Shooting Script Template & Format: Free Download + How to Use It
A shooting script is the production version of your screenplay. It has numbered scenes, shot-by-shot camera directions, and the notes every department needs on set. Use a spec script to sell a story and a shooting script to film it. Scroll down for a free template (PDF, Word and Google Sheets) and a ready-made table you can copy.
Table of Contents
What is a shooting script?
A shooting script is the version of a screenplay that you actually take to set. It breaks the story down into numbered scenes and individual shots, and it adds the technical details the crew needs: camera angles, locations, time of day, sound and notes about props or wardrobe.
Here is the way I like to think about it. The screenplay answers “what happens?” The shooting script answers “how are we going to film it, and in what order, with the time and money we actually have?” Those are two very different questions, and a film that only answers the first one tends to fall apart on the second day of the shoot.
On one of my films, the final scene required us to burn down a small wooden cabin at night. Because we had only one chance to shoot the fire sequence safely and effectively, I prepared a very detailed shooting script in advance, planning the coverage and the order of the shots carefully. That preparation paid off: when we started the fire, the crew knew exactly what we needed to capture, which helped us avoid wasting time and allowed us to focus on the scene rather than figuring out shots on the spot.
Shooting script vs. screenplay: what’s the difference?
A screenplay exists to tell the story, and a good one stays out of the director’s way. A shooting script exists to organize the work, so it is allowed to be practical and a little ugly. Here is the short version:
| Element | Screenplay (spec script) | Shooting script |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Tell the story and sell it | Plan and execute the shoot |
| Scene numbers | No | Yes, numbered and locked |
| Camera directions | Avoided | Shot sizes, angles, movement |
| Transitions | Rare | CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO and similar |
| Revisions | Not formally tracked | Dated and color-coded |
| Main readers | Producers, agents, readers | Director, AD, DP, department heads |
One practical consequence: your shooting schedule will almost never follow the order of the story. If three scenes happen in the same park at three different points in the film, you shoot them on the same day. Moving the crew, the lights and the cast costs far more than flipping a few pages.
Free shooting script template
Take the template below and adjust it to your project. It is a simple table, and it works for short films, music videos and student projects.
Name of Movie
Name of Director
Shooting script template example (LS = long shot, MS = medium shot)
Scene Number
Shot Number
Characters
Shot Description
Audio
Day/Night
Location
1
1
Boy, Mother
LS mom is walking with the boy
General City sounds
Day
Street
1
2
Boy
MS Boy is looking at the mother
General City sounds
Day
Street
1
3
Mother
MS mother looks at boy and cries
General City sounds and mother cry
Day
Street
| Scene Number | Shot Number | Characters | Shot Description | Audio | Day/Night | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Boy, Mother | LS mom is walking with the boy | General City sounds | Day | Street |
| 1 | 2 | Boy | MS Boy is looking at the mother | General City sounds | Day | Street |
| 1 | 3 | Mother | MS mother looks at boy and cries | General City sounds and mother cry | Day | Street |
Download Our Free Shooting Script Template
Get a practical, ready-to-use shooting script layout to plan your next film shoot perfectly.
A few notes on how to use it. Keep one shot per row, and describe only what the camera sees. Put the shot size at the start of the description (LS, MS, CU) so the DP can scan the column quickly. Add columns when you need them, such as lens, camera movement or props, but resist adding ten. A template nobody fills in completely is worse than a simple one that everyone does.
What goes into a shooting script
- Scene numbers: every scene gets a number, which is how the schedule, the shot list and the continuity notes all refer to the same thing.
- Shot numbers: every shot inside a scene is numbered too.
- Slug lines: INT. or EXT., the location and the time of day.
- Camera directions: the shot size (camera angles and shots explained) and any movement such as a pan, tilt or tracking shot.
- Action and blocking: what the characters do in the frame, in the present tense.
- Dialogue and audio: the lines, plus the sound effects and music cues that matter.
- Equipment and notes: lenses, Steadicam, props, special effects and wardrobe.
How to Write a Shooting Script, Step by Step
- Lock your screenplay. Don’t build a shooting script on a draft that is still changing. You will end up doing the work twice.
- Break it down. Read it scene by scene and list everything the shoot needs: locations, props, cast, effects.
- Number the scenes. Once they are numbered, the schedule can start.
- Add the technical language. Camera directions, shot sizes and lens choices go in here.
- Plan your coverage. Decide on the wide shots, establishing shots, close-ups, and inserts for each scene, ideally with a storyboard or a simple floor plan.
- Build the schedule. Group scenes by location and by actor availability.
