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What Is a Script Breakdown? Film Breakdown Explained
A script breakdown is a scene-by-scene inventory of everything a production has to supply. You read the script once, tag every prop, costume, vehicle, stunt and actor, and come out with a list you can schedule and cost from.
Also called: breakdown sheet · script breakdown sheet
What gets tagged
You work through the script one scene at a time and mark anything that has to be bought, booked, built or hired. The usual categories are cast, background, props, wardrobe, makeup and hair, vehicles, animals, special effects, stunts, set dressing and special equipment. Most productions add a few of their own.
Each scene also carries its slugline data: interior or exterior, the set name, day or night. Those are the values a scheduler groups scenes by.
Why it happens before the schedule
You cannot build a schedule from a script alone. Somebody has to notice that scenes 12, 40 and 58 all happen in the same kitchen and need the same three actors. That is the difference between one day in that kitchen and three separate returns to it.
It is also the first honest look at cost. One line of stage direction can carry a picture car, a stunt driver and a permit, and none of it is visible until somebody tags it.
How long it takes
Tagging a feature by hand takes days. Importing the file and tagging by category takes an afternoon, because the scenes, sluglines and page counts arrive already parsed and only the elements need a person.
