B-roll shot list template

What this is about

The difference to a normal shot list is the starting point. A scene shot list begins with the script and sorts by setup; a b-roll list begins with the problems the edit already knows it will have — a jump cut to hide, an interview that needs air, a location the viewer has never seen, a transition between two days. Framed that way, the list stops being a wish for atmosphere and becomes an inventory with a purpose per line. It is also the list that gets shot in the gaps, which is exactly why it has to be written down: nobody improvises coverage well at 17:50.

A template is the starting point, not the goal: once it has been filled in by hand twice, it is worth asking whether the document should come out of the plan instead.

What runs differently here

Where this differs from the general case:

• A purpose column stating what each shot solves in the edit — covering a cut, establishing a place, carrying a voice-over, bridging two scenes
• Duration guidance per shot, because a cutaway held for two seconds is unusable where the cut needs six and a slow move needs longer still
• Grouping by location and time of day rather than by topic, since b-roll is gathered opportunistically wherever the unit already stands
• A note on movement and stability per shot: handheld atmosphere and a locked-off insert are not interchangeable when the edit wants either
• Sound recorded with the image where it exists — room tone, machines, footsteps — marked per shot, because silent b-roll needs paid library sound later

Step by step

This order gets you there fastest:

1. Go through the planned edit structure and note every place where the cut will need something that is not the main action.
2. Turn each of those places into a shot with a stated purpose, so no line on the list exists only because the image sounds nice.
3. Add the establishing images the viewer needs to understand where they are, including the exterior nobody thinks of until the assembly.
4. Set a minimum duration per shot and tell the camera team, because the usable take is almost always the one that ran longer than felt necessary.
5. Cluster the list by location and time of day and slot the clusters into the schedule where the unit is already standing there.
6. Record room tone and relevant sound at each location and mark on the list which shots came with usable audio.
7. Tick off items during the shoot and review the open ones before leaving a location for the last time.

Common pitfalls

What most often goes wrong in practice:

• Shots collected without a purpose, producing an hour of attractive material that solves none of the problems the assembly actually has
• Cutaways held too briefly, so the only usable ones are the takes where the operator forgot to stop
• Leaving b-roll to the end of the day, when the light has changed and the location is being struck around the camera
• No room tone, which turns every b-roll sequence into a sound design task that nobody scheduled

With TillyGen

TillyGen holds the planned edit structure alongside the shot list, so the coverage a sequence will need appears as its own entries in the day it can actually be shot.

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.