ShotPlots

Guides · Guide 09

What a gaffer needs on a lighting plot

A gaffer reads a plot to answer one question: what do I need to bring, and where does it go? Everything on the page should help with that, and everything else is noise.

Written by Richard Jones, film producer, Australia · Updated 13 October 2026

The same kitchen with all four lights: a soft key by the lamp, the window source with a flag, a tube edge behind the actors, and the lamp, each tinted by its colour temperature.
Screenshot of the app canvas · kitchen, night Four units at mixed colour temperatures · 1 camera

The questions the gaffer is asking

  • What units, and how many of each?
  • Where does each one go, and how high?
  • Which way is it pointing?
  • What is on it: a flag, a net, a diffusion frame?
  • How is it powered, and from where?
  • Is anything in shot?

If the page answers those, it is a good plot. If it does not, it does not matter how nice it looks.

What belongs on the page

A named unit with a type

L1 is a 1.2 kW fresnel, not "a light". Type and model let the gaffer pull the right case. Use the same names on the drawing and in the schedule, so the two can be checked against each other.

A height for every unit

This tells the grip which stand to bring, whether a unit needs rigging, and whether it can fit under the ceiling. One number beside each unit saves a long conversation on the day.

Direction and rough coverage

Not a photometric calculation. Just enough that the unit visibly points at the actors and not at the wall behind them.

Colour temperature and gel

If a unit is warm, cool, or gelled, write it down: "5600K" or "CTO". A gaffer who knows the colour in advance can bring the right gels and avoid a trip back to the truck.

Grip, drawn as grip

A flag, a net or a silk is a separate object with its own position. Draw it where it stands, not as a note on the light. The grip department will want to count them.

A camera on a 24 mm lens with its cone drawn up the room. A light inside the cone is labelled In shot, and a light outside it is labelled Out of shot.
Screenshot of the app canvas · checking the frame 24 mm on Super 35 · 1 light in shot, 1 out

The camera, with its lens

The gaffer needs to know what is in shot. A unit within the camera's cone is a problem to solve. A plot with no camera cannot be checked.

What to leave off

  • Every piece of furniture. Keep the ones that block light or the camera, and drop the rest.
  • Decoration. Colour fills, shadows and heavy backgrounds make a page harder to photocopy.
  • Paragraphs of notes. A short note beside the unit beats a block of text at the bottom.
  • Several shots on one page. If the lighting changes between setups, make a page per setup.

The schedule is half the plot

A drawing shows where. A schedule, one row per unit, shows what: name, type, model, height, colour and notes. A gaffer can read the schedule on the way to the location and have the gear ready before they have seen the room. That is where the plot saves the most time.

Make it print well

Crews print plots, fold them, write on them and photocopy them. Check the page in black and white. Check that the text is big enough to read from arm's length. Check that it holds up when a corner is creased.

Send the file, not a photo of it

A PDF keeps its scale and stays sharp when you zoom in. A phone photo of a printout does neither. Send the file, and let the crew print it where they like.

Try it

ShotPlots prints the drawing with a legend and a schedule listing each unit's name, type, height and colour temperature. Draw one free, no account, nothing to install, or see a finished sheet and its PDF.

Related

How to draw a lighting plot, and Lighting plot symbols explained.