Continuity or Script Supervisor Is someone known to be “the eye for detail “ in Film and Television.
A Script Supervisor’s job is to know the Script inside out because everyone turns to them when stuck including the director, actors, editors , DOP , Makeup, Wardrobe and basically the Entire Production.
When you become a Script Supervisor, you need to Know that your reputation is at stake and therefore it is mandatory to do your home work and stay informed more than everyone else.
The job description of a Script Supervisor is a crazy one because it entails a very long list. I will help you prepare for your new position as a Script Supervisor here are a few things You cannot ignore!
1.Be the first person to receive the Script.
2. Read the Script thoroughly and maybe 3-4 times.
3.look out for any errors in the Script during pre-production and get clarity from the writer or from the director, most of the time you and the director will have the same concerns.
4. Do a detailed Script Breakdown. You need your Script breakdown, If you do not take time to type out your breakdown you will mess up on set , I Guarantee It!
Why do I say this? Because a film set is very pacy and as a Script Supervisor you are a problem solver, you will not always get time to sit in a little corner and page through the Script. People ask you questions and the need answers right away! E.g the director can come to you and say, What is the scene number where the Character escapes? You need to give the director an answer right away! So in your breakdown there should be a note section where you write important story beats, and the Script can be 100 pages long but your script breakdown will only be 3-4 pages long, so it will take you less than 30 seconds to page through your breakdown and give the director an answer and they will thank you for saving the day!
So how do you Draft a Continuity Script Breakdown?
Its Very easy because everything is on the Script you do not need to do any hard thinking.
A Script Breakdown consists of the following:
1. Scene number
2.Story Day
3.Location
4.Cast/Characters
5.Key Props
6.Wardrobe Notes
7.Make up Notes
8.Estimated Scene Timing
9.Added Important Notes
What is estimated screen timing?
Estimated Screen timing is basically sitting down and imagining every scene in your head and timing it as close to accuracy as possible. It is very important to find out from the production how long they expect the film to be. After pre-timing every scene you will add the timing for every scene and come up with an estimate of how long the film / episode might be. This will help your director see if he can cut out some dialogue on scenes if pre-timing exceeds expected. It will also help the writer to add more scenes if estimated timing is too short.
Do not panic if pre-timing is maybe 5-10 minutes shorter than expected because you will have Establishing shots to cover the screen time.
What are Story days?
Story days are the breakdown of events in the Script to a number of days. You read the script to determine how many days are in the story. Eg. Day 1 Characters are having Dinner and then they go to bed. Day 2 Characters are driving to work in the morning.
scene headings can help you determine story days e.g Int.The House-Morning the “Morning” should
tell you that its a New day” . This however is not always the case, you have to pay attention to dialogue, story direction and events in the script to determine story days if scene headings are not clear. As a Script Supervisor you are responsible for discussing story days with every department so you have to know!.
What are Added Important Notes?
These are notes that help identify big story beats in the narrative. The director might also give you notes for some scenes to remind him on set. Its your duty to check your Breakdown before shooting every scene to ensure that you do not miss out on any detail. Some notes involve very important details e.g A character got into a fight and he is bruised from scene 11 to scene 30. Make these notes in your Breakdown so you remember to check and remind make up artists to put on the bruise for Continuity. Why do people mess up and have Continuity errors? Because e.g above scenes 11-30 the character has a bruise but the scenes might not be shot in one day and they will definitely not be shot in sequence, that is why Script Supervisors and all departments should check their Continuity before shooting any scene.
What to do on set?
Before any set day everyone receives a callsheet. A callsheet consists of detailed information regarding shoot day, this includes call times, shooting locations, cast on call, scheduled scenes for the day etc.
It is very important for the Script Supervisor to Check scenes in detail on the call sheet because the Scheduler might miss scenes that go together, or scenes that are supposed to be shot in the same location. E.g if you only have 5 soccer field scenes,and you look at your callsheet and there are only 4 scenes scheduled, you then have to go to your breakdown and find the scene number of the scene that is not scheduled and notify your scheduler so they can add the scene and and notify crew and cast on time. Why? Because there might be cast members that are not on call but are on the missing scene, they have to be called and notified. The Wardrobe department has to know to prepare their costumes, the make up department has to know and prepare for the scene, the director has to know so he / she can plan their day. Basically everyone has to know because it will affect every department!
