Blocking diagrams for a studio: plan the shot on paper

In short: A blocking diagram is a top-down plan of the set showing where the actors stand and move, where the camera sits and which way it points, and where the lights go. Draw it to scale from the studio's measurements, mark each move as the scene is played and check every camera line before you light.

By James Jones, founder of Granary Digital · Updated 5 November 2026

A blocking diagram answers three questions before the day: where people stand, where the camera is, and where the light comes from. Answering them on paper is cheaper than answering them with a crew waiting.

The planner below draws the White Space main stage from above. Add people, cameras and marks, drag them into place, show each camera's lens wedge (the horizontal angle of view for the lens and sensor you choose) and export the plan as a picture. It starts with the example described further down, which you can reset or clear. The cove curve is drawn as a straight line at the wall, so keep set pieces clear of the curve at the base, and ask the studio to confirm the usable floor and the cove before you rely on a position.

Plan the shot on the White Space main stage. The floor is drawn to scale, 7.0 m wide by 6.6 m deep, with the cove on the back wall and one side wall. Add people, cameras and marks, drag them into place, and export the plan as a picture.

Snap to 0.1 m Show lens wedges Cove side wall

Back wall at the top, open side towards the viewing area at the bottom. Facing 0 degrees points at the back wall and 90 degrees points to the right. Tab to an item, then use the arrow keys to move it by 0.05 m (hold Shift for 0.25 m), the [ and ] keys to turn it by 5 degrees and Delete to remove it.

Selected item

Nothing selected. Click or tap an item on the plan.

Items on the plan

The example shows two actors at a table, a master camera at the front and a single camera off the corner, as in the worked example on this page. The cove curve is drawn as a straight line at the wall, so keep set pieces clear of the curve at the base. Ask the studio to confirm the usable floor and the cove before you rely on a position.

How this is worked out

The floor is drawn at 100 drawing units to the metre, so a 0.5 m person is 50 units across and everything stays in proportion. Positions are measured from the left-hand side wall and from the back wall, both as seen in the plan.

The lens wedge is the horizontal angle of view: angle = 2 × arctan(sensor width / (2 × focal length)). For example, a 50 mm lens on a 36.0 mm wide full frame sensor gives 39.6 degrees. It assumes the full width of the sensor is used, with no crop. The wedge is drawn 12 m long and cut off at the floor edges, so it shows what falls on the floor, not what is in focus. Sensor widths are common published figures; pick Custom width to use your own camera's figure.

How to draw one, step by step

Get the measurements of the space from the studio. Do not use a figure from memory or from a website. For the White Space, the infinity cove at the barn, ask for the cove measurements and the usable floor before you draw.
Draw the walls, the cove curve, the doors and any fixed set.
Mark the actors' starting positions. Then draw each move as a dashed line with a number that matches the beat in the script.
Place the camera for each setup as a triangle, and draw its lens line.
Mark the lights with their positions and the direction they point. The White Space has an 8-bar grid, so ask which bars the rig will use before you draw the lights.
Mark cable runs, stands and the crew's marks, so nobody steps on a mark the camera needs.
Walk the plan through with the director of photography and the first AD before the day, and fix anything that blocks a camera line.

A worked example

Two actors at a table, in a set against the cove. The master camera sits at the front, looking towards the cove, wide enough for both chairs. A single camera sits off the table's corner. Actor A stands by the door and crosses to the table on beat three.

Marking the crossing on the plan shows that the single camera has to move before the cross, so the first AD schedules a reset. That change costs seconds on paper and a lot more on the day.

Common mistakes

Drawing the set from memory rather than to scale.
Leaving out the camera's height and lens, so the plan shows a shot that cannot be got.
Leaving out the grid, so the lighting is designed without the rig.
Putting a mark where a cable run crosses the action.
Not updating the plan after the script changes.

For the shots themselves, read the coverage page and the shot list template. The storyboard sheets show the same shots as pictures, and the lighting an infinity cove page covers how the cove is lit once the plan is set.

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Related guides

Questions we get asked

What is blocking in film?

Blocking is the staging of the actors' positions and movement within a shot. A blocking diagram records it on a plan, so the director, the director of photography and the crew can see it before the day.

Do I need software for a blocking diagram?

No. Paper drawn to scale, a tape measure and a pencil do the job. The planner on this page does the same on screen.

How do I mark the camera on a studio plan?

Draw the camera as a triangle showing its position and the direction it points, then draw its lens line out to the subject. Write the lens and the camera height beside it.

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Blocking diagrams for a studio