Shot List
A shot list is a very in depth checklist including every single shot that is planned to appear in the music video in chronological order. Although I have made a storyboard, this may not be in enough depth; in theory, it gives me a clear idea of what I will be filming, however, it may be very different when I arrive at a location and I do not know what to film first, as well as the following shots. Without creating a shot-list, it may result in having a video which looks like it hasn't been planned properly as the order of the shots do not carry purpose. Instead, I wish to set aside any worries I have about ordering/type of shots by making a shot-list; therefore I will know very precisely what I have to film. As well as this, it can be difficult in intense environments to maintain a clear head and not get carried away, ending up with filming 'on-a-whim' shots that may not work well when it comes to editing.
Because I hadn't made a shot-list before, I decided to research into in-depth, industry standard examples. For example, I watched this short video below because I liked the layout of their shot-list and how they had used colours purposefully. If I did a shot-list similar to this one, I could easily carry it around whilst filming in my pocket, as well as making sure I bring spare copies if I were to lose the document or it happens to get damaged.
Likewise to the shot-list above, I wish to include a checklist style element to my own list so I can visually see how much progress I have made within a shooting session as well as being able to see how much left I have to film and if I have accidentally left any shots out. I will be taking multiple takes of the same shot so there is more chance that I will get the perfect shot, as well as carrying out quality control checks throughout the day. For example, when I am shooting in London, I will have to make sure that I have achieved the desired shots to the best of my ability whilst I am still in the area. Otherwise, this will mean that I may arrive home to discover that most of my shots are blurry, meaning that I most probably won't be able to re-film because, for example, the Pride Parade only runs for one day a year. This would be devastating and could ruin my video, making it vital that I achieve every single shot to the best of my ability whilst I am filming, emphasising the helpfulness of a shot-list.
Creating my shot list
I completed some extra research into music videos as I was unsure of just how many cuts there are in a video. After watching Years & Years' video for 'King', I counted that there were 170 cuts for a video length of 3.54 minutes however when watching Charli XCX's video for 'Boys', there were a lot more cuts of around 237 however the video was much shorter at 2.47 minutes
This suggests that I should have around 150-200 shots however some may be the same. For example, there may be 'shot A', before 'shot B', before 'shot A' again, which means that the shots are repeated yet perhaps a different part of the footage is shown or it may be from a different angle.
Below is the plan for the shots however they are not in order. They each have a short description that may seem vague however I have used trigger words so that I can recognise what a shot means and is telling me to film, as well as what kind of shot, such as from a particular angle:
1) Holding hands - CU/Medium/Tilt
2) Flag wrapped around model - CU/Long/Low angle/Tracking
3) Star face - CU/'Long/Tracking/Pan
4) Footage - Tracking/Hand-held/Tilt/Zoom/Locked-down shot/Eye level/Medium
5) Quoted audio - Eye level/Close up/Zoom/Hand-held
6) Blowing stars - Close up/Dutch angle/Medium/Zoom
7) Tube - CU
8) Tube - Medium
9) Tube - Long shot
10) Pride - Low angle
11) Pride - Eye level
12) Pride - Close up/zoom
13) Pride - Pan
14) Pride - Medium
15) Double exposure - CU/Zoom/Long/Shoot straight up
16) Projector - Close up/Zoom
17) Projector - Long/Medium
18) Projector - Locked-down shot
19) Gels - CU/Zoom
20) Gels - Extreme CU/Long/Medium
I then decided to put these shots into a table like they would in the industry:
I am very happy with my shot list as I think it is clear and detailed. For example, I can tell which shot will need to be shot where as well as what Mise-en-Scene is required based on the description of the shot. I have also included information on how the shot should be composed (framing) as well as the angle and motion, which I have not talked much about; I have mentioned the angles I will be using however not necessarily the motions. However most of my shots will be 'static' although because most of the shots will be hand-held, they may be a bit shaky which is the style I am trying to achieve. However I do not want the shots to be too shaky because this could hinder the professional style of the video.
I have also included a column entitled, 'Completed' where I can tick off when I have filmed a shot I am happy with. Overall this will be a very helpful chart when filming because it will keep me organised and the 'tick' style of chart will help me see how much progress I have made and if I am on track.
Peer Assessment
I decided to ask one student in my class to give me an in depth opinion of my shot list. I asked Tia Cato because I knew that she would be honest. Here is what Tia said:
'Your shot list is really good and you seem very organised. I like how you have completed in-depth research into shot lists as it seems like you didn't know what one was before you started the post, yet now you do. I would say that maybe your shot list is quite brief as your video should have more than 20 shots in it, otherwise the pace will be too slow. Perhaps you could expand on this list in a future post - i'm sure many more shots will become clear as you being to plan the music video further. However I like how you have included a lot of detail about each shot such as the frame, angle, perspective and motion - I wouldn't even think that all of these factors go into each shot!'
I definitely agree with Tia's comments. In a later post, I will definitely do a more in depth shot list, such as during pre-production. I do not have many shots because I am not sure yet about the details that I will be filming, sometimes this only becomes clear when you arrive at the location and film in the motion. For example, I may be unaware before I attend Pride that there will be other acts around, that I can spontaneously shoot in the moment. However I appreciate Tia's praise that she has given me and will make a more in depth shot list during another post in the future!
