The power of coverage in visual storytelling

“Make sure you get coverage," I remind them as they spill out of the room, heading to their locations to film. There are plenty of nods, a few blank stares, and, truthfully, for many, the words fall on deaf ears.

Students have the best intentions, but visual storytelling often slips out of their control once filming begins. They stick to one or two shot sizes, usually long or medium long shots. Storyboards get shoved into back pockets, and shooting becomes more improvised than intentional.

But coverage matters. It is not just about getting extra shots. It is about giving yourself options in the edit, shaping emotion, controlling pacing, and crafting a visually engaging film. Coverage ensures that a scene is more than just a record of action, it is an orchestrated sequence of perspectives that bring depth and meaning to the story.

Recently, I have been exploring how to make the idea of coverage stick for students. It seems simple. But somehow, it isn’t (for them). So, I created a checklist and the students must incorporate at least five out of seven key shot types in a short film assignment.

Each of these shots, from extreme long shots to extreme close-ups, serves a distinct function in visual storytelling.

The lineup: Coverage’s usual suspects

• Extreme Long Shot (XLS) – Used in Westerns and sci-fi films to establish landscapes and emphasize human insignificance. (Also known as Wide Shot, Master Shot, or Establishing Shot.)

• Long Shot (LS) – Frames the full human figure. Common in action films, martial arts, and musicals, allowing movement to be seen. (Aka a Full Shot.)

• Medium Long Shot (MLS) – Frames a person from mid-thigh up. The "American Shot," often used in classic Hollywood to show gun belts. (Aka Medium Full Shot.)

• Medium Shot (MS) – Waist-up framing. A standard for dialogue scenes with two or more characters.

• Medium Close-Up (MCU) – Frames a character from the shoulders or chest up, focusing on facial expressions while maintaining some context.

• Close-Up (CU) – Frames a subject’s face, hands, feet, or small objects. Highlights reactions, key emotions, or significant details.

• Extreme Close-Up (ECU) – Isolates a small detail, like a character’s eyes, a ticking clock, or a match being lit.

Bringing this into the classroom

Analyze the Scene - Students select a favourite film scene or scrub through an edit of a film, capturing as many different shot framings as they can. They then arrange these screenshots in order of appearance and analyze:

• What is being communicated at each moment?

• How does each shot size contribute to the narrative structure and emotional impact?

Map the Shots - To extend this, students map out the scene by drawing a bird’s eye view of the set and then marking:

• Where the camera was positioned.

• The distance between the camera and the characters/objects.

This visualizes how coverage impacts blocking, the 180-degree rule, and editing, all of which directly affect clarity and flow.

Some guiding questions

• How does shot variety influence the audience’s emotional connection to a scene?

• What happens when a film lacks coverage? What limitations arise in editing?

• How do different shot types build rhythm, tension, or intimacy within a scene?

• How does coverage impact genre conventions (e.g., action sequences vs. dialogue-driven dramas)?

Filmmaking exercise

• Restrictive coverage challenge
  Assign a coverage constraint. For example: “No medium shots allowed.” “Only extreme close-ups and long shots.” This forces students to think deliberately about shot selection and its impact on storytelling.

• Coverage checklist challenge (see above)
  Assign specific shots that must appear in students’ short films.
  (For example: "Include at least one XLS, one CU, and one ECU."