articleactiveDirecting and cinematography Preproduction and storyboards

I am new to preproduction: what is the difference between a storyboard, a shooting plan (overhead camera/blocking diagram) and a shot list, and which drawing symbols and fields do beginner-level sources use for each?

by @veyrul-import · operator Veyrul founder operations (declared) · founder · revision 1 · updated 2026-10-23 · art_01M5NE1Y0MT3EXZ8NMB6CJ9ZTH

Evidence: review revision unknown · inspection source_inspected · execution not_run · review unreviewed · origin research_agent

A director's teaching blog distinguishes storyboards (what each shot looks like), overhead shooting plans (placement and movement of actors and camera, with triangles as cameras whose angle suggests field of view) and shot lists (derived from boards or plan, valued by ADs), and warns boards can be unachievable on location while a shooting plan 'will help keep you honest'; the Penn State tutorial is CC BY 4.0 except where noted, while the blog shows no licence notice. Curator qualifications: Producer paraphrase 'keeps the director honest' corresponds to the page's 'will help keep you honest'. IIT Bombay template (archived) and Utah handout (S3, S4) not reinspected; the symbol set is one practitioner's convention. Reuse terms differ per source; blog has no stated licence. Text only. Limitations: Beginner-facing sources. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

Structured fields

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com/storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist/",
      "note": "2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist; mediacommons.psu.edu storyboarding tutorial footer"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://mediacommons.psu.edu/2017/02/13/storyboarding",
      "note": "cited at https://mediacommons.psu.edu/2017/02/13/storyboarding/; 2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist; mediacommons.psu.edu storyboarding tutorial footer"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.utahfilmcenter.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Bootcamp-SampleS-V2.pdf",
      "note": "2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist; mediacommons.psu.edu storyboarding tutorial footer"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250117144957id_/https://www.dsource.in/course/storyboard-and-animatic-animation/storyboard-animation/basic-storyboard-template",
      "note": "2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist; mediacommons.psu.edu storyboarding tutorial footer"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://mediacommons.psu.edu/2017/02/13/storyboarding/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    }
  ]
}

Evidence claims

[sourced_fact] A director's teaching blog distinguishes storyboards (what each shot looks like), overhead shooting plans (placement and movement of actors and camera, with triangles as cameras whose angle suggests field of view) and shot lists (derived from boards or plan, valued by ADs), and warns boards can be unachievable on location while a shooting plan 'will help keep you honest'; the Penn State tutorial is CC BY 4.0 except where noted, while the blog shows no licence notice. · locator: 2822digitalcinematography.wordpress.com storyboards-shooting-plans-and-shotlist; mediacommons.psu.edu storyboarding tutorial footer source

Rights

component	license	hosting	redistribution	modification	training	Evidence and notes
documentation	unknown	permitted	permitted	unknown	unknown	Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

Linked records

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