Because I hadn't made a shot-list before, I decided to research into in-depth, industry standard examples. For example, I watched this short video below because I liked the layout of their shot-list and how they had used colours purposefully. If I did a shot-list similar to this one, I could easily carry it around whilst filming in my pocket, as well as making sure I bring spare copies if I were to lose the document or it happens to get damaged.
Likewise to the shot-list above, I wish to include a checklist style element to my own list so I can visually see how much progress I have made within a shooting session as well as being able to see how much left I have to film and if I have accidentally left any shots out. I will be taking multiple takes of the same shot so there is more chance that I will get the perfect shot, as well as carrying out quality control checks throughout the day. For example, when I am shooting in London, I will have to make sure that I have achieved the desired shots to the best of my ability whilst I am still in the area. Otherwise, this will mean that I may arrive home to discover that most of my shots are blurry, meaning that I most probably won't be able to re-film because, for example, the Pride Parade only runs for one day a year. This would be devastating and could ruin my video, making it vital that I achieve every single shot to the best of my ability whilst I am filming, emphasising the helpfulness of a shot-list.
Creating my shot list
I completed some extra research into music videos as I was unsure of just how many cuts there are in a video. After watching Years & Years' video for 'King', I counted that there were 170 cuts for a video length of 3.54 minutes however when watching Charli XCX's video for 'Boys', there were a lot more cuts of around 237 however the video was much shorter at 2.47 minutes
This suggests that I should have around 150-200 shots however some may be the same. For example, there may be 'shot A', before 'shot B', before 'shot A' again, which means that the shots are repeated yet perhaps a different part of the footage is shown or it may be from a different angle.
Below is the plan for the shots however they are not in order. They each have a short description that may seem vague however I have used trigger words so that I can recognise what a shot means and is telling me to film, as well as what kind of shot, such as from a particular angle:
1) Holding hands - CU/Medium/Tilt
2) Flag wrapped around model - CU/Long/Low angle/Tracking
3) Star face - CU/'Long/Tracking/Pan
4) Footage - Tracking/Hand-held/Tilt/Zoom/Locked-down shot/Eye level/Medium
5) Quoted audio - Eye level/Close up/Zoom/Hand-held
6) Blowing stars - Close up/Dutch angle/Medium/Zoom
7) Tube - CU
8) Tube - Medium
9) Tube - Long shot
10) Pride - Low angle
11) Pride - Eye level
12) Pride - Close up/zoom
13) Pride - Pan
14) Pride - Medium
15) Double exposure - CU/Zoom/Long/Shoot straight up
16) Projector - Close up/Zoom
17) Projector - Long/Medium
18) Projector - Locked-down shot
19) Gels - CU/Zoom
20) Gels - Extreme CU/Long/Medium
I then decided to put these shots into a table like they would in the industry:
I am very happy with my shot list as I think it is clear and detailed. For example, I can tell which shot will need to be shot where as well as what Mise-en-Scene is required based on the description of the shot. I have also included information on how the shot should be composed (framing) as well as the angle and motion, which I have not talked much about; I have mentioned the angles I will be using however not necessarily the motions. However most of my shots will be 'static' although because most of the shots will be hand-held, they may be a bit shaky which is the style I am trying to achieve. However I do not want the shots to be too shaky because this could hinder the professional style of the video.
I have also included a column entitled, 'Completed' where I can tick off when I have filmed a shot I am happy with. Overall this will be a very helpful chart when filming because it will keep me organised and the 'tick' style of chart will help me see how much progress I have made and if I am on track.
Peer Assessment
I decided to ask one student in my class to give me an in depth opinion of my shot list. I asked Tia Cato because I knew that she would be honest. Here is what Tia said:
'Your shot list is really good and you seem very organised. I like how you have completed in-depth research into shot lists as it seems like you didn't know what one was before you started the post, yet now you do. I would say that maybe your shot list is quite brief as your video should have more than 20 shots in it, otherwise the pace will be too slow. Perhaps you could expand on this list in a future post - i'm sure many more shots will become clear as you being to plan the music video further. However I like how you have included a lot of detail about each shot such as the frame, angle, perspective and motion - I wouldn't even think that all of these factors go into each shot!'
I definitely agree with Tia's comments. In a later post, I will definitely do a more in depth shot list, such as during pre-production. I do not have many shots because I am not sure yet about the details that I will be filming, sometimes this only becomes clear when you arrive at the location and film in the motion. For example, I may be unaware before I attend Pride that there will be other acts around, that I can spontaneously shoot in the moment. However I appreciate Tia's praise that she has given me and will make a more in depth shot list during another post in the future!
Greg your shot list is in depth and organised meaning you will know exactly what to film and where, well done! I especially like how you have included the framing, angle, perspective and motion of each shot, because when most people think of a shot they would only consider angle.
ReplyDeleteWill you upload a completed shot list in which all of the boxes are ticked? Also, what would have happened if your description of each shot was too brief that you actually forgot the exact logistics of it?
I think that I will upload a version where I have ticked which shots I have achieved, thank you for that idea! I agree also, that my descriptions are very brief, I think next time I would make them more detailed because there is a lot more effort that goes into even just one shot that someone may not even notice.
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