From grimoire
Translates a scene's dramatic intent into a specific shot sequence with coverage strategy, shot sizes, angles, and movement for pre-production planning with the DP and crew.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/grimoire:design-director-shot-breakdownThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Translate a scene's dramatic intent into a specific sequence of shots by planning coverage strategy, shot sizes, camera angles, and movement — communicating the plan to the DP and crew before shooting begins.
Translate a scene's dramatic intent into a specific sequence of shots by planning coverage strategy, shot sizes, camera angles, and movement — communicating the plan to the DP and crew before shooting begins.
Adopted by: All professional narrative film production requires a shot list and often storyboards before the shooting day. Directors from Hitchcock (famous for complete pre-planning) to Kubrick to Spielberg have described detailed pre-planning as essential to confidence on set. Sidney Lumet ("Making Movies") describes the shot list as the director's primary pre-production tool for translating intention to execution. Film schools (AFI, USC, NYU) require student directors to produce shot breakdowns before shooting. Impact: An unplanned shooting day wastes time on set while the director figures out coverage — time costs money at union rates ($3,000–$10,000+ per hour for a feature set). A complete shot breakdown communicates the DP's assignment (lighting, lens selection, dolly tracks needed) and allows the AD to schedule the day efficiently. Even on low-budget productions, 1 hour of prep saves 3+ hours of improvised on-set problem-solving.
The shot plan serves the drama — plan the drama first:
Mark the scene's key beats — the dramatic turning points that must be covered with a specific shot. These are non-negotiable coverage; everything else is secondary.
Coverage = the shots you capture to edit the scene in post. Three main approaches:
Classical Hollywood coverage:
Designed coverage:
Sequence shot (long take):
Choose the approach based on the scene's content, budget, and schedule. Most scenes use modified classical coverage with 3–5 designed specific shots.
Shot sizes and their narrative function:
Angle choices and their meanings:
A shot list is a numbered table of every planned shot:
| Shot | Size | Angle | Movement | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WS | Eye level | Static | Ext. street — Sarah walks toward the building | Day ext.; possible drone |
| 2 | MS | Eye level | Handheld follow | Sarah enters lobby; approaches front desk | |
| 3 | CU | Eye level | Static | Sarah's face as she reads the sign | Rack focus to sign in BG |
| 4 | OTS Sarah | Eye level | Dolly-in | Receptionist tells Sarah the news | Key scene beat |
| 5 | CU | Eye level | Static | Receptionist's face — smug, unsympathetic | Reaction insert |
| 6 | ECU | Eye level | Static | Sarah's hand gripping the desk | Physical tell |
Number shots in a sequence that matches the scene's logical flow. Sequence the list to minimize lighting and camera setup changes (group all shots from one camera position before moving).
A storyboard is a drawn sequence of panels showing what each shot looks like:
Storyboard panels: rough sketches showing: subject framing, dominant direction of action (arrows), approximate lighting
Production companies (Marvel, major studios): extensive pre-vis (pre-visualization, digital 3D previsualization) for all effects sequences.
The shot breakdown is the basis for a prep conversation with the Director of Photography:
The shot breakdown is a starting point for collaboration, not a final unilateral directive. Great DPs contribute visual ideas that improve the plan.
npx claudepluginhub jeffreytse/grimoire --plugin grimoireOrganizes every camera setup into a structured shot list for film pre-production, following ASC/DGA standards. Use when planning a shoot and need scene-by-scene coverage, shot parameters, and setup sequencing.
Generates a detailed, numbered B-roll shot list from a video script or outline, organized by section, with shot type, subject, and purpose for each shot.
Splits scripts/stories into scene-by-scene video generation prompts with structured segments (characters, props, scene, sound, mood, shots) for Seedance 2.0, Kling, and Jimeng.