Coverage is the set of angles that make a scene editable: a master wide enough to recut, matching singles or overs, and the inserts you cannot steal. A storyboard that only has “the idea of the scene” as one pretty wide is not coverage.
Film crews talk about coverage in setups. Each unique camera position is a setup; several shot codes may share a setup. The AD schedules setups, not story order. Film storyboard.
Minimum coverage for a two-hander
- Master
- A-side (over or single)
- B-side, eyeline matching, 180-degree line held
- Inserts that carry plot (phone, key, logo)
On commercials
You still need coverage if you will cut. Pack shots and endlines are coverage too — they are just product coverage. Commercial storyboard.
Related: shot size, insert, shooting board.