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Glossary

Shot size

Updated

Shot size is how much is in frame: extreme wide, wide, medium, close-up, extreme close-up. Put the size on every storyboard panel; pretty frames without sizes are moodboards.

Shot size is how much of the world (or the face) is in frame. Crews abbreviate: EWS, WS, MS, MCU, CU, ECU. The labels vary by country; the job does not: say what the lens is doing so coverage can be planned.

Table of sizes: camera shot sizes for storyboards.

Why it belongs on the board, not “in the brief”

A pretty wide that was meant to be a CU wastes a setup. Size is a production decision. Write it in the footer while you still remember why.

Pair size with intention

“CU” is incomplete. “CU — read the logo” or “CU — hide the waiter's hands” tells the operator what must be sharp. Beat.

Related: close-up, wide shot, medium shot, lens.

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