January 2, 2012

The process of animation can be complex, so it’s critical to have a solid plan before you begin. If you don’t have a clear idea of where you're headed, it’s very difficult to get there.

Pre-production involves scriptwriting, storyboarding, and production planning. One important document in the planning phase is a shot list. A shot is an unbroken sequence of images that we see as continuous. Each shot begins and ends with a transition, such as a cut or a dissolve. A shot list is simply a spreadsheet that lists each shot, along with its camera, duration, description, and other pertinent information.

We are happy to offer a free template for creating shot lists. This is an Excel spreadsheet that automatically calculates timecode and frame numbers from the duration of shots. All you have to do is plug in the length of each shot, based on your storyboard or animatic. The minimum information you must enter is the duration of the shot in seconds, indicated by the column highlighted in yellow. You may also enter minutes and frames. The following values are automatically calculated in the locked cells highlighted in blue: timecode in, timecode out, frame duration, frame in, and frame out.

The spreadsheet is set up for a frame rate of 24, but you can adjust the FPS value. The rest of the spreadsheet will update to reflect whatever frame rate you enter, such as 30 fps for American television, or 25 fps for Europe.

If you find any problems with the spreadsheet, please contact us. Happy animating!

Update January 21, 2013

Version four of the shot list timecode calculator is now available. Earlier versions had errors.

Also, note that this shot list template cannot currently support drop-frame timecode. Frame rates such as 29.97 or 23.98 are not supported. You can only use integers in the FPS field. Adjust your editing software settings accordingly, or delete one frame every thirty seconds.

shot_list_calculator_04.zip

This small Zip file includes a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It is a shot list that automatically calculates timecode and frame numbers.