#5 – 16/3/2016

C-O-V-E-R-A-G-E

In the art of film production, coverage refers to the amount of footage recorded in camera which encompasses a different variety of camera angles, takes and cuts which will then later be used in the post-production stage of editing to create a scene. The more coverage shot through the filming process, the more footage that will then be later studied and potentially utilised to make the scene as coherent and structurally plausible as possible.

For example, a group of filmmakers will be working on a shoot to capture a scene of a young married couple conversing about their respective days just passed. They will attempt to plan and capture the scene in a number of different ways so they can later deliberate in the editing suites about which way, using their huge array of footage shot, is the best way to edit and formulate the scene so that they can maximise the depiction of a couple in love. This can be done by using the close up shot that they got of the couple, as opposed to the mid shot, as close up shots usually depict the notion of intimacy and attraction, whilst the mid shot can connote a sense of distance and withdrawal.

Camera coverage is usually planned by the director of the film, by creating something called a ‘shot list’, which is a detailed illustration that defines what each shot in a scene will look like. This helps the rest of the filmmaking team, including the editors, decide on what the most appropriate shots are to convey the scene in whichever way planned.