD of their choice) - So most of the time, the know how of my DP and my vision are on a higher level then the know how of ADs. So knowing the shotlist better than me, is in fact not so easy for them, as they simply don't get it if it's a complex sequence shot with a tech crane or something similar. And especially these setups cost a lot of time if a 1st AD is coordinating these things wrong. Maybe it's good to know for you: My Irish film company is working on several setups & concepts to bring HoDs closer together and to speed up communication and working processes in Pre-pro and on set. Seems you are working in the same field?

[@pmaldona7]

Just send them the link to this video so they can get up to speed with the shot list. George does a good job explaining it.

[@itsgeorgevk]

I personally almost never keep track of which audio goes with which take because I just throw it all into a timeline and let PluralEyes do the work for me. (I have some videos on that as well). But you can easily right add a separate column for the Audio notes. :)

[@stinastarrstatus]

Informative and Hilarious.

[@samhaboush865]

Okay I am working on my Shot List.. When doing lets say a 10 second duration shot. Would it be considered a 0.1 or is it divided by 60 seconds or by 100 seconds. Thanks much.

[@GeorgeVKMedia-zt1ic]

It's in decimal form so yeah, you would divide by 60 (seconds). Thus, 10 second duration would be roughly 0.16 but honestly - I wouldn't get boggled down in the details. Just estimate relative to 100% being 1 minute (or one page of script). Half a page = .5; quarter of a page is .25, any shots that are shorter - .1 or .2 would be sufficient. Remember these are just estimates. Good luck!

[@nonamefame6250]

Thanks so much for sharing this !!

[@LGMInternationalStudios]

totally lost on how to get the shoot time calculated efficiently but other than that this is awesome

[@cuatrojibaro]

Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@reneebenmeleh6285]

thanks, very helpful :)

[@T-Dimensional]

youre the man!

[@itsgeorgevk]

Glad it helped you out!

[@TheDucaChannel]

Hi G, I'd like to make some observations about your shot list template, reffering to shot list which compile a Director and DP, no others... 1 - why you divide Shot in three number references? To me it seems a unnecessary complication... the second number should always indicate a new shot (plate), just as it does when you use the Slate. Si first number is Scene, second number in Setup (Shot type) , it doesn't need a third number... The unique case you don't change the Setup but you change shot is when you zoom... In you example, shot 1.2.2 is not correct cause you changed Setup from a MS (OTS) 1.2.1. to a MCU (OTS). 2 - Equipment should be before Angle to understand better and faster what Angle means... 3 - In Equipment ( Gear would be more appropriate) you should replace Sticks (this is a slang term...) with Still Image. 4 - Coverage and Note would be united. It is already all in the Setup / shot choice... What should be useful is to highlight clearly which shots belong MASTER and which ones to COVERAGE. 5 - The last section are maybe completely unnecessary for a shot list. My two cents.

[@itsgeorgevk]

+Simone Duca Luchini Thanks for your input. Everybody works and thinks differently. As long as you can successfully communicate your ideas to your cast & crew, it shouldn't matter how you number your shots or what order your columns are in. All the best, George V.K.

[@aronhethcox]

You rock

[@itsgeorgevk]

Aron Hethcox no no, YOU rock.

[@ahgaselove4950]

thx, your the best!!