Make sure you have log sheets and progress report templates printed out before you get to set!
You will not be able to work without them!
A log sheet consists of information a Script Supervisor has to fill out for every scene, and a progress report consists of information a Script Supervisor has to fill out based out the shoot day’s progress e.g. scenes scheduled, scenes dropped, scenes shot, actual screen timing, weather report for the day e.g when you stopped shooting because it started raining. The production office has to know why some scenes were dropped. Sometimes you will finish early and the director will decide to pick up some scenes, a Script Supervisor has to put that on the progress report so that the scheduler will not add those scenes some other day.
Each logsheet will have the following information
1. Scene number, take number, shot description, comments.
You have to circle all the takes that the director liked and write “good” on the comment section in
order for the editor to use those takes and not ignore them in edit. Sometimes the director will give you specific notes e.g “use this take only at the beginning when character walks in”, write that note
down as simple as that, do not add anything, the editor will not miss that note.
Actual timings of shots
As soon as The AD (assistant director) calls action, start your timer!!!! What does this mean?? This
means you need to make sure you have a stop watch on set! Try and not use your phone get the actual stop watch, its easier to use even without looking. When the AD calls cut, stop the timer and write
down the minutes on the “time” column of the log sheet. Time every shot!
How do you determine how long each scenes was? Use your master takes! Usually your wide shots
where the entire scene runs without cutting. When it comes to close ups the director might only
choose the last part of the scene to punch it (close ups) so you will notice that it might sometimes be a few minutes or seconds so you know that is not the whole scene because you have your script right in front of you.
Marked up Script
Make sure your Script is in a file and is not stapled together. Why? Because for every scene you will need to draw slate lines and mark them up with their slate numbers.
Action/ movement and Hand Continuity
When shooting a scene, A Script Supervisor has to pay attention to every line of dialogue and they
have to watch carefully the actors movement and what they do on which line of dialogue.
Actors sometimes do things on the master shot and they forget how they moved and on which line of dialogue so the script Supervisor has to remind the actors or else it will be very difficult to cut in edit
and you will have embarrassing continuity errors. E.g the actor says “it’s over” and they take off their ljacket and sit and make a phone call. The actor might go ahead on the close up shot and do what they did and forget to take off their jacket. This causes a huge frustration in edit, now the editor has to
choose between the wide shot and the close-up because on one shot the actor wore the jacket
throughout the scene and the other shot, the actor took off the jacket at some point of the scene. If its an important scene Its a problem!!!! This will be a Reshoot. First of all every scene is important in a
film so its a reshoot and it will cost a-lot of time and money and it will definitely cost you your job!
You have to pay attention to what actors are doing and what they are saying while doing it! That is why you are on set!
Wardrobe and makeup Continuity
This is when you will need story days. You have to take pictures of the actors costumes and their
look from head to toe including accessories, bruises, how their hair is tied front and back and you have to mark clearly on a piece of paper and take a picture of the marking and then take pictures.
Marking example. Scene 5,Story Day 9 , 15 July 2019. Then take pictures after you have marked the scene and took a picture of the marking.
This will help you to know if actors are wearing the correct costume and make up. I have seen in big Movies where an actor sleeps in the dessert wearing a white t-shirt and they wake up wearing a blue
one!!!do you get what i mean? Sometimes an actor walks into a restaurant with black hair and once they are inside their magically have blonde hair! Why does this happen! Because it might look like it’s happening on the same day and time but reality is that those 2 scenes could have been shot 2 weeks apart! And maybe the editor did not notice the hair color difference and maybe the director
chose to live with the Continuity error because he did not want to choose between the 2 scenes. Do you see how serious this is?!
Make up errors! You might see in a movie an character putting on loud red lipstick, preparing for their date, and you see them walk to their car but once they are on the road driving they are no longer wearing lipstick. These are bad errors and Script Supervisors should make sure they are avoided.
As a Script Supervisor you have to always look at your notes, your Breakdown and your pictures, make sure you have double checked and tripple checked before the director calls action.
Remember to Prompt Actors, its your job to remind them if they missed any dialogue,/ lines and sometimes correct them if they misinterpreted the script especially if dialogue is supposed to be said in a different language. Actors might sometimes change the direction of the narrative if they translate the script to a different language. The Script Supervisor watches out for such errors and corrects them.
