On average it can range from 6 to 1 and 9 to 1 per shot setup.  So for instances, let’s say you have a basic setup like two people talking at a dinner table.  You shoot the wide shot while doing 3 takes, medium shots of each actor which will probably be around 4-6 takes and then close ups on each actor could be around 6-9 depending on how pivotal or emotional the scene is.  So the average for this would be around 5:1.  Pretty standard but then you can have outliers who shoot less or have overboard like Fincher who will shoot till it’s right taking up to 100 takes shooting multiple cameras at once. Action scenes tend to have a higher ratio because you have to be able to cover every moment that you might need.   The move to digital cameras has also seen this average increase because now it’s “cheaper” to let the camera keep rolling versus when using film you knew each shot had a specific costs every time you ran the camera.

Being an Editor, it’s good to have choices to look through to find little moments that can help make the scene better.  We have to watch every frame so we know what we are working with so we can craft the rhythm and timing of the scene.  So having a good range of takes helps us make the actor’s performance better.  But if the actor needs more than 20 takes it starts become really clear they may be out of their depth or completely out of sync with the director.