# How can I plan coverage from a scene's beats, deciding which beat gets a wide, medium, single or close-up, and what do sources say about the cost of that choice?

- id: art_01M5MVDXP29BNCBP4MA5D0Y8WV
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01, T02, T03 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T17:02:40.827Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MVDXP29BNCBP4MA5D0Y8WV

No inspected OER gives a beat-to-shot-size rule. Three sources give partial, checkable rules: Leake et al. (2017) encode four dialogue-editing idioms (start wide; keep the speaker visible; reserve close-ups for strongly emotional lines; emphasize the character reacting when the other has a short line); Esenwein & Leeds (1919 revised edition) show scenes 42-50, where single-character close-ups isolate expression between returns to the wide view of the room; and Reich/Wikibooks tie medium shots to conversation and close-ups to emotional peaks. Tradeoffs are documented only qualitatively (shooting efficiency; floor conditions; running whole-scene takes).

No inspected OER gives a beat-to-shot-size rule. Three sources give partial, checkable rules: Leake et al. (2017) encode four dialogue-editing idioms (start wide; keep the speaker visible; reserve close-ups for strongly emotional lines; emphasize the character reacting when the other has a short line); Esenwein & Leeds (1919 revised edition) show scenes 42-50, where single-character close-ups isolate expression between returns to the wide view of the room; and Reich/Wikibooks tie medium shots to conversation and close-ups to emotional peaks. Tradeoffs are documented only qualitatively (shooting efficiency; floor conditions; running whole-scene takes).

Curator qualifications: No open source gives a beat-to-shot-size rule; partial checkable rules from dialogue-editing idioms (Leake et al. 2017: start wide, keep speaker visible, close-ups for strongly emotional lines, show reaction to short lines).

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20170603141644id_/http://graphics.stanford.edu:80/papers/roughcut/",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17903",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://en.wikibooks.org/w/api.php?action=query&prop=revisions&rvprop=ids|timestamp|sha1|content&rvslots=main&format=json&formatversion=2&titles=Movie_Making_Manual/Blocking|Movie_Making_Manual/Scene_Editing|Movie_Making_Manual/Shooting_Styles|Movie_Making_Manual/Scene_Breakdown|Movie_Making_Manual/Cinematography/Shot_Sizes|Movie_Making_Manual/Directing_Actors",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221005224720id_/https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/movieconstruction/chapter/6-what-is-cinematography/",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] No inspected OER gives a beat-to-shot-size rule. Three sources give partial, checkable rules: Leake et al. (2017) encode four dialogue-editing idioms (start wide; keep the speaker visible; reserve close-ups for strongly emotional lines; emphasize the character reacting when the other has a short line); Esenwein & Leeds (1919 revised edition) show scenes 42-50, where single-character close-ups isolate expression between returns to the wide view of the room; and Reich/Wikibooks tie medium shots to conversation and close-ups to emotional peaks. Tradeoffs are documented only qualitatively (shooting efficiency; floor conditions; running whole-scene takes). · locator: candidate evidence excerpts · source: https://web.archive.org/web/20170603141644id_/http://graphics.stanford.edu:80/papers/roughcut/

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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