Crossing the Line: The 360 Degree Rule
You will be very surprised that is is very tricky for even experienced directors and cinematographers. Study the line know it.https://indiefilmhustle.com/180-degree-rule/
I just gave you a link that will help you understand what it means to cross the line. As a Script Supervisor you will be blamed every time. It will be very useful and it will save the whole production reshoots if a line is not crossed! YES CROSS THE LINE AND DIE haha!!!
Your Personality matters! You have to get along with everyone especially your Director and you must not be shy! Always speak up! Do not be afraid to point out errors. Remember to do your homework, that means coming to set prepared! Remember your job is to ensure errors don’t happen.
So how do you Draft a Continuity Script Breakdown?
A Script Breakdown consists of the following:
1. Scene number
2.Story Day
3.Location
4.Cast/Characters
5.Key Props
6.Wardrobe Notes
7.Make up Notes
8.Estimated Scene Timing
9.Added Important Notes
What is estimated screen timing?
Estimated Screen timing is basically sitting down and imagining every scene in your head and timing it as close to accuracy as possible. It is very important to find out from the production how long they expect the film to be. After pre-timing every scene you will add the timing for every scene and come up with an estimate of how long the film / episode might be. This will help your director see if he can cut out some dialogue on scenes if pre-timing exceeds expected. It will also help the writer to add more scenes if estimated timing is too short.
Do not panic if pre-timing is maybe 5-10 minutes shorter than expected because you will have Establishing shots to cover the screen time.
What are Story days?
Story days are the breakdown of events in the Script to a number of days. You read the script to determine how many days are in the story. Eg. Day 1 Characters are having Dinner and then they go to bed. Day 2 Characters are driving to work in the morning.
scene headings can help you determine story days e.g Int.The House-Morning the “Morning” should
tell you that its a New day” . This however is not always the case, you have to pay attention to dialogue, story direction and events in the script to determine story days if scene headings are not clear. As a Script Supervisor you are responsible for discussing story days with every department so you have to know!.
What are Added Important Notes?
These are notes that help identify big story beats in the narrative. The director might also give you notes for some scenes to remind him on set. Its your duty to check your Breakdown before shooting every scene to ensure that you do not miss out on any detail. Some notes involve very important details e.g A character got into a fight and he is bruised from scene 11 to scene 30. Make these notes in your Breakdown so you remember to check and remind make up artists to put on the bruise for Continuity. Why do people mess up and have Continuity errors? Because e.g above scenes 11-30 the character has a bruise but the scenes might not be shot in one day and they will definitely not be shot in sequence, that is why Script Supervisors and all departments should check their Continuity before shooting any scene.
What to do on set?
Before any set day everyone receives a callsheet. A callsheet consists of detailed information regarding shoot day, this includes call times, shooting locations, cast on call, scheduled scenes for the day etc.
It is very important for the Script Supervisor to Check scenes in detail on the call sheet because the Scheduler might miss scenes that go together, or scenes that are supposed to be shot in the same location. E.g if you only have 5 soccer field scenes,and you look at your callsheet and there are only 4 scenes scheduled, you then have to go to your breakdown and find the scene number of the scene that is not scheduled and notify your scheduler so they can add the scene and and notify crew and cast on time. Why? Because there might be cast members that are not on call but are on the missing scene, they have to be called and notified. The Wardrobe department has to know to prepare their costumes, the make up department has to know and prepare for the scene, the director has to know so he / she can plan their day. Basically everyone has to know because it will affect every department!
Make sure you have log sheets and progress report templates printed out before you get to set!
A log sheet consists of information a Script Supervisor has to fill out for every scene, and a progress report consists of information a Script Supervisor has to fill out based out the shoot day’s progress e.g. scenes scheduled, scenes dropped, scenes shot, actual screen timing, weather report for the day e.g when you stopped shooting because it started raining. The production office has to know why some scenes were dropped. Sometimes you will finish early and the director will decide to pick up some scenes, a Script Supervisor has to put that on the progress report so that the scheduler will not add those scenes some other day.
