Continuity 101

I’m a Script Supervisor – I “do” Continuity.

They’re two different titles for the same job. Generally, in the US the role is known as a Script Supervisor – “Scripty” for short – whilst in the UK it is known as Continuity. In France they simply call the role “Scripte”, which is taken from the American short form, and most other European industries follow a similar principle.^[1] Australia has historically followed the UK and called the role Continuity, but increasingly it is credited as Script Supervisor.^[2]

I am generally credited as Script Supervisor.

1. I watched The Lives Of Others last night, and in the credits they didn’t even bother with a German variant. It’s right there after Vorsprungdurchtechnikianbetreuung: just “Script / Continuity – Matthias Junge”. (And a fine job he did too.) [↩︎]
2. Pat Miller, in her book Script Supervising and Film Continuity (aka the Scripty’s Bible), makes a plea for us to be known as Continuity Supervisors, which is really a better title. However, it is not (yet) in general use, and I’m not in much of a position to change that. I have however recently been to see Slumdog Millionaire, which was the first time I have seen the role credited as “Continuity Supervisor” for a major film. [↩︎]

No, I’m a Script Supervisor. And I’m a guy.

Grrrr. In the US the role has historically been performed by both men and women.^[1] In the UK it has historically largely been performed by women, and Australia followed the UK.

There were a number of reasons for this, mostly good (e.g. the requirement for shorthand), some bad (e.g. the somewhat male-dominated^[2] nature of much of the industry), but all generally no longer relevant.^[3]

So no, it’s not a “girl’s job.” And incidentally, I wouldn’t recommend referring to any female Script Supervisors as Script Girls either.

1. Sam Peckinpah was a Script Supervisor at one point, and I’d say it’s a safe bet no-one ever risked telling him it was a girl’s job. Which might have been a nice irony. [↩︎]
2. Okay, sexist. [↩︎]
3. Although some surprising attitudes do unfortunately linger on. [↩︎]

In essence: I watch everything being shot, as it being shot, and make sure that the film will cut.

No, the editor cuts the film after it has been shot. I am the editor’s representative on set, and it is my job to make sure that the footage she gets to work with will actually cut together. I also make all sorts of notes to aid her with this.

Yes (well, in part anyway). I record details of every shot and every take on my Continuity Sheets (“Facing Page” in the US) – things like what the shot actually is, whether it’s a Print (P) or No Good (NG), any preferences from the Director or the DP^[1] for particular takes (and why), any problems with sound or camera or lines or anything else, and how long it is. You can see the forms I use in the Forms section of this website, and there are a few actual examples in the Samples section.

I also mark-up the script with details of what shot covers which part, along which any changes made to the script during the course of shooting. The end result of this is the Marked-Up Script (MUS), also known as the Lined Script. Again, you can see some real examples in the Samples section of this website. But more on the MUS later.

As well as all that though, I’m also making my own notes, which no-one other than me ever sees.^[2] These are on anything and everything that is going to help me – the key rule being not to trust your memory, but to write everything down.^[3]

The Continuity Sheets that get to the editor are actually transcribed from these notes, with only the relevant information copied across. The editor doesn’t care about which shoulder the handbag is over, unless it’s different in one of the takes. She doesn’t need to see what each character’s eyeline is on the page – she can see that on the screen in the edit suite. She does care if the eyeline is wrong in a particular take, but otherwise that’s just redundant information. And she certainly doesn’t need to see any of my line diagrams – just to have it flagged if we’ve crossed.^[4]

Similarly, the MUS that goes to the editor is transcribed across from my own working MUS. My own copy is covered with all sorts of jottings and scribblings and would be completely illegible to anyone else.^[5]

1. Director of Photography i.e. the cinematographer. [↩︎]
2. Which is lucky, as no-one other than me would likely be able to decipher them. [↩︎]
3. And I take a lot of photographs. Of anything and everything – set, actors, extras, camera positions, frames. These are not just for cross-referencing – the idea is to enable the whole set-up to be recreated if needed (which it may well be for pick-ups, or just when we come back to shoot the other half of the scene in an hour’s / day’s / week’s / month’s time). [↩︎]
4. If you have no idea what I’m talking about here, don’t worry – it’s all explained in a few paragraphs’ time. [↩︎]
5. And no, I’m not going to put any examples up in the Samples section. I do have some professional pride. [↩︎]