“If you don’t have a shot list, you haven’t thought about this film and you’re in for a headache,” documentary filmmaker Dominic Duchesneau says. “You’re going to shoot way too much footage before realizing you don’t have the footage you need to tell a good story.” Especially in documentary filmmaking, Duchesneau says, “The last thing you want is to show up and have no clue what you want. You don’t want to throw it on your subject and make them feel like they’re the director.”
Even small indie sets are busy places, and everyone comes to the director with questions. That’s why, especially for beginning directors, the shot list is so important. It tells you what you need for minimal coverage and helps you stick to your shooting schedule.