Each logsheet will have the following information
1. Scene number, take number, shot description, comments.
You have to circle all the takes that the director liked and write “good” on the comment section in
order for the editor to use those takes and not ignore them in edit. Sometimes the director will give you specific notes e.g “use this take only at the beginning when character walks in”, write that note
down as simple as that, do not add anything, the editor will not miss that note.
Actual timings of shots
As soon as The AD (assistant director) calls action, start your timer!!!! What does this mean?? This
means you need to make sure you have a stop watch on set! Try and not use your phone get the actual stop watch, its easier to use even without looking. When the AD calls cut, stop the timer and write
down the minutes on the “time” column of the log sheet. Time every shot!
How do you determine how long each scenes was? Use your master takes! Usually your wide shots
where the entire scene runs without cutting. When it comes to close ups the director might only
choose the last part of the scene to punch it (close ups) so you will notice that it might sometimes be a few minutes or seconds so you know that is not the whole scene because you have your script right in front of you.
Marked up Script
Make sure your Script is in a file and is not stapled together. Why? Because for every scene you will need to draw slate lines and mark them up with their slate numbers.
Action/ movement and Hand Continuity
When shooting a scene, A Script Supervisor has to pay attention to every line of dialogue and they
have to watch carefully the actors movement and what they do on which line of dialogue.
Actors sometimes do things on the master shot and they forget how they moved and on which line of dialogue so the script Supervisor has to remind the actors or else it will be very difficult to cut in edit
and you will have embarrassing continuity errors. E.g the actor says “it’s over” and they take off their ljacket and sit and make a phone call. The actor might go ahead on the close up shot and do what they did and forget to take off their jacket. This causes a huge frustration in edit, now the editor has to
choose between the wide shot and the close-up because on one shot the actor wore the jacket
throughout the scene and the other shot, the actor took off the jacket at some point of the scene. If its an important scene Its a problem!!!! This will be a Reshoot. First of all every scene is important in a
film so its a reshoot and it will cost a-lot of time and money and it will definitely cost you your job!
You have to pay attention to what actors are doing and what they are saying while doing it! That is why you are on set!
Wardrobe and makeup Continuity
This is when you will need story days. You have to take pictures of the actors costumes and their
look from head to toe including accessories, bruises, how their hair is tied front and back and you have to mark clearly on a piece of paper and take a picture of the marking and then take pictures.
Marking example. Scene 5,Story Day 9 , 15 July 2019. Then take pictures after you have marked the scene and took a picture of the marking.
This will help you to know if actors are wearing the correct costume and make up. I have seen in big Movies where an actor sleeps in the dessert wearing a white t-shirt and they wake up wearing a blue
one!!!do you get what i mean? Sometimes an actor walks into a restaurant with black hair and once they are inside their magically have blonde hair! Why does this happen! Because it might look like it’s happening on the same day and time but reality is that those 2 scenes could have been shot 2 weeks apart! And maybe the editor did not notice the hair color difference and maybe the director
chose to live with the Continuity error because he did not want to choose between the 2 scenes. Do you see how serious this is?!
Make up errors! You might see in a movie an character putting on loud red lipstick, preparing for their date, and you see them walk to their car but once they are on the road driving they are no longer wearing lipstick. These are bad errors and Script Supervisors should make sure they are avoided.
As a Script Supervisor you have to always look at your notes, your Breakdown and your pictures, make sure you have double checked and tripple checked before the director calls action.
Remember to Prompt Actors, its your job to remind them if they missed any dialogue,/ lines and sometimes correct them if they misinterpreted the script especially if dialogue is supposed to be said in a different language. Actors might sometimes change the direction of the narrative if they translate the script to a different language. The Script Supervisor watches out for such errors and corrects them.
Crossing the Line: The 360 Degree Rule
You will be very surprised that is is very tricky for even experienced directors and cinematographers. Study the line know it.https://indiefilmhustle.com/180-degree-rule/
I just gave you a link that will help you understand what it means to cross the line. As a Script Supervisor you will be blamed every time. It will be very useful and it will save the whole production reshoots if a line is not crossed! YES CROSS THE LINE AND DIE haha!!!
Your Personality matters! You have to get along with everyone especially your Director and you must not be shy! Always speak up! Do not be afraid to point out errors. Remember to do your homework, that means coming to set prepared! Remember your job is to ensure errors don’t happen.
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