Script breakdown

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First page of a script for a pornographic film, showing set elements, costumes and a brief character breakdown

A script breakdown is an intermediate step in the production of a play, film, comic book, or any other work that is originally planned using a script.

Film and television

In

Assistant Director or first or 1AD within the production staff of any given production company. However, many film directors and film producers have knowledge of breaking down a script.[citation needed
]

In particular, literally

ADR
,
Foley, film scores and soundtracks etc., which are all broken-down with different colored marker highlights within a shooting script.[1]

After which, these highlights are then organized and broken-down into strips to organize the production schedule within the actual physical production board. This process is more easily done nowadays utilizing a

casting calls, this is an entire different process with similar names, however administered by two entirely separate departments.[5]

Marking elements

To ease future production, an assistant director marks the elements found in each scene. This process repeats for each new scene. By the end, the producer will be able to see which scenes need which elements, and can begin to schedule accordingly. The film industry has a standard for color-coding:[6]

Element color codes
Element Shape or color Description
Cast Red Any speaking actor
Stunts Orange Any stunt that may require a
stunt double
, or stunt coordinator.
Extra (silent) Yellow Any extra needed to perform specifically, but has no lines.
Extra (atmosphere) Green Any
extra
or group of extras needed for the background.
Special effects Blue Any special effect required.
Props Purple All objects important to the script, or used by an actor.
Vehicles and animals Pink Any vehicles, and all animals, especially if it requires an animal trainer.
Sound effects or music Brown Sounds or music requiring specific use on set. Not sounds added in during post.
Wardrobe Circle Specific costumes needed for production, and also for continuity if a costume gets ripped up, or dirtied throughout the production.
Make-up and hair Asterisk Any make-up or hair attention needed. Common for scars and blood.
Special equipment Box If a scene requires the use of more uncommon equipment, (e.g. crane, underwater camera).
Production notes _ Underline For all other questions about how a scene will go, or confusion about how something happens.

Comics

In

Marvel method"). Later comics writers such as Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, influenced by cinematic technique, began to include more layout details within their scripts. Cartoonists who both write and draw their own work sometimes begin with a script and do their own breakdowns, and sometimes work through drawings without a separate script.[citation needed
]

See also

References