- Q & A on just what it is that Continuity / Script Supervisors actually do...
Continuity 101 (or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Scripty)
- Q & A on just what it is that Continuity / Script Supervisors actually do...
Ah yes, you said you’d tell me more about the Marked-Up Script too.
The Marked-Up Script (MUS), also known as the Lined Script, is the final version of the script as it was actually shot. It contains (1) all the changes to action and dialogue made during shooting, and (2) details of which shot covers which part, along with any other important script notes for the editor (missing Sound FX for example, or VFX to be added in post, that sort of thing).[1]
If you look at one of those Marked-Up Script examples over in the Samples section, you’ll see pretty coloured lines drawn down the page. These are known as coverage lines, or tramlines.
Each tramline corresponds to a particular shot, and provides an instant visual reference as to what the shot actually covers. The colours help to indicate what kind of shot it is – the standard is red for masters and wide shots, blue for singles, black for multiples[2], and green for cutaways/inserts. This may vary from shoot to shoot, and the colour range can be extended if it’s helpful (for instance, different colours for different characters).
More detail is given in the notation beside each shot, which consists of the slate ID and preferred take along with an abbreviated shot description – e.g. “67/4 MS Rockatansky” indicates that Slate 67 was a Mid-Shot on Rockatansky, and that Take 4 is the print take.[3]
And since you’re wondering, the squiggly lines indicate that the dialogue and/or action is off-screen i.e. not actually in shot. Which is quite handy to know.
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Posted By That Continuity Guy On March 2, 2009 @ 11:04 pm In Continuity 101
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© Copyright 2009 Benedict Paxton-Crick. All Rights Reserved.
2 Comments To "Ah yes, you said you’d tell me more about the Marked-Up Script too."
#1 Comment By Sarah Sanders On July 7, 2022 @ 10:17 am
Hello Benedict,
Thank you so much for your fabulous website. It is so informative to an up and coming script supervisor.
I was just reading through your answer for the Marked Up Script and I was wondering, in the age of technology what device do you use for Marking Up Your Script? I am keen to start out using one and was hoping to ask you for your suggestions. Also does your laptop/ ipad withstand weather (rain) and nature (dust) problems that arise when shooting on location?
Cheers,
Sarah
#2 Comment By That Continuity Guy On July 29, 2023 @ 8:59 pm
Belated reply sorry, almost every comment that’s submitted here is spam so yours got lost in the pile.
For my own copy of the script, I use Scriptation on a 12.9″ iPad Pro. Scriptation is fantastic software, probably the best designed software I’ve seen (*). Rather than trying to force people into using it how they want you to use it, they looked at how people use their paper scripts on set and tried to make it as simple as possible for people to switch. They are also a pleasure to deal with and incredibly responsive. All of this is why they’ve done so very well.
I don’t yet use all the functionality they have to offer, I mostly use it as I would a paper script, but I’m gradually improving. Started using different colours for different shots & takes, very handy, and adding a few photos every now and then.
They do include a section of Script Supervisor tools, principally for lining the script. However, this is very heavily based on ScriptE, the dominant system in the US, which I don’t use, so those tools don’t work for me.
When I got the iPad I fell for Apple’s marketing hype, got it with a Magic Keyboard, and hoped it would replace my laptop on set completely. It doesn’t. Despite being considerably more expensive than my laptop (and with the keyboard, also a lot heavier), it’s straitjacketed by the operating system. iOS is for phones not computers.
So turns out I don’t actually need such a giant iPad, and when I get my next one it’ll be a 10.9 or 11 inch, not 12.9.
The other software I depend on on the iPad is Documents by Readdle. This enables you to sync up entire folder structures from your laptop to your iPad, so I have all files for my production synced up – callsheets, scripts, breakdowns, schedules etc. However, they have switched to a subscription service which is ridiculously expensive – it’s almost twice the price of a Microsoft Office subscription. In fairness, this may be something to do with being a Ukrainian company based in Odessa, not a great time for them at the moment.
For my deliverable markup (and everything else) I use Peter Skarratt’s Filemaker Pro based system. And it is, and I am, vastly faster on a computer. So that I do on my MacBook Air. I sometimes do temporary shot logs on the iPad using Filemaker Go when it’s not feasible to use a computer, but they’ll always end up back on the laptop.
So for me:
– iPad for my own script (Scriptation), Documents, Filemaker Go, photos etc.
– laptop for all deliverables and everything else
All that said though – I have plenty of colleagues who use Skarratt and now exclusively use iPads on set, so ymmv.
(*) while the worst is something called 5th Kind, which despite being held together with bits of string seems to have locked major Hollywood studios into some sort of Faustian contract with an expiry date two weeks past Armageddon. Ooh look, a cease-and-desist letter.