Coverage

All the angles shot of a scene, so the edit has choices. Insurance bought in footage, spent in the cut.

Coverage is the scene shot from enough angles that the edit has choices: the wide for geography, mediums for the exchange, close-ups for the turn. It is insurance against the unknowable, which performance will peak in which take, which line will need to breathe or vanish.

Bought in footage, spent in the cut, and priced accordingly: every setup costs light, time and the cast's freshness. Too little coverage and the edit is cornered; too much and the day was spent hedging instead of directing. The masters shoot exactly what the cut will need, which is not economy so much as knowing the film in advance.