Ultimate Guide to Script Supervisors
Film sets are hectic. From the outside, it can look like everyone is running around frantically. And to a large extent, that’s true. Everybody has a job and is executing on that job. But with so many pieces moving fast, it’s easy to see how some things could be forgotten or missed. Enter the film Script Supervisor–the connective tissue of the film set.
During the whirlwind that is film production, the script supervisor’s role first and foremost is to ensure the integrity of the script. Films are written three times: first as the script, second in production producing the actual shots, and third in the editing bay. The script supervisor oversees these transitions of each phase of production. This guide will go over everything there is to know about script supervision. What it is and how it’s done.
What is a Script Supervisor?
Am I covered? This is a common refrain script supervisors will have to answer from their directors. Being “covered” is a key component of the script supervisor’s on-set duties. Covered refers to coverage, which describes the amount of shots necessary to convey the scene the director wants to tell in the editing bay. For example, say the shot list for a scene is six different shots, but production has run out of time to get everything they wanted, and a shot needs to be cut. The script supervisor is the safety net to make sure that what is cut doesn’t erase a critical shot that is needed in the edit.
For the shots that are actually filmed, the script supervisor’s main job is ensuring continuity. Think of each shot in a film as a puzzle piece, the puzzle pieces are being made in real time on set, and the script supervisor ensures those pieces being made can actually fit together.
The script supervisor is constantly editing in their head to imagine how each shot fits together. They are the safety net for the other department heads. From the camera department rigging and filming the shots to wardrobe making sure the characters have the right clothes for the scene. Many films aren’t shot sequentially. Production can go from scene 17 to scene 86. The script supervisor needs to know exactly how the characters look at the end of scene 85 to match into 86.
Key Responsibilities
As mentioned above, the script supervisor acts as connective tissue on a film set. They are constantly in dialogue with every department on the shoot. Gathering camera data such as the lens and the memory card (if it's a digital shoot), to talking to hair and make-up about how much sweat a character should have on them.
Note-taking is the chunk of the duties on set. Script Supervisor film production templates include a daily report which goes to the producers, an editing log, facing pages, and a lined script. We’ll go into each of these in depth later on. The notes a script supervisor takes help preserve the intended film grammar of the filmmaking. Different types of shots edited together act upon the audience in different ways. The script supervisor makes sure the decided upon film grammar is maintained as decisions on set constantly change to meet the demands of production.
Now, let’s get into continuity-the bulk of where the notes will be taken.
Importance of Continuity in Filmmaking
Continuity comes in many forms, and the script supervisor needs to be on top of them all. Some examples of continuity:
A character exits frame right. The next scene is continuous–it happens immediately after. The character must enter frame left.
If it’s raining the scene prior, is your character wet?
An actor keeps switching hands between each take. Takes 3,4,5 they pick up a prop with their left hand and hand it to another character. Takes 1,2, and 6 they pick up the prop with their right hand.
An actor says their line before sitting down in takes 1 and 3, but says the line while in the process of sitting in takes 2 and 4.
A character leaves a house in scene 46 without a coat but then in scene 47 they have a coat on. Where did the coat come from?
Matching eyelines: a character is looking frame left toward a character that’s off screen. Then we cut to the other character looking frame right. When we juxtapose these two shots, do their eyelines match up?
The 180 line: the 180 allows the audience to get a sense of geographic space through the editing. If character A is toward the left of the frame in one shot and character B is toward the right of the frame in the next, it allows the audience to fill in the gap as to where the characters are in relation to the other.
Script supervisors can create a scene continuity checklist to systematize what to look out for. This is just a few examples of what needs to be kept track of. There’s a viral scene in Game of Thrones where a starbucks cup was left in frame and made it to air. Many people lapsed in not catching that. But the script supervisor is the safety net for everything continuity.
Skills and Qualities of an Effective Script Supervisor
Script supervision is more administerial than creative in nature. Attention to detail is the most important skill a script supervisor can possess. In addition to that, communicating clearly in time-sensitive situations is vital, and being exceptionally organized are the tenets of script supervisor skills.
Read more: Top 5 Most Important Aspects of A Script
1. Attention to Detail
To shrink down script supervision into a central conceit, it would be that they turn the art of looking into a superpower. Script supervisors have eagle eyes, and it’s very much a skill to hone. Watching so many things happen in each take and not get overwhelmed.
Script supervisors develop a shorthand for note-taking. To show an actor turned counter-clockwise, you may jot it down as ↺ whereas if they turned clockwise, jot it down as ↻. Not all actors will be masters of blocking and their stage direction. They will do things slightly or even drastically different each take. Script supervisors mark down every variation. If a line of dialogue is clipped, or altered, or omitted. Mark it down. Let the director or assistant director know that a line was missed or messed up.
A way to practice this skill is to watch a film at home and start marking all the character’s stage directions. Choose a film that has a publicly available script on the internet and annotate the script with the film as you watch it.
2. Communication Skills
A film set is not a hivemind. Many questions will come up during the set and the person that has the answer will not be available or will not be asked. Film departments can become mini islands on set. The script supervisor bridges these islands and makes sure lines of communication are open.
What can seem like redundant questions to the camera department can ultimately save the edit if continuity is breached. The most beautiful shot in isolation doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t work in the edit.
3. Organizational Skills
The volume of data script supervisor’s deal with and generate with their forms can become overwhelming if the data isn’t properly organized. Clearly understanding where and how the data is sorted will save script supervisor’s time and also their sanity.
The Script Supervisor's Workflow
Script supervision started very sporadically in film history before the position became defined. Production notes templates and set management forms were adopted. Over time, a more consistent workflow has emerged. Reading and breaking down the script are generally the first step in the script supervision process.