- Stay flexible on set. Think of it as a living document. Weather, light, and time will force changes, and that is normal.
Scene Numbering and Script Revisions in a Shooting Script
Quick answer: Once a shooting script is locked, scene numbers and page numbers never change. New material gets a letter added to a number, deleted scenes are marked OMITTED, and each round of changes is printed on a different color of paper.
Why do shooting scripts lock their numbers?
As soon as the script is handed out, the director, the assistant director, the cinematographer and the script supervisor all start writing notes in the margins. If you renumbered the scenes after that, every one of those notes would point to the wrong place. So the numbers are frozen, and every change has to fit around them.
How do lettered scene numbers (20A, A20) work?
When a scene is added after the numbers are locked, it borrows the number of a nearby scene and gets a letter. The general rule is the same everywhere: a letter is added so that no existing number has to change. The exact style, however, varies between productions:
- Scene 20A: usually a new or continued scene that sits right after scene 20, before scene 21.
- Scene A20: in some scripts, a scene added before scene 20, with no direct link to it.
Because conventions differ, check the script’s title page or ask the script coordinator or assistant director which system the production uses.
What does OMITTED mean in a shooting script?
When a scene is cut, its number stays in the script with the word OMITTED next to it. The empty slot tells the crew that the scene was deliberately removed and not lost by mistake, and every other scene keeps its number. For example, if scene 6 is cut and a replacement is written, the replacement can appear as scene 6A while scene 6 remains marked OMITTED.
Page numbers follow the same logic. If page 10 grows longer after a rewrite, the extra page becomes 10A instead of pushing every later page forward.
What are script revision colors?
Each round of changes is printed on a new color of paper, and only the pages that changed are re-issued. Anyone on set can tell at a glance which version they are holding. Changed lines are usually marked with an asterisk in the margin, and the revision date is printed on the page (for example, “Pink Revision, March 3”).
The standard order starts like this:
| Order | Page color | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | Original, unrevised script |
| 2 | Blue | First revision |
| 3 | Pink | Second revision |
| 4 | Yellow | Third revision |
| 5 | Green | Fourth revision |
| 6 | Goldenrod | Fifth revision |
| 7 | Buff | Sixth revision |
| 8 | Salmon | Seventh revision |
| 9 | Cherry | Eighth revision |
On a small shoot you probably will not print on colored paper at all. You can still copy the system digitally: add a revision name and date to the header of each changed page, keep the old scene numbers, and send the crew only the pages that changed.
The Documentary Shooting Script Format
Even in documentary filmmaking, you must come prepared. While you can’t script reality, you can plan your coverage and interview setups. A documentary shooting script is often simpler, typically structured as a two-column table (AV Script Format):
Left Column: What we see (Video / B-Roll / Action)
Right Column: What we hear (Audio / Interview answers / Voiceover)
Three things to decide before you shoot
To properly deliver your director’s vision to the crew, your shooting script must define the atmosphere of the film. When planning your shots, focus on these three main aspects:
The Camera: How far from the subject, at what angle, and with which lens? Match the choice to the emotional beat of the moment.
The Lighting: How will it support the mood? Talk it through with your cinematographer early, and not on the morning of the shoot.
Character Blocking: Where do the actors move inside the frame? Every movement says something, and it tells the audience where to look. This connects directly to your overall director’s vision.
Filmmaking Homework
Find a script of a famous movie online. Choose a scene you aren’t very familiar with, print it out, and sketch or write down your own shooting script for it. Then, watch the actual scene in the movie and compare the director’s visual choices with your own. It’s one of the best ways to practice visual storytelling!
FAQ
What is the difference between a shooting script and a shot list?
A shooting script is the screenplay with scene numbers and technical directions added. A shot list is a separate plan that lists every shot you need to capture. Many productions use both: the shooting script for the story, and the shot list for the day-to-day work.
Do I need a shooting script for a short film?
You don’t need a formal one, but you do need something similar. Even a simple table with scene numbers, shots, locations and audio saves a lot of time on set.
Should I send a shooting script to producers or agents?
No. Producers and agents want the spec script. A shooting script is made after a project has been bought or approved for production.
Who writes the shooting script?
Usually the director, together with the cinematographer and the assistant director, based on the writer’s locked screenplay. On small independent films, the director often does most of it alone.
Do actors read the shooting script?
Yes. They also often receive “sides,” which are short pages with only the scenes being shot that day.
What format should a shooting script template be in?
Most people use a table in Word, Google Sheets or Excel, because it is easy to edit and share. Screenwriting software can also generate numbered scripts automatically.