A specific camera and lighting configuration for a particular shot or sequence. Every time the camera moves or the lighting is changed, that is a new setup.

Setups take time: moving lights, repositioning camera, dressing the set. A shoot day is essentially a series of setups. The number of setups you can realistically achieve in a day determines how ambitious your shot list can be.

Setup in the real world

Beyonce’s Lemonade (2016), filmed across multiple days in New Orleans and surrounding Louisiana locations, involved an unusually high number of setups per day because of the variety of visual episodes. Directors including Kahlil Joseph and Beyonce herself moved between abandoned plantations, flooded streets, sports stadiums, and intimate interiors, with each new environment requiring a complete reconfiguration of camera and lighting.

Related terms

Shot list, Coverage, Take, Gaffer, Director of Photography (DP)