Coverage
Two people talking
Two characters, one place, a conversation that carries the scene.
Shoot the whole scene wide first, then move in. The two over-the-shoulder shots are the heart of it: cut between them and the audience feels the exchange. Stay on one side of the line between the actors so they keep facing each other across the cut.
Watch out. Keep the eyelines consistent: if A looks frame-left in her single, B looks frame-right in his.
The 180-degree line. All cameras stay on one side.
Establishing shot of the location.
Master two-shot. Whole scene.
Over A’s shoulder onto B.
Over B’s shoulder onto A.
Clean single on A. Reactions.
Clean single on B. Reactions.
Inserts: hands and objects the dialogue refers to.