After digesting every aspect of the script, it’s time for production and taking copious amounts of notes and making sure the script is adhered to as much as possible. And if the director deviates from the script, make sure it's an intentional creative decision and not an accident.
Lastly, all of the notes compiled throughout production are handed over to the editor.
Pre-Production
After reading the script, it’s a good idea to read the script again. And then again. From there, breaking down the script is the first major duty of a script supervisor. A script breakdown takes all the elements of a script and places them into a table to see what characters, locations, props, etc fall within the script.
Script Supervisor breakdown template.
In this breakdown, characters and locations are bolded to indicate the first time they appear in the script. Columns including props can also be added. Tailor the breakdown to each script’s needs.
From there, prep the forms you intend to use during production, and read the script again just to be safe. It’s important to advocate to talk to the director before filming. Directors can run their respective sets very differently. On some sets, the script supervisor confers directly to the director about any concerns that come up throughout the day. On others, the director only likes to talk to the actors, 1st AD, and the cinematographer. Find out how the director runs their set and how to be best utilized now matter their preference.
Different directors will also tell the script supervisor to look out for different things. Some may be okay with the dialogue not being exactly as it is on the page and will tell you to look out for other things, other directors will be more stringent about dialogue–catch every hiccup.
On-Set Responsibilities
Once on set the fun begins. Time to activate the eagle eyes. At the beginning of each day on set, script supervisors start by organizing what scenes will be shooting today, prepping the forms for those scenes, talking to the different department heads making sure wardrobe, hair and make-up, camera etc are on the same page as to what is being shot, and then prepping the script supervisor’s daily report.
A script supervisor daily report template for film production:
The Daily Report, otherwise called a topsheet, is sent to the producers each day. Topsheet’s can be specialized to each production, but they tend to track the data seen above. The daily report is the zoomed out look at how a production is going. Is it on time? What was shot today, what’s left to be shot? These questions are answered with the daily report.
Handling the slate is an important duty. Each shot is given a corresponding code. The scene number plus the set-up number. Set-up numbers follow the alphabet except for I and O since they resemble one and zero. For example, the third different set-up for scene 3 would be 3C which is preceded by 3A and 3B for the first and second set-up of each scene. These proper scene codes will be utilized throughout production and help avoid confusion. If a scene is mis-slated, it needs to be noted immediately because people will be referring to two different shots when talking about the same slate code.
Once the first shot time is logged on the daily report, it’s time to start note-taking for continuity.
The Lined Script and the Facing page.
These two forms sit side-by-side to convey every aspect of data throughout each script page.
Script Supervisor Facing Page template and Lined Script example:
A lined script shows who appears and what action happens on-screen in each setup. If the line is straight, it appears on-screen in that shot. If it’s wavy, that action, character, or dialogue is off-screen. The facing page advises the lined script and provides all the data regarding each set-up or shot that corresponds to that page in the script.
Along with the editor’s log which we’ll go into in the next section, these forms are the backbone for the type of data script supervisors collect.
Post-Production
The daily reports, facing pages, and the lined script give the editor a clear picture of what happened on set. The last form, the editor’s log, is the blueprint or codex for the editors to decipher the giant morass of visual data being dumped upon them. Someone in the gigabytes (terabytes, even?) of data, the film awaits. All of the script supervisor’s forms create a roadmap to get to that destination.
Script Supervisor Continuity Editor’s log and notes template:
Where the facing page adheres to each individual script page, the editor’s log adheres to each individual day of production. On day 7, this is what was shot, this is the technical data of how it was shot, and on the side, all the notes about each individual take–which takes were the director’s favorites, which takes were botched and not to bother with them, etc.
Tools and Technology for Script Supervisors
These script supervisor templates can be specialized to each script supervisor and each production’s needs. The type of equipment used by script supervisors can also be varied. These forms can be used analog with simple pencil and paper, but they can also be installed into script supervisor software like ScriptE or Scriptation. These softwares are tools filmmakers and script supervisors use to streamline their workflow into one place. Instead of having dozens of papers in a binder, it’s one tablet. Though it’s recommended to have the pen and paper forms as backup. Electronics can die. And sets vary. One production can be inside on a big set lot, or it can be in the field in the jungle with high humidity. Electronics capabilities vary in such starkly different environments.
How to Get Started as a Script Supervisor
Getting started as a Script Supervisor is akin to most roles on a film set. Getting on a set as a production assistant and talking to everyone you can without perturbing their work. There are established script supervisors that offer courses and certificates on script supervision such as the Director Whisperer course. Beyond Continuity by Mary Cybulski is an excellent overview into the field.
Once on set, no matter the role, train your attention on seeing. It’s a skill that can be passively honed while fulfilling whatever other duties you have on set. Pay attention to what the director is paying attention to. Likewise the actors and the cinematographer. Absorb how they work. Absorb how the actors work while the camera is rolling. How they deviate each take.
Mastering the Script Supervisor Role
Paying attention is at the core of script supervision. It’s something everyone can do, but it’s hard to master. It can be practiced off-set in watching films and jotting notes as if each scene was a take. Find what short-hand works for you so you can jot down everything you’re seeing. If there are four actors in frame, all of their blocking, dialogue, actions can be overwhelming. And that’s okay. Mastering script supervision takes practice.
In addition to paying attention, an effective script supervisor requires a blend of technical expertise, strong organizational skills, and clear communication. Sets can be chaos, and the script supervisor is there so find the order in the chaos. Sounds fun, right?
For further reading: How to Write a Script in 4 Steps
