Alongside the EVS plan, production is also asked to make a camera plan. This is the idea for a tool that lets them place cameras on a floorplan instead of drawing it in slides by hand.
The idea #
- Upload a floorplan image, or start from a blank grid.
- Place cameras of different kinds (for example handheld, tripod, jib, robotic, fixed), each with its own symbol.
- Give each camera a name and a number, shown next to the symbol.
- Optionally show the direction each camera is pointing.
- Export the plan as an image that goes straight into Google Slides, like the EVS plan.
Camera table #
Next to the floorplan, the plan also has a table with one row per camera:
- Name and number.
- Camera kind.
- Lens, chosen from a list. The Lens Calculator v2 already has camera and lens lists that could be reused.
- Connection: fiber or wireless.
- Free-text notes.
The table exports to Google Slides the same way as the floorplan.
Linked to the EVS plan #
The camera table is the single source list for the EVS Slo-Mo Planner. Cameras added here show up there as sources, and the director only marks the slow-motion type per camera. Rename or renumber a camera in one place and both plans follow.
Open questions #
- Should this stay two tools sharing one camera list, or become one tool with two views? Where is the shared list stored (browser storage, or a file you can export and import)?
- Does it connect to the existing Signal Flow Planner?
- How much floorplan scaling or lens field-of-view is useful, versus just placing symbols.