Camera coverage, or coverage, is the amount and kind of footage shot used to capture a scene in filmmaking and video production. The film editor uses coverage in post-production to assemble the final cut. Coverage in cinematography The coverage technique involves shooting from more positions than will be used in the final film, allowing the director to choose shots during the editing process. This avoids the need to bring back cast and crew for later pickups and reshoots if the director is unsatisfied with the results from the camera positions that were originally planned. Even meticulously preplanned, storyboarded, and rehearsed films may find a need for coverage. Coverage also allows the editor to take control of a performance, adjusting the timing so that the audience's needs (rather than those of the director or actor) are met. There are generally four types of cinematography: The master scene method: The scene is shot from beginning to end, usually but not always using a wide shot, to create the "master shot". In complex scenes, "mini-master shots" may be created instead. Coverage is then used to create other shots of the scene. Overlapping method: Also called the "triple-take method", the camera shoots initial action in the scene (usually a wide shot), and then the action is paused or repeated to allow a different camera angle and lighting set-up. This is similar to coverage, but without a master shot. Infrequently used, this type of cinematography is useful where an action cannot be repeated (such as when an item is destroyed at the end of the scene). In-One Method: Also called the "developing master", "oner", or (in French) plan-scene or plan-sequence, this is similar to the master scene method, but is planned and shot without the intention of using coverage. Freeform: Also called "documentary style", even when the story is fiction, the camera is hand-held and the image shows the shakiness of an unstabilized hand-held camera. Coverage is part of the master scene method, and may be used in the freeform method. The amount and kind of coverage is generally determined by the director in consultation with the cinematographer during the pre-production stage. Coverage provides the director and editor with the ability to change the pacing of the scene, to refocus the scene on different images, or even to use different takes. Coverage also allows the editor to get around mistakes in cinematography, the lack of