A shot list is the itemized plan of every individual shot a production needs, with the framing, camera move, subject, and duration specified for each one.
It exists because a shoot day is expensive and memory is unreliable. On a traditional set the shot list tells the crew what still needs capturing before the light goes. In AI production the same document does something more useful: each row is effectively a prompt specification, and the list becomes the queue you generate against.
What a row contains
A usable shot list row has six fields. Fewer, and it stops being actionable.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Shot number | 04 |
| Framing | Medium close-up |
| Subject | Hands opening the jar |
| Camera | Slow push in |
| Duration | 3s |
| Note | Match the warm window light from the moodboard |
The note column is where the moodboard enters the production document. Without it, the list produces technically correct shots that don't cut together.
Shot list vs storyboard
A storyboard draws the shots; a shot list enumerates them. Storyboards communicate to clients and directors, shot lists communicate to whoever is capturing or generating. Most productions need both, and small productions that need one usually need the list.
How this changes for AI video
Each row maps to one generation, which makes the list a budget document as well as a plan. Using canon 8frame credit prices: a 12-row list generated on Veo 3.1 Lite (54 credits for 8 seconds with audio) costs 648 credits, about $6.48 at pack rate, inside a single $19 Starter month. The same 12 rows on full Veo 3.1 Standard cost 5,376 credits, which is more than a Creator month. The list is where you decide which rows earn the expensive model.
The practical pattern: draft every row on a cheap tier, then re-generate only the rows that survive on the model the shot deserves. Rows that exist for coverage (cutaways, textures, atmosphere) rarely justify a premium generation.
Examples
A 30-second product ad. Nine rows: establishing, three product details, two hands-in-frame inserts, one lifestyle wide, two cutaways. Durations sum to 34 seconds so there is trim room in the edit.
A UGC-style ad. Five rows, all handheld framing, all 9:16, with the note column carrying the tone rather than the camera move, since the whole point is that it should not look directed.
Related concepts
How to storyboard a 30-second ad walks the full process from brief to generated frames. What is a creative brief covers the document upstream of both. What is b-roll covers the coverage rows that fill out most lists.
The shot list is at its most useful when it sits on the same surface as the generations it describes. Build the list on a canvas, generate each row beside it, and the plan and the footage never drift apart. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited; generation is paid from $19/month.