I’m currently banging ideas around for a script, but have a question concerning the implementation of camera angles/shots. Should these be written into the first draft as you envision it in your head, or are they best left until you write a final shooting script?
–Ross Simms
Until the movie is in theatres, there’s no such thing as a final shooting script. During production, and even during editing, the script itself is subject to change.
In my opinion, every draft of a script should be shootable, with the same level of detail, clarity and professionalism. Scripts do change to a small degree when production begins, with every scene being numbered, and a byzantine system for keeping track of changes. But the words themselves are no more or less specific at this stage than any other.
If a director has specific camera angles that she feels necessary to put in the script, they get put in the script. But more often, these non-story details are handled by storyboards or shot lists, rather than the screenplay itself.