# Camera Shot Sizes for Storyboards: WS, MS, CU and When to Use Them

Canonical URL: https://www.cineoboard.com/blog/camera-shot-sizes-for-storyboards

A practical glossary of storyboard shot sizes — extreme wide, wide, medium, close-up, insert — with what each size is for on a film or commercial.

Published: 2026-09-12 · 7 min read · Guides

Shot size is the first field a crew reads after the shot number. If your board does not name it, they will guess, and they will guess differently from you.

## The sizes that actually get used

| Abbreviation | Name | What is in frame | Typical use |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EWS / ELS | Extreme wide / establishing | Geography, building, landscape | Open a scene, show scale |
| WS | Wide | Full body plus setting | Blocking, action, group |
| MWS | Medium wide | Knees or thighs up | Walk-and-talks |
| MS | Medium | Waist up | Dialogue default |
| MCU | Medium close-up | Chest up | Intention, product + face |
| CU | Close-up | Face, product, hands | Emotion or sell |
| ECU | Extreme close-up | Eyes, logo, detail | Emphasis, insert |
| Insert | Insert | Object only | Evidence, phone, prop |

A longer glossary of boarding terms lives at [/glossary](/glossary).

## Pick size for information, not for variety

A board that cycles WS–MS–CU on every line looks like a student exercise. Stay wide while geography or blocking is still being taught. Go closer when the information is a face, a product, or a decision. Cut back wide only when someone enters, exits, or the space changes.

## Write why, not only what

“CU — she sees the logo” is a shot. “CU” is a label. The why is what stops a director and a client from arguing about a drawing they both like for different reasons.

## Pair size with lens and distance

A wide shot on a 25mm from two metres is not the same picture as a wide on a 50mm from five. You do not need a full lens package on a first-pass board, but once the DoP is in the room, put millimetres on the frame. That field belongs on the [shot list](/shot-list-template) as well as on the drawing.

## FAQ

### How do I mark shot size on a frame?

Write it in the frame footer: scene, shot number, size, movement, duration. Example: `1A / MS / static / 2.5s`. [CineoBoard](/) stores those fields on the frame so the list view cannot drift.

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More machine-readable entry points: [/llms.txt](https://www.cineoboard.com/llms.txt) · [/sitemap.xml](https://www.cineoboard.com/sitemap.xml)