Blocking

What this is about

The morning usually starts with a blocking rehearsal: director and cast walk the scene in the empty set while the HoDs watch. Then the camera assistant tapes marks on the floor, stand-ins hold positions, and lighting builds around the agreed movement. That order is the point — light follows blocking, not the other way around. Change the blocking after lunch and you pay for it in relighting time. Good blocking also hides coverage: it creates natural moments for cuts and new angles.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

In planning terms, that means:

• Marks on the floor are the memory of the blocking; hitting them keeps focus and light correct.
• Blocking rehearsal, marking, lighting, shooting — many sets run this loop for every new scene.
• Not the same as choreography: blocking serves camera and story, not the dance itself.

With TillyGen

In TillyGen's shot list a note field carries the blocking decisions, keeping movement plans next to the frames they shape.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.