Step+Four

=Step Four: Develop a Shooting Plan=  Imagine that you have a block of action described in your screenplay that looks like this:


 * MR. MEYER walks into the classroom and sees something in the trashcan that gets his attention. It’s a book. Puzzled, he reaches down and picks the book up, but it is covered in some sort of slime. Disgusted, he drops the book back into the trash and sniffs his fingers. They stink. He leaves the room.

Note that a screenplay typically doesn't prescribe specific camera shots to film any given sequence (unless one particular shot is critical to the storytelling). So how would you film this action block? You could shoot the whole thing with a single camera framing, or you could break it up into multiple shots. This is the stage where you make these decisions. Look at the following potential shooting plan for the above block of screenplay action. ..

(high angle) || Book in trash can || Meyer's POV ||  || close || Mr. Meyer looks puzzled || Reaction shot for POV sequence ||  || close || Hand goes in trash can || Match-on-action from previous shot ||  || (low angle) || Book taken from trash can || Angle from beneath book, from within trash can (experiment) ||  ||
 * **Number ** || **Framing ** || **Subject** || **Notes** || **Done? ** ||
 * 1 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">lon​g shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; msoansilanguage: EN-USmsoBidiLanguage;">Mr. Meyer opening door, stepping into classroom, looking at trash can. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Establishing shot for POV camera to follow ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">2 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">medium shot
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">3 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">medium-
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">4 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">long shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Mr. Meyer bends over to pick up book from trash can ||  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">5 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">medium-
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">6 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">close-up
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">7 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">long shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Mr. Meyer reaches standing position again but looks at book with disgust || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Match-on-action from previous shot ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">8 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">close-up || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Book in hand, covered with sticky goo ||  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">9 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">medium shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Mr. Meyer, disgusted, drops book out of frame (back into trash can) ||  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">10 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">close-up || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Book lands back in trash can || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Angle from beneath book, from within trash can (experiment) ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">11 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">medium shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Mr. Meyer sniffs fingers, grimaces. ||  ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">12 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">long shot || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Mr. Meyer turns and walks from classroom, closing door behind him ||  ||   ||

It would be quicker and easier to film the entire sequence with a single camera angle, such as the long shot that opens the sequence, but it's definitely more interesting in terms of storytelling to translate this small bit of screenplay into multiple shots. Note, too, that filming could be streamlined by capturing shots 1, 4, 7, and 12 in a single take (to be separated in the editing stage).

Now it's time to do the same thing with your screenplay, to come up with a shot-by-shot plan that tells your story visually. Use the following shooting plan sheet (you'll need a number of them).